Two major hikes

I have been trying to get into a little better shape.... one not quite as round! As luck would have it, I live in the Rocky Mountains and a good hike is only a few minutes away. I did two pretty awesome (for me, anyway) hikes this past summer.

One hike was to Elkhorn Peak. Here I am at the summit... a measly 9,422 feet! LOL This hike took Joe and I all day to do. The pedometer on my cell phone clocked the hike as 11.9 miles from start to finish, and we felt every step of those eleven miles the next day! It was a pretty intense uphill battle, then rock hopping over those boulders you see in the background to reach the top.

The small ghost town of Elkhorn can be seen here as a few white buildings just behind the rocks. That is just about where we started hiking from!!

Now I know that there are hikers out there that could bag this summit in only a few hours, but neither Joe nor I are one of them! As major hikes go, this one ranks up in the top three that we have accomplished. The other two would be the Highline Trail and Quartz Lake-- both in Glacier National Park. The 12-mile Hanging Garden trail near York, MT (Vigilante Campground is the trail head) was a bitch, too, so I better include it for posterity!

A few weeks after hiking Ellkhorn, we chose to tackle a closer to home and lower elevation peak. We hiked to the two highest points in the Scratchgravel Hills. These photos were taken just down from the summit at an elevation of about 5100ft. This is the view from the top looking North:

It is a nice view of the "Sleeping Giant". Can you pick him out? One other item of note-- I can see my house from here!! LOL The road that is very visible is Green Meadow Drive and that is the road I live off of. Not very green, but hey! That is how Montana can be in late August. Here is a photo looking South-East, down onto Helena from the same spot:

From this vantage point, you can see Elkhorn Peak. It is the highest point in the blue mountains that are across the back of the photo.

You can also see some of the damage from the Mountain Bark Beetle. That is what is killing the pine trees in the foreground. There are some areas that the kill is much worse killing the trees on entire mountains. Dead forests don't just look bad, they are dangerous too. One careless smoker or campfire, or even a lightening strike could cause a devistating fire that would burn hot and fast. For this reason, the forest service and parks departments are teaming up with local volunteers to cut down the dead trees and donate the wood to LIEAP (Low Income Energy Assistance Program). LIEAP then doles out cut cords of wood as a heat source for their clients who have fireplaces or wood stoves as a main heating source at no cost. With a cord of wood selling for $150-$250, this program is going to help out many low income families this winter.

With winter fast approaching, I don't think I will have the chance to do much more hiking over the next few months. I did buy a Wii and the Wii Fit and I plan on using it while it is cold outside. I don't want to just sit around and loose the little bit of ground I have gained (or lost, really!) trying to get into better shape. I hope to be able to go cross-country skiing this winter, too. I didn't even go once last winter!! It is something I really enjoy, just didn't have the time while working. One thing I have alot of since being unemployed is time!

Gonna go watch the first snow storm blow through the valley now....and hope it drops more than just a dusting of the white stuff--

Another update soon!

Montana Fire Season, from quiet to busy in one week!

Fire at Holter Lake 9/9/09

Is that tiny bucket of water really going to do much good?! 9/9/09

The big news around here is about fires. We had been enjoying a very quiet fire season this year, but not anymore! Wednesday of last week a large fire broke out near one of our most popular lakes. Holter Lake, formed by a dam on the Missouri River, is a sportsman's paradise. The lake is usually dotted with boats of all types and the surrounding land is dotted with many campgrounds and private cabins. On nice weekends, folks flock to the lake from Great Falls (to the north) and Helena (south of the lake) to fish, hunt, boat, or camp. During the week, especially now that school is in session and summer is unofficially over, there aren't many people playing in the area. That was a good thing last week. The fire broke out in or near a campground in the late morning and burned out quite a few camper-trailers before taking off into the wooded hills. The pine beetle had killed enough of the trees to allow the fire to take a quick jump in size... 2400 acres in only one day! The good news? The fire was on the 'far side' of the lake, where there are fewer cabins. The state had fire crews in place quickly, but the flames were too high and fast for men on the ground. By Wednesday evening the fire was being fought with chemical drops from airplanes and water drops from helicopters. My photos were taken Wednesday evening as I was driving home to Helena. **For you locals out there... my vantage point was the Augusta Exit. Now, five days later, there is hardly any smoke rising from the valley and roads into the area are reopened. I hope it is all under control BECAUSE... only a relatively few miles to the south:

