Some images from our trip to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in SW Montana about a month ago. Considerations:
1. The area is quite remote, so fill your tank sometime before leaving the pavement.
2. Cell phone reception is spotty at best.
3. The roads are fine, but they do get muddy after rain and snow melt. Some sections can be inundated in spring. The north end of the valley has a coarse sandy track that drains much better than the road on the south side.
4. It is high elevation (about 7,000 ft), so weather can turn any time of the year.
5. If it is not freezing, there are lots of mosquitoes!
6. The landscape and wildlife are phenomenal. Birding is spectacular. Note that there are both black bears and grizzly bears in this area, so leave no food or trash out that is accessible to them.
Bird species in the images: trumpeter swans and white-faced ibis.