{"id":8665,"date":"2013-06-22T05:42:04","date_gmt":"2013-06-22T11:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=8665"},"modified":"2026-03-28T07:20:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T12:20:32","slug":"alaska-basin-journey-in-montana-and-idaho","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/22\/alaska-basin-journey-in-montana-and-idaho\/","title":{"rendered":"Alaska Basin Journey In Montana And Idaho"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ContinentalContinental Divide – Red Rock Pass straddling Idaho and Montana<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this week I was enthralled to see the Alaska Basin that straddles Idaho and Montana and winds through Beaverhead National Forest<\/span><\/a> and Targhee National Forest<\/span><\/a>. I have traveled a lot in my life and I have never lost the wonder and joy of seeing a new area, new mountains, or new views. I “ohh” and “ahh” and feel giddy.<\/p>\n

\"White-crownedWhite-crowned Sparrow at the Continental Divide<\/span><\/p>\n

Before going up the road I spotted this White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha<\/em>) resting on a post at the Continental Divide at Red Rock pass. This is an adult Interior West subspecies.<\/p>\n

\"Montana'sMontana’s Alaska Basin view<\/span><\/p>\n

Stopping along the way to take images of the scenic views was wonderful. In this image I can see the Centennial Valley, the Upper Lake of Red Rock Lakes NWR and part of the Centennial Mountains.<\/p>\n

\"PanoramicPanoramic view facing west<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a panoramic view which is a composite of three images stitched together to show more of what I was so delighted to see. The sagebrush smelled awesome and the view simply speaks for itself.<\/p>\n

\"VesperVesper Sparrow on the Alaska Basin trail<\/span><\/p>\n

I spotted this Vesper Sparrow on the way up as it perched on rusty barbed wire with out of focus sagebrush and wildflowers in the background.<\/p>\n

\"SugarbowlSugarbowl – Leatherflower<\/span><\/p>\n

I had to photograph some of the wildflowers that were blooming, I simply could not resist. This Sugarbowl, or Sugar Bowls, (Clematis hirsutissima<\/em>) stood out with its royal purple color. Another common name for it is Leatherflower.<\/p>\n

\"PrairiePrairie Smoke \u2013 Old Man\u2019s Whiskers<\/span><\/p>\n

Blooming in close proximity was this unusual looking wildflower, it wasn’t until I came home and researched it that I found out it is\u00a0Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum<\/em>) and is also called Old Man’s Whiskers.<\/p>\n

After the flowers finish blooming the seeds begin to form and the seeds have long fuzzy tails which in a mass do look like smoke near the ground.<\/p>\n

\"FlowersFlowers along the road<\/span><\/p>\n

Those are dandelions along the road, I had to take the image despite how common they are, they looked lovely along the edge as far as my eyes could see.<\/p>\n

\"AlaskaAlaska Basin Uinta Ground Squirrel<\/span><\/p>\n

And how could I not take this Uinta Ground Squirrel’s image when it posed so nicely on the weathered part of a sagebrush? Ground squirrels are a pretty common sight this time of the year but it won’t be long before they will disappear for the winter, perhaps as early as late next month.<\/p>\n

\"ViewView from near the top of Alaska Basin trail<\/span><\/p>\n

I couldn’t tell when I was in Montana or when I’d crossed over to Idaho because the road zig-zags through both states. It really didn’t matter much to me because I was totally immersed in the beauty of the scenery.<\/p>\n

\"RockyRocky slope in the Alaska Basin<\/span><\/p>\n

There are alpine meadows dotted with rocky slopes. I do wish that a Yellow-bellied Marmot had popped up about the time I created this image, but alas, I was not that lucky.<\/p>\n

\"FlowersFlowers in an Alaska Basin trail alpine meadow<\/span><\/p>\n

The white wildflowers in this alpine meadow are White-rayed Mule’s Ears, I took some close up images of them about two weeks\u00a0earlier in another part of Idaho I will post later.<\/p>\n

\"BigBig sky, wildflowers and firs<\/span><\/p>\n

More White-rayed Mule’s Ears, firs and plenty of big sky. I’m glad a few clouds showed up for this image.<\/p>\n

\"AlaskaAlaska Basin trail facing north east<\/span><\/p>\n

In this image I can see the road that skirts the Madison Mountain Range in Madison County, Montana and if you head south on that road it takes you to Henry’s Lake in Idaho.<\/p>\n

\"AlaskaAlaska Basin road traveled<\/span><\/p>\n

In this frame the dirt road is visible that I traveled on as I looked back behind me.<\/p>\n

It was an incredible morning exploring an area new to me and I am extremely grateful for the views, the wildlife, and the wonderful fresh air.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good, living it to the fullest is even better!<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my landscape and travel photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this week I was enthralled to see the Alaska Basin that straddles Idaho and Montana and winds through Beaverhead National Forest and Targhee National Forest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":173357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5067,1513,4629,27,2245,2244,12,2261,1630,2258,356,5347],"tags":[4430,2260,3830,1631,5071,519,4035,4104,5064,2657,5069,5070,2259,855,4195,3826,3827,5068,2619,2620,2658,4327,4307,102,4032,2665],"class_list":["post-8665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alaska-basin","category-beaverhead-county-montana","category-beaverhead-deerlodge-national-forest","category-avian","category-fremont-county","category-idaho","category-montana","category-targhee-national-forest","category-uinta-ground-squirrel","category-vesper-sparrows","category-white-crowned-sparrows","category-wildflowers","tag-barbed-wire","tag-continental-divide","tag-fence","tag-ground-squirrel","tag-ground-squirrels","tag-nature","tag-nature-photography","tag-perched","tag-pink-wildflowers","tag-poocetes-gramineus","tag-prairie-smoke","tag-purple-wildflowers","tag-red-rock-pass","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-squirrel","tag-squirrels","tag-sugarbowl","tag-uinta-ground-squirrel-2","tag-urocitellus-armatus","tag-vesper-sparrow","tag-white-crowned-sparrow","tag-wildflowers","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-photography","tag-zonotrichia-leucophrys-oriantha"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/alaska-basin-wildflowers-montana-mia-mcpherson-5599.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-2fL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15524,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/31\/uinta-ground-squirrel-in-montana\/","url_meta":{"origin":8665,"position":0},"title":"Uinta 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