Helena North Hills Fire 9/14/09

....Today, Monday, a fire broke out in the North Hills of the Helena Valley. This is a much more populated area, and the smoke plume could be seen clearly throughout the valley. I figure my house is, as the crow flies, about five or six miles from this fire. I can smell the smoke drifting into my windows as I am typing. I don't know anything about this fire yet... like how it started, or where EXACTLY it is, but looking out the window and seeing the smoke is a bit unsettling. As I watched from my driveway (where the photo was taken) I could see the setting sun reflecting off of two firefighter planes. I am sure this fire will be attacked from all sides and put out quickly. Our wildfire crews are awesome, and with many houses in danger they won't be getting much sleep until the entire thing is contained and totally out.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature is not planning to help out any time soon. The afternoon temperatures are supposed to be in the mid to high 80's, lows in the 50's, and no rain.

The best laid plans....

I was planning on writing part two of my Washington trip, and adding some more photos last night, but Mother Nature had another idea for me.
We have been having some pretty severe weather passing through the Helena area and last night was no exception.
Like many of natures shows, this one was beautiful! The sun was setting through the rain storm making the west glow orange with the occasional lightning strike for punctuation. As the storm quickly moved to the east my home was in it's path, causing some power flickers, so I shut down all the electronic stuff. I did look out the window and saw a full double rainbow, but the rain was coming down too hard to take my digital camera (or cell phone) outside. I love rain storms so I stood at my front door and watched.
The storm moved on, the clouds reflecting the sunset, which made them a brilliant mixture of pinks and oranges.
As the sun set, and the weather cleared, I once again turned on the home computer to write a post.... then I heard sirens in the distance. One, no big deal. Two, must have been an accident. But by the time I registered there were four or five emergency vehicles I just had to look! I could see some smoke rising from a forested hill about four miles from my house and a stream of flashing red lights heading towards it. One of those lightning strikes had started a fire.
With Brooke (my dog) "singing" along with the sirens, and the curiosity that is human nature... I abandoned the blog post and sat on my porch watching until it was full dark.
I will finish "part 2", and also "What I did on the 4th" this weekend. I promise! I have tons of photos to share!

Playing Catch-up!

I promised to write about my short trip to Newport, Washington that I took two weekends ago, so here I am fulfilling that promise.

Sometime near the middle of May I was asked to attend a friends surprise 60th birthday party. This is a friend that I haven't seen in fifteen years (or more!). I was happy to be invited and Joe, my boss, allowed me to take the day off. As the day approached, I became more and more apprehensive about attending. I didn't know anyone that was attending except my own family and the birthday boy and his wife.

When I start to feel this way, many times I chicken out and make some lame excuse as to why I suddenly cannot attend. I have to admit, I was very close to that! But, I did want to see Don and his wife so I packed up the Rav-4 and had an adventure!

I worked a full day on Thursday, then headed north from Great Falls to Kalispell. I had packed a cooler with easy meals so I wouldn't have to eat fast food and I had plenty of cold drinks, too, so I didn't have to stop at the convenience stores. I am not used to eating my supper until about 8pm, so I didn't eat before leaving town at 6pm. By the time I was passing through the tiny town of Valier, I was feeling a little hungry, so I stopped at a picnic area next to Lake Francis. Here is where I ate:

After eating a quick meal consisting of some crackers, cheese, ham, and tuna salad... followed by a dessert of fresh strawberries (thanks, Albert!), I got back on the highway. The drive from Great Falls to Kalispell takes you from the Plains of Central Montana, along the Rocky Mountain Front, and finally into the heart of the Rocky Mountains. About 50 miles of the trip you are in the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. At each boundary line on the major highways the Indians have placed sculptures like these:

This one is at East Glacier, where I left the Reservation. I forgot to take a photo of the sculptures when I entered the Reservation just out of Valier while the sun was still up! Silly me! It was about 9:30pm when I stopped here, and the sun was behind the mountains casting everything in early evening shadows. These sculptures are life sized warriors mounted on horses. They are made completely out of old car parts and the three I have seen are all different! Oh yeah, for all you fellow Geocachers... there is a cache hidden here, too!

