We got up just after sunrise on Saturday, which wasn't all that early considering the time of year. We put together breakfast and packed up our gear. We drove off in the direction of a place we call Pronghorn Coulee. This is many miles away from our campsite and it took us quite a while to get there. We had permission from the landowner to be out there, and eventually after bumping along several gravel roads and tractor trails we found ourselves at the edge of the valley. The badlands looked spectacular in morning light and I couldn't wait to get started. I spent the first couple of hours wandering around looking for fossils and just generally exploring the area. The wildflowers were all done for the season, and there were not many signs of life save for a few small plants that had not yet succumbed to the frost, and some birds.
As I wandered around I came across various fossils and bits and pieces of dinosaur bone. I've been out enough times to easily recognize the obvious fossil material. But I don't have nearly the eye for finding stuff that Jim and Frank do. Every time I go out with one or the other for them, they find all sorts of interesting things and I find very little. I guess that's because my eye is more intent on finding photo compositions than fossils. This time was no exception and by the end of the day Jim had found various teeth, claws and bones. I did manage to find a couple of interesting things including a partly exposed rib, and the shell of a small turtle.
After a couple of hours of fossil hunting the photo opportunities became more appealing. My big camera came out and I spent the rest of the day making photographs. It was a pretty successful day and by the time I was done I had set up my big camera ten times. At one point I even had to hike back out to the truck to get more film. During the middle of the afternoon it got quite warm as there were very few clouds, only a light breeze, and the temperature most have got up to around 15 degrees. I never did make it all the way down to the river, but spent a lot of time hiking up and down the hills looking for various compositions.
As the day began to wind down it cooled off quickly and the fall chill began to settle on us for the evening. As I was making my last photographs of the day a big bull elk began bugling on the opposite side of the valley. I spotted him just below the edge of the prairie but he was too far away to photograph properly. I paused for a while and just listened to the eerie sound of his calls. I must say it was somewhat unexpected as I am used to elk being an animal of the forests and mountains. But I am well aware of the fact that they were actual a prairie animal before the west became heavily populated and cultivated. As we made the long drive back to the campsite, both tired from all the day's walking, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset that hopefully promised for another great day on Sunday.
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