Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area

Judy and I just got back from a great camping trip to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL). There was so much to see in our short 4 day stay. Due to the amount of pictures we took, this post will be divided into 4 separate parts. They will be; LBL, Fort Donelson, National Cemetery and Fungus! Yes, that's fungus, a new interest we have acquired.

OK, lets get started with LBL. Its about 120 miles from where we live. It took us about 2 1/2 hours at a nice leisurely pace. We stayed at Piney Campground where we had a great campsite.

That's Kentucky Lake in the background. The breeze always blew straight off the lake. It was cool, but not unpleasant. There were just the 4 of us, Judy, myself, Ginger and Murffey. Murffey hates it but Ginger loves it. Ginger has adopted Murffey as her dog and follows her every move. Murffey doesn't really care and calmly accepts her constant attention. 

The first night there we were greeted with a beautiful sunset over the lake.

Now its off to the park.

Our main interest this trip was the wildlife. We were really interested in getting pictures of the bison, elk and if we were lucky, maybe a bald eagle. We did get to see a bald eagle, but unfortunately we could not get a picture. Things were different with the bison and elk.

The Elk & Bison Prairie (EBP) is a restoration of a native habitat lost more than a century ago. Elk and bison have been reintroduced to this area and roam freely within a 700-acre enclosure. Numerous other wildlife species also thrive in the prairie, such as wild turkeys, a variety of birds, small game, and prairie mammals. A lot of the original prairie grasses have also been restored. 

We found the bison first. They are not as big as you might expect. But, and this is a big but, they are very mean and dangerous. At one point Judy got a little too close and was immediately let know she was not welcome. There was a fence between us and the animals at this point and we were using very long lenses. This would change shortly!

We spent a lot of time looking down side roads for any wildflowers that might still be around.  Found one or two. I will post later. 

We finally got to the Elk and Bison Prairie.

By this time it was late in the day and we had read that we would have a better chance of seeing the animals at sunset or sunrise. Those of you who know me know that sunrise is not an option. We entered the Prairie and started the tour. This was the first fellow we came in contact with. 

We almost missed him he blended in so well. There are 700 acres and these animals can be any where. So, we were very happy to have gotten to see this animal in "the wild".

We kept driving, straining to catch sight of another bison and maybe an elk. We did see another bull bison and were really glad we did get a few pictures. But now we really wanted to see an elk. We drove and drove, but no more bison and not one elusive elk.

Then we rounded a corner and were greeted with this magnificent sight.

There they were, just like they would have been 200 years ago. 

There are no fences inside the Prairie. We did get out of the truck, but put the truck between the bison and ourselves. I set up a tripod on the truck bed and got some great shots from the safety of the truck. Believe me, you do not want to mingle with the wildlife here!

Here a female nurses her calf. What a sight! Wow, that just made our day, or so we thought. 

While the bison were passing by, we happened to look ahead and there was the most spectacular sight. Here was this huge fellow just easing out of the woods. Very cautious, one of his harem right behind him. He was just breathtaking!

There were a couple more bulls just in sight, but this was definitely the alpha bull. All the others followed his every move. 



The light was getting low but we followed this bull for quite a while. He was so impressive. Rut was still going on and he had his choice. He kept sniffing the air looking for receptive females.

If another male got close, he made sure to run him off. And then it happened. While chasing off another male, he let out a long series of bugles. Talking about a sound that will stop your heart! I almost forgot to take pictures. Almost.

By this time the light was getting too low to take pictures. Judy got this one last shot of the king and his harem heading off into the woods. 

 
Wow. What a great experience.

Some of the other wildlife we observed were this pair of fawns...

  
and this very small raccoon strolling the bank for food. We thought is kinda strange that this little fellow would be out in the daytime, especially so close to humans. We were to find out from some locals, that this little fellow was blind! He couldn't tell day from night.

So this ends this section. Here are a couple of parting shots.

 

Happy Trails!