After leaving the Blackfoot Reservation and passing through the tiny tourist trap town of East Glacier, the highway enters the mountains. The Great Bear wilderness is to the left, while the towering peaks of Glacier National Park flank the right. Although the light was not good enough for photos, I could see the scenery quite well as I travelled along. The beargrass was in bloom everywhere! I also stopped at a place called Goat Lick and watched mountain goat nannys and kids playing on a steep hillside. The mountain goats like this particular place because salts and minerals seep out of the rocks here.

I finished the drive to Kalispell without another stop, arriving at my daughters home at about 11:15pm. She had already gone to bed, but had left blankets and a pillow for me on the couch. I don't care what anyone says... I personally think a couch at a loved one's home is far better than an impersonal hotel room! I settled in, and a few moments later I was befriended by one of the cats, Socks, who decided I needed company. He slept on my hip, or behind my legs all night. It has been years since I owned a cat, so I thoroughly enjoyed his company.

Friday dawned bright and early. I was awake for about half an hour before Heather and the grandkids, so I quietly enjoyed the morning. I had thought we were going to be leaving Kalispell for Newport, WA fairly early... only to find out my Mike ( my SIL) didn't get off of work until 10am, then they had a few errands to run before leaving town. That meant we weren't going to be on the road until about noon or so. After showering, I had nothing to do so I accompanied my ex-husband on a few errands. He and I had an early lunch at a local taco joint (Taco John's) before I left him to finish his packing while I filled my gas tank and washed the previous nights bugs off the car. Had I known we weren't leaving until noon, I could have left Great Falls early Friday morning instead of driving so late at night. *sigh!* Kids! Oh well...

I had told everyone that I was stopping at Kootenai Falls just outside the town of Libby, no matter what time we left. Everyone else thought that was a great idea, so we planned to all meet there. By everyone, I mean Heather, Mike, and their kids in one car, Harry (my ex) in his car, and me in mine. We were all heading different directions on Saturday after the party, so sharing rides was out of the question. Besides, I didn't want to ride with Harry because although we get along OK, that many hours in a small space, the fact he smokes and I don't, and the crazy way he drives would have combined to push me over the proverbial edge and I would have had to strangle him.

U.S. Highway 2 from Kalispell to Newport, WA is a beautiful drive. Had I been on my own and not part of a caravan, I would have stopped and taken many photos. The only stop we made was at the waterfalls. The photo does not do them justice!

Not too far from the Kootenai Falls is a suspension foot bridge across the river. Harry and I hiked to it since we knew Heather and Mike were at least half an hour behind us leaving Kalispell. They had stopped at McDonald's Drive-Thru for their lunch on the way out of town. The bridge was awesome! I would have loved to have been able to spend more time in the area exploring, so I know I will return! Here are a couple of photos of the bridge:

See the people? I don't know who they are, but I wanted them in the photo to show scale. It's a pretty wide river! Here is one from the "far side" looking back the way I had just came. I snapped the photo, then went back across and hiked the half mile back to the parking lot.

I am glad I insisted on stopping at the falls. It is a beautiful place that I will return to. Next time I will be sure to have more time. I have a goal of taking better pictures of the falls themselves.

We didn't stop the rest of the trip, driving through Libby, MT; then across the Idaho panhandle through Bonner's Ferry, ID; and Sandpoint, ID. Bonner's Ferry and Sandpoint are beautiful towns and appear to be rich in history. I will return there, too!

The state line between Idaho and Washington runs through the middle of what looks like one town, but the Idaho side is named Old Town, while the Washington side is Newport. We had arrived at our destination!

