Views from a hike

The Panhandle is such a lovely place to explore. Here are some pictures I took this evening on a hike near Scotts Bluff National Monument. The sunset was the vibrant pink icing on the cake.

This plant cluster is very friendly. See? It says "Hi" at the bottom there.

I wonder what lives in this hole? (It was about an inch in diameter.)

Platte thistle, with bumble bee.

A turtle fossil. (On federal land! Do not take!!!)

A piece of the turtle fossil that had eroded out of the bluff.

A bone eroding out of the ground.

A bulbous clump of sandwort.

Scotts Bluff

The photo absolutely does not do justice to this evening's vibrant sky.

At least you won't get mosquito bites while looking at the photo. That makes up a little for its failure to portray the actual colors.

This is beautiful, interesting country that I live in.

UPDATE: I forgot to include my attempt at photographing the full moon, which had an amazing orange halo. (Too bad we didn’t get to see the eclipse, which was visible on the other side of the world.) This was a long exposure reflected in the bloated North Platte River. (More about that river bloating later.) It was the best I could do while trying to fend off mosquitoes and take the picture before the wind/rain hit.

Goodnight, moon.

 

Copyright 2011 by Katie Bradshaw