In this challenge host Anne asks us “What is your Photographic Groove? What type of photography do you truly enjoy? “
I enjoy the challenge of photographing birds and wildlife in their natural habitat. The header image is of a bugling Elk in Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in North Carolina. One fall we traveled there in hope of seeing the magnificent elk herd that lives there. We weren’t disappointed. I posted about our experience at Cataloochee Valley Elk in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.
The following gallery contains some of my favorite wildlife images from our travels around the United States and Canada.
This next gallery contains some of my favorite bird images.
We’re not traveling as much in our fifth wheel anymore so I thought it would be fun to relive some of our most memorable days from previous RV trips.
Flashback to our first RV trip in the summer of 2006. On this day 13 years ago, August 8, 2006, the Wandering Dawgs were enjoying the wonders of Yellowstone National Park, America’s first national park.
That day we watched Old Faithful erupt and drove the Lower Loop Road where we saw Bison herds (American Buffalo), waterfalls, and spectacular scenery. It was one of our most memorable days from all of our RV travels.
Old Faithful (Wyoming)
Bison in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Waterfall along Yellowstone Lower Loop Road
View on Lower Loop Road, Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Bison at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Wandering Dawgs at Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in 2006
We spent about a week camping outside of Yellowstone National Park and spent most of those days exploring the park.
Welcome to the last post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I have only featured 45 of our beautiful United States because our wandering has never taken us to Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island or Vermont.
I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next and final state of my series is
Wyoming
Wyoming became the 44th state on July 10, 1890. The Capital is Cheyenne.
Welcome to Wyoming
The Wyoming welcome signs feature the copyrighted symbol of a Bucking Horse and Rider that has been used on Wyoming license plates since 1936. According to legend the Bucking Horse and Rider is based on the early 1900’s horse Steamboat, “the horse that couldn’t be ridden”.
My husband and I are huge fans of the Longmire mysteries by Craig Johnson. I’ve read all of them except his latest The Western Star (I’m on the waiting list at the library). Set in the small fictional town of Durant in Absaroka County somewhere near Sheridan and the Montana border, the stories feature Sheriff Walt Longmire and a wonderful cast of characters. With beautiful descriptions of Wyoming and the Bighorn Mountains, page turning mysteries, and great dialog Johnson’s books are hard to put down. Boy Howdy!
Bighorn mountains in Wyoming
Storm over the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park is the world’s first national park and is one of the most popular national parks in the U. S. The national park covers over 3,000 square miles. We spent several days exploring and as we drove through the park we stopped to explore the geysers, natural formations, hot springs, rivers, waterfalls, lakes and so much more.
Geysers, Yellowstone National Park
Hot Spring, Yellowstone National Park
Along Yellowstone Lower Loop Road
Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park
Mud geyser, Yellowstone National Park
Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone is famous for it’s wildlife. Huge bison herds roam freely through the park and often stop traffic. Elk and many other animals are frequently seen.
Bison in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Elk in Yellowstone National Park (Woming)
Elk, Yellowstone National Park
Bison along Yellowstone Lower Loop Road
Elk beside a river on the Yellowstone Upper Loop
If you love waterfalls you won’t be disappointed in Yellowstone.
Moose Falls, Yellowstone National Park
Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
Waterfall along Yellowstone Lower Loop Road
Waterfall along the Yellowstone Upper Loop Road
Waterfall along the Yellowstone Upper Loop Road
Our time was limited in Grand Teton National Park but we were able to take in the majesty of the spectacular landscape.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Grand Teton National Park
On one of our trips we left the Black Hills of South Dakota and traveled into Wyoming to see the Devils Tower. As we drove along we could see the tower jutting up from the prairie. Our campsite at Devils Tower KOA had a great view of the tower.
As we took a hike around the base of the tower images from the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” popped into my head. There were climbers on the tower and some had made it all the way to the top.
We stopped in Alladin, Wyoming on the way to the Devils Tower
The Devils Tower can be seen from the highway
We loved seeing the Devils Tower from our campsite
There was a car show going on just out side the Devils Tower National Monument when we arrived
Devils Tower National Monument
We watched climbers making their way up the tower
We passed a prairie dog town on the way to the tower
Devils Tower at sunset
Devils Tower at sunrise
We enjoyed our stay at Peter D’s RV Park in Sheridan on our way to Alaska in 2013 so much that we stopped there again on our return trip. With a view of the Bighorn mountains, a historic town to explore, and dinner at the Wyoming Rib and Chop House it was a worth a return visit.
Buffalo Bill Cody stayed here when he was in Cody
Beautiful Sculpture in front of the Sheridan Inn
Mule deer walking through the campground in Sheridan, Wyoming
View of Bighorn Mountains from Peter D’s RV Park in Sheridan, WY
On our return trip from Alaska, we drove south from Sheridan through the high plains where we saw ranches, several herds of pronghorn antelope, and prairie dogs beside the road. We spent a night in Casper, Wyoming at Ft. Caspar RV Park where we visited Fort Caspar on the North Platte River.
Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!