It was 4:15pm Pacific time, and Don's surprise party was to be at 5pm. We checked into our hotel rooms and headed to the restaurant / bar where everyone was to gather before Don showed up. He thought he was meeting his wife and two grown boys for a quiet dinner. His friends and family were so good at keeping the secret that he was truly surprised. His wife had even managed to fly his sister and brother in from California, picking them up from the airport only hours before the party!

The party went well, but I did end up sitting on the sidelines the majority of the evening. I wasn't alone, though. Mike, my SIL, didn't know anyone either, so we drank our bar drinks and "people watched" together. Heather was mingling with some of the guests she had met after Harry and I had divorced while her kids had found other kids to play with. After Heather said her hello's, she joined us, with Harry coming and going as he saw old friends from his past.

I was thankful the party began breaking up early, and was pretty much over by 8:30. Heather and Mike had found out about a carnival that was in town, so they took the kids to that while Harry and I drove out to Don's home to spend some more time with them. I had never been to this house, so I was given "The Tour". Their home is right on the banks of the Pend Oreille River (pronounced Ponderay). While out on the boat dock, I took a photo of the last rays of the evenings sunset:

We visited with Don and his family until about 11:30pm, then returned to the motel. Heather and Mike were just returning also, so after the kids were put in bed all the adults fixed their drink of choice and we sat outside enjoying the summer night. It had been a good day.

(To Be Continued: Saturdays Adventure!)

WTF?!?

It IS June, isn't it? Wait a sec while I check the calendar on my cell phone.....
Yep..
June 5th!
As I am sitting here at work, I hear the Weather man come on the radio and he says we have a SNOW ADVISORY for this weekend! What??!! SNOW?? Jeeze! It's JUNE! You know...flowers, trips to the lake, BBQ's, motorcycle rides, and sunburns! NOT temps in the 30's and 40's, with the possibility of that wintry white s**t.... um, I mean, stuff! (I don't want to hear it, Joe! He's all excited about it.)
I am hoping that the snow stays in the mountains and it only rains in the lower elevations (Albert, let me know how much you get way up where you are!). I guess I'll have to find something to cover my tomato plants this time. I don't think the one I refer to as "Plant #1" can take another freeze, and "Plant #2" is only about 6 inches tall and not very sturdy yet.
The ground won't freeze, so I don't have to worry about all the seeds I just planted.

Boy! Did I pick a doozy of a year to decide to learn how to garden? :-) I guess if I can get anything out of the ground and to the freezer this year, then next year should be a cake walk.

I'll let ya'all know how it all pans out on Monday.....

Back to Work, Safe and Sound (Part 1- Friday and Saturday)

The last few posts were a bit of a teaser to what I did over the Memorial Day weekend. Joe's mother was in dire need of a vacation, so she decided to head west from her home just outside of Pittsburgh, PA to visit her sisters and son. Her sisters all met in Pocatello, Idaho at one of their homes. Instead of paying for another airline ticket from Idaho to Montana, Joe decided to drive down and pick her up. This also gave us the ability to show her some of Montana's historic sites and scenery.

On Friday, Joe and I had to work until 6pm. We had decided to break the trip from Great Falls to Pocatello in half, so we left right after work and headed south. We didn't even eat any supper before driving out of town! It was strange driving right past Helena, throwing a wave out of the window in the general direction of my house. We pulled off the Interstate at about 8:15pm in Butte, MT (155 miles from Great Falls); and ate a quick meal at the Burger King there. A top off of the gas tank, and we were back on the highway in no time. The drive south from Butte to Dillon (57 miles), where we stopped for the night, was scenery we have only seen on a couple of occasions. Seeing new things helped the time and miles pass by. We arrived in Dillon, MT right around 9:30pm and picked out a motel. The rates were pretty low, considering we were travelling on a holiday weekend. We then drove to the local Safeway (grocery) store and bought some breakfast food as we were leaving an hour before the motel's Continental Breakfast room was opened. The room was clean, the bed comfortable, the night pretty quiet... but I had a hard time falling asleep. I would doze a bit, then wake... off and on, until about 2am. The plans were to be on the road by 6am, so when the alarm went off at 5:15 I really wasn't ready to wake up! Joe was already in the shower, so I drug my butt out of bed and got all my stuff ready for my shower and morning routine. I did feel much better after the shower, and eating the bagel with some Orange Juice for breakfast gave me a little boost of energy. The sun was rising as we were heading out of town, and since it was Memorial Weekend, I took the photo of the Flags and the Military Monument.

