A Trip to Northern Idaho – Part 6

September 9, 2019August 29, 2019 by Michael

Today, Karen took the lead. She did some research and found the Seven Stars Alpaca Ranch. Not exactly a “petting zoo”, but a place where you can get close to the animals and interact and learn. You know if there is a fluffy critter around, Karen is going to want to get close to it…and I won’t be far behind.

Of course, it didn’t take Karen long to make friends here. Although this goat seems to be interested in her camera. 🙂

As we were being led around and shown all the animals, I looked off in the distance and notice this very comforting scene. The blueness of the sky and the greenness of the field along with the bit white puffy clouds was just the type of landscape I had been looking for.

And the owners here are more then capable of taking photos of you with your camera to keep the memories alive. This critter was eyeing Janice and she wasn’t letting it out of her sight.

Like I said, if Karen has the chance to get in a pen with a bunch of fluffy critters, she’s going to do it. These were very friendly critters, but we were warned that as much as that long neck looks like it wants a hug, do not go there. They don’t like anything grabbing them around that long neck and will fight you to get away.

Of course all of the animals are named, and if you go to the gift shop the lady can tell you,based on the yarn used in the different items, which of the animals it came from. She was very knowledgeable and from what they said and the information on their site, they are very responsible owners and take very good care of the animals.

While we were there, they opened up the gate and allowed the alpacas and llamas into the field with the horses to chow on the nice green grass. This just made the previous scene even more amazing!

So, if you are in the Coeur d’Alene area, I highly recommend a trip to the Seven Stars Alpaca Ranch. You’ll learn a few things and enjoy a very peaceful experience. Now, back to that waterfall research I was doing. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day.

Michael
Sharing God’s Creation, One Click at a Time

All words and photos copyright 2019 MHampton Photography
Equipment used: Canon 5DS-R, Canon 1DX II, Canon T6S, and various Canon lenses and Insta360 One X

A Trip to Northern Idaho – Part 5

September 6, 2019August 29, 2019 by Michael

Welcome to part 5.

After a very good lunch at My Kitchen in St Maries ID, we continued to follow the road east out of town, following the St Joe river. We asked at the restaurant about the moose and were told that about around 19.4 miles there would be moose just lying around all over the place! We could hardly wait. Finally! Some big wildlife to capture!

On our way, we continued to watch to see what else we might see. It wasn’t long before we started seeing all sorts of eye-catching sights, such as this field of blue wildflowers. I’m not sure exactly what type of flowers these are, but I’m pretty sure these are not the blue bonnets we have been seeing in other places. Still though, a very pretty scene.

If anyone knows what these flowers are, let me know and I’ll update this page and give you credit for the knowledge, because I have no idea.

A little further down the road we came across a waterfall right off the roadside. Well, you know this is going to call for a stop and photos. Karen took this one but made the mistake of telling us she was taking it. Yes, I’m sucking in my gut. Hey! You would too if you had just eaten the burger I had! I was stuffed!

Throwing caution to the wind (this would be a recurring theme), I crawled down the bank of the roadway to get down at the water level. I found a place under the bridge where I got this shot. However, I had been so excited about jumping out of the car, I left my tripod so getting a longer exposure was not possible. My old hands aren’t as steady as they once were. Still though, this captures the scene rather well, showing the power of the water flowing down the mountain. Not all waterfall photos have to be with a slow shutter speed.

And, of course, while I am “risking life and limb” for a shot (ha!), Karen is taking the beauty route and finding more pretty flowers up top. This is not the same as the field of flowers we saw before, but still very pretty. I noticed there are a lot of blue flowers up here.

After driving well past the 19.4 mile mark on the road, we still had seen no moose. I was even driving extra slow, pulling over to allow others to go past us to keep from missing anything by driving too fast. Still though, there was plenty of beautiful scenery. Even the power pole couldn’t ruin this beautiful framed scene.

