Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Nature, oh how strange and wonderful

Barrelling down the highway in what is essentially a bus can at time allow you a better view of nature, up close and squashed. Prior to entering Echo, OR we gassed up our motorhome Rex, washed the windshield, and headed for the RV park for the night. Just as we entered the city limits a swarm of grasshoppers smacked the windshield! Dick didn't know at first what had happened and reacted by swerving to the  opposite direction of the swarm. I was, on the other hand, upset that all the work I did to get the windshield clean was for not. Soon after parking we noticed ants crawling on the windshield eating the remains and soon they were joined by yellow jackets. By morning most of the goo was gone. This cleanup act was to be repeated most nights. Cannibals, lol. Looking at the front of our motorhome most mornings I am surprised that the EPA hasn't required us to register Rex as a pesticide as the insect collection is vast. This also reminds me of a book by Roger M. Knutson: Flattened Fauna, Revised: A Field Guide to Common Animals of Roads, Streets, and Highways.

But on a happier note here are some photos of living wildlife seen from our current travels.





Longhorn beetle visiting Rex 

Grey Jay -Adult Taiga

Young Grizzly looking for food 

Pelicans at Blue Lake

Merganser family at Blue Lake

Stone sheep eating salt from roadway

Wood Bison - not as shaggy as the American Bison
Bald eagles at W.A,C. Bennett Dam on the Peace River