Saturday Joe and I drove from Dillon, MT to Pocatello, ID (191 miles); only stopping for a couple of geocaches and potty breaks along the way. We arrived at Joe's aunt's home around 10:30am. Introductions were made, we exchanged some small talk, then Joe's mom was ready to go. She told us later (over lunch) that she was happy to see her sisters, but she was VERY much ready to be leaving their company! We didn't waste any time in heading back north... we were back on the Interstate by 11:30am. It had been quite awhile since our small breakfast in the hotel, so we decided to stop for a good lunch in Idaho Falls, ID. Idaho Falls is a very pretty town, and I hope to see more of it someday. We chose to have our lunch at the Olive Garden, which was very good. By chance, I powered up my GPS receiver and noticed we were only 400 feet from a geocache! What luck! It was with this hide (and find) that Joe and I introduced Joe's mother to our little sport. She was ready to find another right away. Since this wasn't planned as a geocaching trip, I hadn't downloaded very many hides, and most of the ones I did were right off the highway in rest stops or tiny towns. Gretchen (Joe's mom) was ready to hit the highway and instructed us to stop at the next goecache so she could find another!
The geocaches along the route to the Montana border were placed just far enough apart to be good leg-stretchers, but not so close that we were stopping all the time. At the Montana border (Monida Pass) we stopped and took a photo under the Welcome to Montana sign for Gretchen's scrapbook. She was loving the mountains and the rustic pioneer homes that dotted the landscape.
The "Old West" ghost town of Bannack lies only 21 miles off the Interstate Highway near Dillon. Gretchen had told Joe that she would like to see the town (now a state park) if she ever came to Montana... so, we took the small detour to Montana's first territorial capital. I'll write more abut Bannack later. I only got a few photos because my camera was acting up, but I promise I'll share them with you. We spent over an hour going in the old cabins and reading the history of each one. The town and many of the buildings are said to be haunted, but the ghosts left us alone while we visited.
Heading north, once again, we arrived in Butte, MT at about 8:30pm. None of us were really hungry after such a heavy Italian lunch, but we needed something small to eat. Gretchen suggested chicken fingers from Burger King. Joe and I just shrugged... Why Not? Neither of us mentioned we had eaten there just about 24 hours ago! So, we had a Deja Vu moment, exiting at Butte, MT; going through the BK drive-thru, stopping at the gas station, and back onto the highway... only heading towards Helena this time.
Sixty-three miles and just about an hour later, we arrived in Helena, MT. The drive from Butte to Helena is beautiful! The highway follows a river through forested mountains and granite cliffs. Along the way, you pass a number of old gold and silver mines and the towns that sprung up around them. The sun was setting and the sky was washed with brilliant roses, magentas, and oranges. A wonderful light show to welcome Gretchen to our state.
The weekend plan was to stay at my house then head farther north to Kalispell, and Glacier Park... so we stopped at Wal Mart as we passed through Helena to pick up a few items, and drove the final 10 miles to my home. By then, it was a little after 9:30pm. A thunderstorm was going strong about 40 miles away giving us a show in the western sky as the clouds covered the remains of the sunset.
After 502 miles in one day , it was good to take a hot shower and sleep in my own bed... just so we could do another 702 miles over the rest of the long weekend. (...to be continued. See Back to work, safe and sound, part 2.)

East Glacier, Cut Bank, and Shelby, MT

Since we never made it to Kalispell (which is on the other side of those mountains!), Joe and I decided to make the most of being along the High Line of Montana and do some sight seeing. As you can see, Sunday was a beautiful day. This photo is of an old house that collapsed, leaving just the front entry area standing. You can see by the drift that hasn't melted by the door just how much snow this area can get! This was taken about 10 miles east of East Glacier. The mountains in the background are part of Glacier National Park.

