Christmas in Montana

Since my son's work keeps him busy over the holidays, Hubby and I always journey to his home in Montana for Christmas.  This year was no different, except we didn't arrive until two days after the actual holiday.  A series of ice storms in Portland and the Columbia River Gorge kept us home two days longer than planned.  When the weather finally cleared enough to travel, we braved torrential rain, snowy roads, and ice storm remnants on our 11-plus hour drive.

Snow-covered mountains

But once we arrived, all travel woes were forgotten.  It's always good to see my son!

Walking by a photogenic scraggly tree

There's a wildlife management area on the outskirts of where my son lives.  It's a great place to spot birds, deer, and other critters.  Hubby and my son wanted to check out the adjacent lake to see if there were any ducks around.  My son had a hunting license and was interested in getting a few waterfowl.

Golden grasses

I never mind walking through a wildlife area.  I grabbed my camera and big lens in hope of spotting some birds.  Although temps weren't cold by Montana standards, it was still below freezing when we began our trek along an icy road.  It was an overcast day, and the light wasn't great for photographs, but the surrounding snow-clad mountains and golden vegetation were still pretty.  Good enough for some images in my opinion!

My guys looking for ducks

The guys made it over to lakeshore, only to discover the lake was frozen over.  Naturally, there wasn't any waterfowl to be found.  No duck hunting for them!

I caught a magpie sitting still on this fence post!

I, on the other hand, was lagging behind looking for birds.  I spotted a few magpies flying around, but these birds were so fast, it was extremely difficult to get a photo of one.  The only good shot I had was out the car window, when one of them landed on a nearby fence post and lingered just long enough.

Magpie on a tree branch

I did manage to capture another magpie sitting on a tree branch.  But I had to be fast with the shutter!

Partially frozen creek

We hiked by a partially frozen creek that I thought was very scenic.

Townsend's Solitaire

Passing by one bare tree, I spotted a fluffy, gray bird who was nice enough to hold still for several minutes.  Thanks to my friend Debbie, she later identified it as a Townsend's Solitaire.

Another one posed for me

There were a few of these gray birds flitting about and I captured another Townsend's Solitaire sitting in the branches of a tree.

Local deer herd checking us out

Last, but not least, we glimpsed a few of the resident deer herd.  Usually, by the time we noticed them, the deer were already on the run.  But one inquisitive momma with her young hesitated long enough to enable me to capture a few shots.

Although not recorded on my yearly hiking tally, this last "trek" of 2022 was a nice ramble with my family through a bleak, but beautiful corner of Montana.