I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state in my series is
South Dakota
South Dakota became the 40th state on November 2, 1889. The Capital is Pierre.
Our travels have taken us through South Dakota a surprising number of times. The Corn Palace in Mitchell and Wall Drug Store in Wall are two fun places to take a travel break along Interstate 90.
The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota
Wall Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota
Like so many other people, we made the Black Hills our primary travel destination in South Dakota. There is so much to see there we couldn’t do everything we wanted on our first trip so we returned five years later. In addition to the spectacular scenery, the highlights of our visits were Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Custer State Park, the wildlife, Deadwood, Wind Cave National Park and Badlands National Park.
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Crazy Horse Monument in 2006
Crazy Horse Monument in the summer of 2011
Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Five years after our first trip to the Black Hills, we camped at Game Lodge Campground in Custer State Park. We loved being close to so much wildlife.
Custer State Park is home to herds of Bison, also known as American Buffalo. Many can be seen from the scenic Wildlife Loop Road. Some also like to hang out in other parts of the park and we often saw them near the Game Lodge Campground. There were many calves when we were there in early June. As we drove through the park and on the drive through Wind Cave National Park we saw bison, pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs wild burros, and even white tail deer. This collage of the bison and other wildlife we saw in and around Custer State Park shows just a small sample of the wildlife that is there.
Bison on Wildlife Loop Drive
Huge bison herd on Wildlife Loop Drive
Bison in Custer State Park
Mama and Calf
Young bison
Take my picture!
Pronghorn Antelope
This buffalo was hanging out by the lodge
Friendly chipmunk at one of the overlooks on the Needles Highway
Pronghorn Antelope
Wild burro’s on the Wildlife Look Drive are not shy
Just driving through the Black Hills is an adventure and there are several scenic drives to enjoy. Iron Mountain Road and the Needles Highway are both narrow, steep, curvy roads with single lane tunnels. There were spectacular views from the Mount Coolidge Overlook at the end of another narrow road. Another day the views were spectacular as we drove through Spearfish Canyon but I forgot my camera that day!
Along the Needles Highway in Custer Sate Park
Eye of the Needle on the Needles Highway
Needle Tunnel
Mount Rushmore from one of the tunnels on Iron Mountain Road
View of Crazy Horse Monument from the top of the Coolidge Overlook in Custer State Park
Deadwood is famous for being the town where Wild Bill Hickok was shot by Jack McCoy in the Number 10 Saloon in 1876. In the new Number 10 Saloon visitors can see a reenactment of the shooting of Wild Bill and there are reenactments in the street with gunslingers. We took the drive to his grave in the nearby Mount Moriah Cemetery.
Wild Bill Hickock was killed in Deadwood
Gunslingers in the streets of Deadwood
Reenactment of the shooting of Wild Bill Hickock (with the long hair and mustache playing cards)
At her request, Calamity Jane was buried next to Wild Bill Hickok at the Mt. Moria Cemetery in Deadwood
View of the town of Deadwood from the Mt. Moriah Cemetery
We discovered a couple of delightful campgrounds outside of the Black Hills during our South Dakota journeys. The owners are hard working and helpful at the Belvidere East KOA. Blondie enjoyed the dog park and we loved the Indian Tacos at their restaurant. The sunset was great, too.
Sunset at Belvidere East Campground
Mina Lake State Recreation area near Aberdeen was a perfect place to chill after our time in the Black Hills. The park was practically empty and the camp hosts were friendly and helpful. They even brought us some pheasant appetizers one evening.
Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!
I will be featuring the states alphabetically. The next state is the Bluegrass State –
Kentucky
Kentucky became the 15th state on June 1, 1792 and the capital is Frankfort.
When I think of the Bluegrass state I think of horses, bourbon, and Colonel Sanders famous Kentucky Fried Chicken. We never got a chance to visit the original Kentucky Fried Chicken but we did get to experience horses and bourbon and a whole lot more.
Late one fall we set up camp at the Kentucky Horse Park State Park near Lexington. Seeing these magnificent horses was the highlight of our visit to the area.
Kentucky Horse Park
Kentucky Horse Park
On the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
One very overcast day we left the horse park for a scenic drive by many beautiful horse farms and a tour of the Wild Turkey Distillery located right beside the Kentucky River.
Bridge over Kentucky River at the Wild Turkey Distillery
Wild Turkey Bourbon is aged these barrels
Until we visited the Elk and Bison Prairie in the Land Between the Lakes I never knew that bison once roamed in this area of the United States.
Elk and Bison Prairie in the Land Between the Lakes
The Land Between the Lakes has been a perfect stop over for us several times in our wandering. It doesn’t get much better than camping near a body of water and Canal Campground in the Land Between the Lakes is one of our favorite Corps of Engineers park.
Sunrise over Lake Barkley, Kentucky from Canal Corps of Engineers Campground
Rushing Bay on Kentucky Lake
Located in central Kentucky, Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system known in the world. There are many options for guided tours of the cave. Above ground the scenery is beautiful with hiking, biking, and equestrian trails.
Wandering Dawgs 
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