As we were driving along Highway 2, we saw a sign pointing to a Historic Point. Joe and I always stop at these! Just off the highway, there was this monument to Captain Meriweather Lewis of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition. The full monument is actually an obelisk about 15 feet tall, but it most of it is covered in graffiti and shot gun blasts. The entire area around the monument was littered with empty and broken beer and liquor bottles. So Sad! This is still on the Blackfoot Reservation, and it seems everything they are given they destroy. I'm not being discriminatory against the tribe, or any American Indians, but of all the reservations I have been on, the Blackfeet seem to have the most garbage, broken down vehicles, and dirty, dilapidated towns. They profess "Native Pride" but I have yet to see any evidence of it. They live in such a beautiful place, too! I am nearly driven to tears any time I drive through Browning, MT. It hurts my own Montana Pride when I see how badly they are treating their land and resources.

Looking up from the Monument, this next photo is the view! Breathtaking!

This is what is known as the Northern Rocky Mountain Front, or the Front Range of the Rockies. The mountains just jump right out of the plains! No foothills, just rolling fields then steep mountain sides. I could go into a geology lesson about the Overthrust Belt, and how these mountains were formed, but if you really want to know all of that, you can do a search on the 'Net. Geologists say there is a large amount of oil deposits along the Rocky Mountain Front, but the environmentalists and conservationists have kept that from being accessed. I have mixed feelings about the whole idea, and I don't feel like being political today, so that is all I am going to say on the subject, for now.

What is the "high-line", anyways? It is the local term for the area across the top of Montana, usually in reference to either the railroad or Highway 2 which crosses the state from east to west, only a few dozen miles from the Canadian border. Anyone who has been along the high line knows the power of the wind, which blows constantly! Finally, Montana has the opportunity to harvest this clean energy source. We are one of the leaders in wind generated power in the U.S. Wind farms like this one are being built across the eastern two-thirds of the state. I think it is an awesome thing, but there seems to be quite a number of people against these wind farms. I don't even try to understand those people! They want electricity, but don't want us to drill for the oil that is known to exist along the Rocky Mountain Front, they don't want Coal generated plants, and NOW they are against wind farms! I just shake my head in frustration. This particular wind farm is located between the towns of Cut Bank and Shelby.

I had to laugh at this guy, and knew I had to share this one with everyone! Cut Bank is in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the coldest place in the Continental US. AND... yes, it was pretty cold on Sunday. I think the temperature was actually in the high 30's, but the wind made it very uncomfortable. I would have to say the wind chill was close to 10 or 15 degrees. Joe and I were geocaching in the area, and my pen became so cold it didn't want to write. (The same thing was happening to my fingers, too! LOL)

Welcome to Shelby, Montana, and the United States of America! This is a HUGE flag. The smaller flag poles are standard, school or city sized ones. Shelby is the first town of any substantial size after crossing into Montana from Canada. By the way, those small mountains in the background? They are right on the US side of the border.

This little farm house is in a field between Shelby and Great Falls. As you can see, the wind has nearly knocked it over. We have many homestead cabins and barns that lean at strange, gravity defying angles! I wanted to get a photo of this one before it finally succumbed to the elements.

Another point of interest: As you can see, Montana is not all mountains! Only the western third has the mountains, while the rest of the state looks much like this photo. One of our biggest crops is wheat, and where the wheat isn't growing we have cows.

SO-- that is what we did this past weekend. After being on the road, exploring places we haven't been to before, I am now suffering from cabin fever! I want it to warm up so we can explore more of the state.

Just another Monday.

So, today is President's Day. What does that mean to me? Pretty much Nada, nothing, zilch. I had to come into work and deal with all the people who DO have the day off! For the most part, everyone is being decent, but there are the Uppity few who think we have to drop everything to work on their phones because "I need it!" or "I just can't be without it for two hours!" or "I am only in town for today, and this is my last stop before heading back home." (Now why, oh why, did they not make us the FIRST stop?)
Sorry, Folks, but we do all work on a first in, first worked on basis. We don't care if you think you are "Going to die" without your cell phone, you really will make it through! Trust us on this!

