Melanie on Madison River Hike

Today, Yeti and I did one of our favorite hikes by the Madison River. The route parallels the river high above along grassy bluffs, which abut Ted Turner’s ranch. Views are spectacular as the hills have few trees and those that do exist are small. So, when you get up to the top of the hill you get a panoramic view of the Madison River Gorge, the river, the mountains in the distance and grazing cattle or bison, if lucky. Ted Turner raises bison and sometimes herds dot the hills. We didn’t see any this trip, though a small band of horses were grazing on his land. Wildflower sightings included shooting stars, small groups of white phlox, and one yellow bell! Bird-song accompanied our walk and made me feel that spring is here! I hope to take the Audubon bird workshop next year at this time; this year, I was simply overbooked with continuing education classes, work, and presentations. This is one of our favorite hikes: it’s not too long, only a few miles, but it has some good climbs so you get a nice workout. And, for this season, it tends to be dry since it is so open.