Though we have observed the snowy peaks of the Front Range from Denver, we were not enveloped in a snowy landscape until this morning, the first such experience this season. Traveling northeast from Denver on Interstate 76, we reached the snow line at Sterling, Colorado. From that location until we reached Grand Isle, Nebraska, a snowy landscape flanked the highway.
Just south of the snow line, flocks of longspurs swooped across the roadway, disappearing into the scrub grasslands of Northeast Colorado; a squadron of sharp-tailed grouse also streaked across the highway. Once we entered the snowy terrain, bird sightings were limited, especially due to the low, gray overcast and persistent light mist; Canada geese and American crows were the primary representatives.
Unfortunately, the dense cloud cover also eliminated the opportunity to observe migrating sandhill cranes, one of my specific goals for today's leg of the journey; though I scoured the fields for resting flocks, none we're observed. We'll spend the night in Lincoln and head to Minneapolis tomorrow.
