Happy Campers

Happy campers (literally and figuratively speaking) - that's what we were when we went home from Delaney Butte Lakes on Sunday, the 27th.  A 3-hour drive west of Fort Collins, it is the ultimate site for ardent anglers according to friends who love to fish.  It is where one would catch monster trouts.  We didn't have any luck (yet again!) although Pete almost caught one on Saturday night but it was lucky enough to escape.  Despite this and the strong winds that pounded on us continuously throughout the weekend, our hearts were full of content.  We'd been presented a lot of opportunities to marvel at the amazing wildlife teeming in the area.

Calm Saturday morning, a respite from the howling winds of the previous night.

Muskrat, the first critter we came across during our walk on Saturday morning.

Chipmunk

White Pelicans, probably non-breeding because of the absence of a ridge in their bills 

Pronghorn Doe

Tree Swallow

Brewer's Sparrow?

Female Greater Sage Grouse appeared from nowhere.  I think she scared us more than we did her.

Clark's Grebe

Avocets

Cinnamon Teals

Female Wilson's Phalarope

Testy bullocks giving each other a head butt

A raptor I can't identify :-(

Pronghorn bucks.  The one on the left has a big wound on the chest.  He probably entangled himself in a barb wire during the migration.

Cowbirds hanging out with mother cow and calf who are enjoying their siesta

Bald Eagle.  I hope to snap a much better photo next time.

Swainson's Hawk?

Gadwalls?

Killdeer

Solitary Sandpiper?

Black-necked Stilt

Juvenile Spotted Sandpiper?  I was barely awake when I took this photo.  I opened the door to get some drinking water to make coffee and there it was, bobbing its tail up and down and up and down. I grabbed my camera quickly and snapped.  It turned out that my equipment was in the wrong setting; hence, the blurred image :-(

Male Common Merganser

We braved the gusty winds on Sunday morning and walked around the lake.  This is a view from the opposite side of our camping site.  Our trailer is on the right side.

Brontë loves the outdoors!!! 

Cliff Swallow

Great Black-backed Gulls?

Yellow-headed Blackbird belting it out

Identification in progress - the quality of the photo doesn't make the job easier :-(

Turkey Vulture (definitely not a great shot, for record-keeping purposes only :-).  A clearer photo can be found here.

Cramped caterpillars

Driving back to Fort Collins, we spotted Mr. Moose right before Cameron Pass.

We spotted numerous bird species and small mammals but they were either too far or too quick to be photographed.  I look forward to the next encounters as we'll definitely go back to Delaney Butte Lakes and its surrounding areas.  

The Maiden Voyage

We headed to Jackson Lake State Park on Saturday instead of Friday to avoid the crappy weather conditions forecast (we nevertheless froze our bottoms off on the first night).  We didn't make any reservations so we ended up camping at the Fox Hills Campground where there are no electric hookups.  Pete tried to turn on the furnace Sunday morning and for some weird reason, it triggered the propane gas alarm.  He turned off the tank and then scuffled with the manual to find out what was going on.  The battery was flat and fortunately, we had just bought a new one as a reserve.  Unfortunately, it required a bigger wing-nut.  Pete drove to the grocery store and as luck would have it, he was able to get exactly what we needed.  Whew!  The maiden voyage proved to be a learning experience indeed.  We are very fortunate to be guided by friends who are veteran RVers - J and R.  They selflessly share tips and knowledge which we greatly appreciate.  As they suggested, we walked around the whole campground and took note of the best spots.  So, next time we come, we know precisely what sites to book.

Are we there yet ... are we there yet???

View of the sunset from where we were camped

Hey, that's for din dins later!  Brontë sniffing (and trying to sample) the walleye that R caught.

The Wrights with J and R in front of their home away from home

Brontë seemed to enjoy camping.  We're so proud of her for behaving very well.  Her physiological system was screwed though as she didn't get on with her business as she would normally do.

The wind started picking up so we decided to have our dinner chez nous.

Grilled Walleye ... absolutely yummy!

Off to fish after dinner.  We went home empty-handed :-(

I think the solar eclipse was in progress when this photo was taken.

Enjoying the bonfire with popcorn, "Boy Bawang" and our preferred beverage - J and his beer; Pete and his tea; the ladies and their hot chocolate

"It Ain't Me Babe ... It Ain't Me Babe... "

We didn't catch any fish but we did encounter new bird species!

Bullock's Orioles

Bullock's Oriole

Western Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird (previously spotted)

Lark Sparrow

Great Blue Heron (previously spotted)