Day 22, Wednesday June 29, 2022 At Malta MT (Ruth's 78th Birthday!)

 Day 22, Wednesday June 29, 2022 At Malta MT (Ruth's 78th Birthday!)

This will be shorter than most posts.

When the rains came in the morning the weather man said it would rain until noon, but that did not happen. But we decided it was a good morning to catch up on laundry, so that is what we did.  (The rain stopped at 10:00. The day turned out  like a "Montana Day"-- Windy (25-35mph), sunny with a few clouds.

The laundry went well , even though it was small with only 5 washers, we managed and were the only ones there so we were in and out in 1 hour and 45 min. no complications.

"Rural" country outside Malta.

One of the "rural" Roads we covered  in the afternoon.

         In Trafton Park there were many Prairie Dogs .

 

After putting the laundry away we ate lunch and then took a ride in the country looking for more "grassland birds". It was only a 10mile ride but we did pick up a few birds. The days total was just 18, but for the two hours we put forth the effort, it was a good count. Some of the rural roads led to small groups of trees, mostly Russian Olive (which are becoming a pest out here), where there might have been some birds gathering, but with the wind and the afternoon sun, there were few birds. We also too some time to look for birds at the city's Trafton Park but little was alive there except some Prairie Dogs. (They look like ground squirrels)

A rare photo of a Marbled Godwit (note beak color)

The rodeo grounds in Malta and seating stands.

Roadside clover is abundant. Keeps the soil in place.

 

That led to the trailer in the afternoon and some inside "things"  and some of Ruth's greeting  for her birthday arrived by phone and e mail.

In the evening we had promised Ruth  a fine dinner, and we found a town restaurant in the Great Northern Hotel. This hotel was originally built in 1906, and served the clientele off the Great Northern RR when they stopped there. It is also said that the farmers in the winter  when conditions were so bad, would stay there during the winter for  their "vacation" for weeks on end. The hotel was burned in 1971 and rebuilt and has been in operation ever since. The dining room, we thought, needed some guidance as far as the decor was concerned, but they have survived this long so ...? We treated Ruth to "Tillamook Mudslide" ice cream in the trailer. It is the best (Hudsonville is second!)

That was pretty much it today , so we will see if tomorrow AM is good weather, if so, will head again out to Bowdoin NWR and reverse the auto ride to get to the water portion early in the morning. That should increase the bird sightings. We shall see.

Thanks for reading and we will catch you tomorrow.