OK, now that that is off my chest...
After dealing with a bugger of a cold, I think I really, truely... ok, hopefully am getting better. This virus seems to take hold and not want to leave. I have been talking to many customers who have had it, too. We all agree, it really sucks! The kicker? It seems my fellow co-worker and friend Joe is getting it. All I can say to him is "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to share!"

Valentine's Day came and went, with only a little mention. I sat at home alone most of the day, Facebooking, reading blogs, going through some crochet pattern books, laundry, and dishes. Just me and Brooke, my "puppy" (she is 70lbs and 10 years old!). Joe came by after he was finished with work and bless his heart, he brought me a card and box of chocolates! Then we called up a couple of our friends and we all went out to the local Chinese Buffet for dinner. On the way home, I bought a boquet of flowers for my mom and stopped by her house. Joe and I visited my parents for about an hour. Then home. I did hear an interesting story though... see my next post for that one!

Sunday Joe and I decided to take the hour drive to see our friends in Deer Lodge. We had only planned to be there for a few hours, but we were invited to join them for dinner at a local restaurant, so we didn't leave for Helena until about 7:30pm, arriving home close to 8:30. Highlights of the day?
*We went to the hills and "played" with the boy's guns. I got to shoot a 17mm Magnum (revolver) and a 40 s&w automatic. Don't ask me anything about them... they are guns, they shoot bullets, they make loud noises...LOL!
*We almost got stuck in a snowbank.
*We had steak and crab legs for supper, washed down with a glass of white zin (served by clueless bar maid. I asked her about a house white, she offered the "white zin" as the only "white" wine they have, which is NOT a white wine! I look at the menu afterwards, and they offer a Chardonney by the glass, which IS a white! LOL) Dinner was decent, the crab very good, but the steak was only OK. The company we were in was excellent!
*AND--I put two dollars into a Keno gambling machine, and won 6! Ok, so I could have tried to "Hit it Big", but I am never THAT lucky, and decided to cash out.

All in all, a good visit, putting an end to a good weekend!

Time to catch up

To everyone who asked (here and in personal e-mail)-- Yes, I am OK. Wait...! I am as ok as I get-- we are not counting mental health here! LOL
Saturday afternoon Joe and I decided to head over to Missoula for a Geocaching event there. It was a pizza party and many of our geocaching friends were going to be in attendance. Missoula is about a two and a half hour drive from Great Falls. Joe was driving, so I could just sit and relax and watch the scenery go by. We had plans to stay in a local motel overnight before heading to Helena on Sunday.
The event (party) was tons of fun! Joe and I met some new cachers (people who geocache), caught up with many others, we both won a gift, ate some awesome pizza, and had a very good time. If anyone takes a trip to Missoula, Mt I would suggest the buffet at Freemo's Pizza. Excellent food for a great price.
Near the end of the evening, as people were heading out into the cold and snow, we were asked by a family we are friends with where we were planning on staying the evening. We told them the name of a local hotel, but that we hadn't checked in yet. They offered up their home and their good company for the evening. We accepted, and finished off Saturday evening visiting with Peggy, Ron, and Peggy's mom, Mary. They opened a very nice bottle of Port wine, then when that was gone, Mary produced Blue Martinis for everyone. We were all tucked into bed by midnight. SO, a Saturday that started out very badly, ended very nicely.
After leaving our friends home, Joe and I headed to Helena, which is about two hours from Missoula. Since the route takes us close to Deer Lodge, MT (only 15 miles out of our way); we dropped in to see Jeff and Barb. They are friends who moved recently from Helena. Jeff had been called in to work, and his wife Barb had decided to take a trip to Missoula to go shopping. We ate a good lunch (prepared by Jeff since he is a cook at a local restaurant), visited with him for a minute or two, then, while we were there, dropped in to see "Mom", Jeff's mother.
After about an hour in Deer Lodge, we were back on the road to Helena.

Once in Helena, I had to take my couch frame over to my dad's wood shop for repairs. This is part of a whole 'nuther post (tomorrow, maybe?) that started with this post on "Diary of a Stay at Home Mom's" blog about cleaning out the couch! Stay tuned for THAT story!

