On our last full day in Idaho we visited the Red Rocks Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is down a twenty mile gravel road. It was established in 1935 to protect the dwindling population of Trumpeter Swans. The scenery and the wildlife were wonderful.

It was time to start heading towards home. We spent a night in a National Forest campground in Wyoming. Our site was in the forest a short distance away from a mountain stream. The next few days were set aside for navigating scary steep and winding mountain passes. Think of the Lucille Ball movie “The Long Trailer”. We traveled out of the cool mountains into the hot, dry deserts of Wyoming, Utah and Colorado.

We camped for two nights at the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in Utah. The gorge is a red rock canyon through which the Green River flows. Then we were on to Colorado. We had planned to spend two days exploring the Colorado National Monument in Western Colorado but the 98 degree temperatures and lack of electricity for air conditioning changed our plans. The monument is a spectacular area of red rock canyons and rock formations but is best visited in  a season other than summer. After one hot night at the monument we decided to start moving up into the cool Colorado Rockies.

Swainson's Hawk

 Ranch land in Idaho

Mule Deer Doe bounding for cover 

 Proghorn Doe

 At the Red Rocks Wildlife Refuge

 Red Rock Lake 

 Sandhill Cranes

 Sandhill Cranes in flight

 Flaming Gorge

 Mike at the Red Canyon

 Dennis at Flaming Gorge

 Spotted Towhee

 Thistles

 Colorado National Monument