More Big Birds...

Our other traveling companion, Kali, has gotten quite fed up with all of these stops in towns and national parks where dogs, even uber-dogs, are not permitted to run about looking for birds and trouble.  Can only buy so much peace with bacon and beef ... eventually she needs to run afield.  But the weather has been our primary foe - pleasant for visiting museums and parks, but too warm for little dogs.
Finally got some cooler weather in North Dakota, plus the land owners there just seem to be better stewards, as there's abundant habitat ... and go figure, birds walking around in plain sight almost everywhere you look!  Sure makes for an excited dog and anxious novice hunter!
Made for an excellent ecology/biology lesson as Soph navigated us along gravel roads toward walk-in hunting areas.  Why are there birds by this field?  How come there aren't any over there?  It's a formula I call Upland Pie ... leave out one ingredient and it may still be pie, but it won't be good.
With less than 45 minutes til sunset, we put Kali out on a quartering wind through a CRP field adjacent to wheat stubble - just like the sort of stuff we'd seen roosters walk into earlier.
Kali immediately went crazy with all of the scent.  Bumped a couple of phez that were downwind, but we marked where they landed, swung downwind and brought her back.
Soph folded her first rooster with the second barrel and I was able to reach him just after Kali did, so he was only partially plucked ... but heck, she deserves a little fun too!

 Kali was smiling as big as Soph until the camera came out ... just love ND!  I know SD is supposed to be the pheasant capital, but for the way we hunt, on public land vs. at lodges, you just can't beat ND!  We bought her license at 2:55 p.m., drove around looking for a hunting area until 3:45, and were back at the truck with her bird at sunset - 4:35.  And saw more birds in that time than in all of NE or SD combined!
Western ND has its own little shale play - the Bakken...you may have heard of it.  Lots of full motels and high rates, so we ended up traveling way east to Dickinson to find a room, but the next morning we decided to hunt our way west towards Theodore Roosevelt NP.  Found phez on the two walks we made, but they were hens ... poor Kali!
Have already mentioned that Teddy was one of my fav presidents, and I can see why he was enamored with SW ND, but the southern end of the park was more badlands, so we didn't stay long, just discussed Teddy's life, ambition, determination, and accomplishments and moved on...

More upland pie north of Beach, ND, but this time for sharptail grouse, an indigenous American species!  Rolling grassy hills with wheat stubble are the perfect combo, and even though it was pushing 70, we let Kali out on a small strip of CRP and she found three birds.  Sophia dropped the first one, again with the second barrel (?!) and notched her second upland species...

 As you can see, it's just a really beautiful part of the world to wander with your kid and your dog.  Birds are simply a bonus.  Oh, Kali said "enough with the camera already" and refused to pose.

At this point the rear brakes decided to fail on UPLNDR so we made for Miles City, MT, after one more stop to look at Montana's badlands ... found a shop near the motel; talked small towns and diesel trucks and hunting with the owner for 20 minutes, then he gave me a ride back to the motel.  Giving the mechanic Sophia's two birds (less a few feathers) for his dinner and he's gonna get us out first this morning!  God, I love red counties...
Then we're off for Little Bighorn before making a mad dash south to avoid the worst part of the winter storm coming in this afternoon ... ain't got nothing that prepares me for -7, or even a high of 12 for that matter.  Except heated museums!  Will return north when the storm has passed.