Enraptored In the Bridgers

So this weekend is the bridger raptor festival (bridgerraptorfest.org), celebrating the location of the largest golden eagle migration in the country (several hundred golden eagles fly by every year on their way south). Saturday was a cloudy, blustery day, threatening rain, which finally arrived in late afternoon. So it wasn't a great day to watch birds. But after attending a very informative 1.5 hr lecture by Steve Hoffman of Montana Audubon on raptor idenification, I decided to follow in Kevin and Laurie's footsteps and climb Sacajawea peak, just north of Bridger Bowl Ski Area. The road in was a bit rough for my Mazda 3 rental car, but I didn't bottom out. Though the plants were largely on their way to senescence, the hike was nevertheless quite beautiful, and quickly I found myself above timberline in my alpine element. Virtually no raptors were seen, but at least 22 ravens were acrobatically flying around the peaks. I saw Rocky Mountain goats in the distance, and if you are observant, you may be able to find them in one of the photos uploaded here. After reaching the peak, I noticed heavy rain showers heading across the valley near Bozeman toward the mountains, so I partially ran and walked fast back down to get off the ridge in case of lightning (there was none). The only loud noises were rifles of hunters in nearby foothills. All in all, a great day getting more familiar with the local sights around southwest Montana.

Oh, and does anyone recognize what can only be described as my second favorite plant (now that I have discovered the wonders of ginseng...)?