Island Lake Loop

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On the third day of spring I hiked in one of my favorite areas, the middle grasslands of Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area.    I hike there several times each year and I vary the route each time.     For this day I followed the Long Lake Loop going clockwise above the west side of Island Lake, then I climbed the Grasslands Esker and followed it down to a low point between two hills, then I headed up over an open hill following cattle/tame routes until I met the Long Lake Lookout trail.    After enjoying the view I followed the trail back for about half the distance, then followed another game track through the glaciated terrain of moraines, kames, and pothole lakes back to the start.

There were meadowlarks and bluebirds in the grasslands.    Sandhill cranes flew overhead.    Red-winged blackbirds were in marshy ponds.    Swans, geese, and ducks were on Island Lake and Long Lake.   There were tens of thousands of sagebrush buttercups in bloom and a number of other soon-to-flower-plants were leafing out (Boechera, larkspur, Geum, death camas, and desert parsley).  I will be back again soon to enjoy this area again.

A number of photos are shared here as a Google Photos album with captions (link) or as a slideshow (without captions):

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