A late Sunday afternoon nap, then a visit to another friends home for about an hour, followed by a salad for dinner (had to redeem myself after pigging out on pizza the evening before). I picked up my now FIXED couch at about 8pm, loved the puppy for awhile, then off to bed.

All in all, a very good weekend, once I got the body moving! I saw many friends that I had not seen for months, travelled a total of 458 miles (and didn't have to drive at all!), and got my couch repaired when I was thinking it was "done for"!

Is it spring yet?

I can't wait until spring. I am tired of it being pitch dark before I even leave work at 6pm. I am one of those rare breeds of people who love to live here in Montana, but can't stand the winters. It is not so much the snow, cold temperatures, or driving on bad wintry roads. I really don't like being stuck in the dark for so many hours a day (night?). Yeah, I know the solstice was on Dec 21st, so yeah, I know the days are getting longer... but at THREE minutes a day?! Today the sunrise was at 8:11AM, the sunset was at 4:58pm. Eight to Five. Since when does the sun work the same hours as much of the United States?

I guess it goes without saying that my favorite day of the year is the Summer Solstice. Here in Montana the sky is light until 10:30pm, and the morning light streaks across the sky about 4am. You are able to head out for a mountain hike early, and arrive back at camp (or even home) before the sun sets. Right now? It is dark when the alarm goes off, then dark long before the work day is finished. There is no way to get in a bit of cross country skiing in before or after work, unless you really know the trail and don't mind skiing in the dark. My weekends are full of chores, so it doesn't look like I am going to be heading out to the trails anytime soon.

Oh well.... I guess I can still put in an aerobics DVD. Fun, Fun!!

Joe's Photos of Our Christmas Eagle

Joe took these photos of our special Christmas Day visitor. This Bald Eagle was pearched on top of mom and dad's power pole. As you can tell, the sky was overcast, so the background is as white as snow. It would have been super-cool if the skies had been clear Montana Blue, but this was still SOooo Awesome!. He hung around the area for most of the morning. I think the extreme cold temperatures may have killed a rabbit nearby and the slightly warmer temperatures on Christmas Day allowed the eagle to smell his supper.

Joe's photo of the Christmas Stroll

We went to the Great Falls Christmas Stroll last night. It was nice, but not as festive as Helena's or East Helena's festivities. I'll post more about it later, but you can read about it on my other blog if you want to hear about it Right Now.
Joe posted a photo of the Great Falls Civic Center and official city tree on his blog-- You can check it out here:
http://montanascarecrow.blogspot.com/2008/12/stroll-tree.html

Heading home to Helena... more on Monday!

The Begining!

Running Eagle Falls, Glacier National Park


Montana is known as the Big Sky Country, the Treasure State, Land where the deer and the antelope play, and yes, we do have roaming buffalo, too! I have lived in Montana for most of my life and never plan to live anywhere else, if I can help it. I do love to travel, but Montana will always be home. I have lived all over the western half, in the towns of Bozeman, Helena, Great Falls, Kalispell, and even a brief jaunt in Butte. Each place has its own charm, unique people, and culture. My favorite towns were Bozeman and Kalispell, because they are the most scenic. As an amateur photographer, the nearby mountains, lakes, and waterfalls of both of these towns gave me inspiration. Kalispell is also very close to my favorite place in the entire state... Glacier National Park. The towering mountains capped with snow and clouds; the streams and rivers that thunder through the valleys in the spring becoming mere trickles or burbling brooks by September's end; the singing birds, feeding deer, or occasional bear that appear along Going To The Sun Highway; the miles and miles of trails that transport you to another reality.... all this and more are the reasons I love Glacier Park. Although many people believe Glacier is a summertime park, I have been inside its borders at least once during each of the 12 months. The same place you see in May looks different in September or December. The lakes change colors, different flowers bloom throughout the summer, and the snow brings an ethereal peace that I haven't found matched anywhere else. If I could live in or very near Glacier Park I would be a very happy and blessed soul.