Making our way back I saw a turn off for Killarney Lake and decided to give wildlife one last chance to make an appearance for the day. Time was running out and at this point I had pretty much given up hope of seeing a moose.

The drive around the lake was nice. It was relaxing to be off the highway for a bit. There were some waterfowl in the area so it wasn’t a total bust. Karen got this cinimmon teal duck (?) floating on the lake, just enjoying the afternoon sun.

Continuing on around the lake we saw a few other birds but it was mostly quiet. And then, as we reached the end of the road, I looked across the lake to a shallow marshy area and what was it I was seeing? Yes!! A Moose!! It wasn’t the massive herd we had been told about, and it wasn’t a male with a huge rack, but by golly, we got us a moose! We can go home happy now!

While the moose was on the other side of the lake, we didn’t get any close-up shots, but we were happy with the fact that we got to see one so we weren’t going to complain. Now it was time to head back to our room, relax, and prepare for our next day. Let’s just say that our little waterfall today had bitten me and I had some research to do!

Stay tuned for part 6!

Michael
Sharing God’s Creation, One Click at a Time

All words and photos copyright 2019 MHampton Photography
Equipment used: Canon 5DS-R, Canon 1DX II, Canon T6S, and various Canon lenses and Insta360 One X

A Trip to Northern Idaho – Part 4

September 5, 2019September 5, 2019 by Michael

The next morning finds Karen and me back at Fernan Lake, once again watching the water fowl doing their thing. This great blue heron is a lovey bird to watch as it glides effortlessly through the sky just above the water.

And then we notice something of a little drama unfold before us. There are several families of Canadian geese here and we noticed this one little one wandering around making all kinds of noise. It appears it has been separated from its family and was desperately trying to find its way back. I imagine it was calling out “Mama!! Mama!!” Or maybe it was yelling out “Marco!” Who really know? 🙂

The little thing made its way to the water and then made a beeline for a family that is swimming nearby. At last, the little fella (?) will be safe and back with his family. The little guy swims happily along toward the flotilla of geese, calling out all along the way.

Well, apparently, this was not its family. One of the adults doesn’t take too kindly to this interloper trying to crash their family swim and bats it away, more than once. Karen and I were both caught off guard by this reaction as the brutal adult literally smacked the little one away from its family.

Rejected and dejected, the little one swims off again, looking for his family.

Finally it sees its family, the largest one on the lake! I think we counted upwards of 14 little ones in this group! Now we’re not sure if the little one got lost, or if it ran away looking for a smaller family where it might get more attention. I guess it decided that if the attention it got from that last family was any indication of what the world was like, it would just stay with its own family and make do. It rejoined the group and they swam away, one big happy family once again.

Once we met up with Janice, we decided on following a tip I got on FaceBook about a possible place to see moose in the area. So we headed off for St Maries ID and the St Joe river where I was told the moose were plentiful, just laying around in the fields all over the place. This sounds promising!

On our drive, we noticed an opening in the trees next to the river and could see a group of American white pelicans fishing, so we stopped to grab some shots. Sadly, they were quite a distance away from the road, but since they such large birds, that didn’t hamper us too much.

There were several of them floating around, but Karen caught this one just as it had nabbed its lunch. That’s a fish’s tail sticking out of its mouth. Aw, the circle of life (cue the music).

After the pelicans we made it to St Maries right around lunchtime. We ate at a place called My Kitchen and it was great. If you ever find yourself in St Maries ID, stop in and check it out!

After lunch we took a drive up the St Joe river, looking for the elusive moose! Next time…

Michael
Sharing God’s Creation, One Click at a Time

All words and photos copyright 2019 MHampton Photography
Equipment used: Canon 5DS-R, Canon 1DX II, Canon T6S, and various Canon lenses and Insta360 One X

M Hampton Photography

Sharing God's Creation One Click at a Time

Category: Vacation

A Trip to Northern Idaho – Part 6

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A Trip to Northern Idaho – Part 5

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A Trip to Northern Idaho – Part 4

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