In late April I drove to Columbia Hills State Park to visit the Dalles Mountain Ranch. The hillsides were ablaze with the golden flowers of arrow-leaf balsamroot and the purple flowers of desert lupine.

Thinking it would be a good day to spot some groundhogs, I wandered around the areas underneath the rimrock cliffs. Groundhogs enjoy the springtime sunshine and usually can be spotted sunning themselves on the rocks.

I not only spotted quite a few groundhogs, but was able to get close to several turkey vultures fighting with some crows over a carcass of a rabbit.

Turkey Vulture up close and personal

Groundhog country

Groundhog sunning itself on a rock

Rimrock cliffs

Groundhog “hiding” in the grass