Christine July 15th, 2010
This is the main stage area of the National Folks Festival last weekend in Butte, MT. We were pretty much blown and rained off this hill while we were waiting for a band from Quebec to begin playing. We hung around in the the storm a long while but the band was waiting for the wind to die down. We finally had to leave. Prior to this we listened to Irish and Blue Grass band, both of which we enjoyed greatly.
Christine June 13th, 2010
…. after days and days of rain. OK, weeks of rain. Onto the water we go to seek out serenity. The afternoon turns out to have more sunshine than clouds, but this is how we begin – with clouds, yet the water is calm on Flathead Lake. Click these photos if you would like to see a larger version.
The water, which is usually crystal clear, is murky right now with run-off and lots of yellow pollen. The yellow powder gathers and collects at the shoreline – sticking to everything, including the canoe!
The cliffs along the lake are full of green and blooming things like this wild Coral Bell.
Raven rests happily along the lake. Just sitting here quietly for a moment or two is enough. We have this stretch of shore to ourselves for most of the day. Some sun screen and camp chairs make it perfect.
Christine June 10th, 2010
As always, many thanks to the intrepid sky watchers at Sky Watch Friday. Here is an evening shot on the lake where we paddled by canoe. This spot was closed off up above due to a soft roadbed. Summer begins; more picnics to come!
Christine May 26th, 2010
So far, I have posted photos from many of the lakes over on the other side of the mountains but not of Salmon Lake – at least not recently. There are a series of lakes on the east side of the Mission Mountains fed by the Clearwater River. It takes us a couple hours driving time to get there even though they are directly 24 miles east of us across the mountains. We have yet to canoe them all but we are getting close to doing so. Below is Salmon Lake. Salmon is by far the most likely to be choppy in the afternoon. And no, I don’t know if there are salmon in there but probably. It is a shallow lake and great for swimming in the summer because the water heats up before all the rest of the lakes. There are some great spots to beach the boat and have a picnic too, if the turtles don’t mind too much. This photo is taken from the lower end of Salmon looking towards a large bend where it curves quite a bit further on. All these photos enlarge if you click on ‘em.
Sparkling Diamonds on Rainy Lake – there’s a loon out there somewhere. They like their water private. It baffles me as to WHY the Fish, Wildlife and Parks makes such a fuss about the loons and then the agency continues to allow jet skis and other high powered boats on these lakes. It’s crazy-making.
A hawk feather, I believe. It was quite large. We just left it there.
And the willows were just coming out on Rainy Lake when I took this photo. These lakes sit at about 4,000 plus feet. This weekend we might get back to the lake area, or we might try Glacier Park depending on the weather.
Christine May 18th, 2010
The Scamp above is nestled into a nook at the campground which is free until Memorial Day. One night the sky cleared up and the stars were like I had never seen them before. Their sight gave new meaning to the song by Canadian songwriter Bruce Cockburn: Lord of the star fields. We stood there in awe while the proverbial shooting star streaked across the 2 am sky getting lost in the all the pinprick points of light. Wow.
Speaking of sparks in the night: The campfire in the evening was quite welcome as there was still snow left in small piles throughout the campground and boat launch. The temperature at night fell into the high 30’s. Cheery, warm and contented we fell asleep in our little egg. The next morning we explored the beaver dam upstream the Clearwater a few feet. There was quite a strong current but we had no trouble maneuvering.
Christine May 16th, 2010
We combined our first camping trip of the season with the first excursion for the Red Raven over to Lake Alva for the weekend. Finally! I was nearly ready to crawl out of my skin itching to get out on the water. Patience was our reward as the weather was beautiful.
Lake Alva sits at about 4000 feet directly across the Mission Mountains from our house here in Mission – 24 miles as the crow flies. I love the fact that if I look straight east and think: 24 miles-there it is – I can conjure a beautiful picture in my mind. There is a very harrowing, bumpy road which crosses the Missions over to the lake district but we have never taken it. Instead we drive south to Missoula and up the Blackfoot River to the Clearwater. Rather a round about way when you think about how fast the crow can fly there. We found Alva tranquil and quiet. In this area we spotted a pair of loons near Loon Island. Shshhh….
This photo was taken yesterday from the far side of the lake from the boat launch looking towards the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
And this is the evening glow of the Lake taken from near the boat launch. How often does it happen that you get the whole lake to yourself?
Christine March 28th, 2010
This is spring break week for us here in western Montana. Since the temperature was in the 60’s we decided to take a short drive today out to Kerr Dam on the Flathead River and on the way back we picked up some bark for landscaping in our back yard. Day trips are about all I can manage at the moment but I am out walking quite a bit and feeling pretty well! Thank you again for all the kind and wonderful messages.
Here is a view of the Flathead River from above the dam and the Mission Mountains to the east. Some people were asking how long the snow will last in the mountains. Usually there is snow there well into June but this year I wouldn’t dare to guess given our warm, spring weather. We have a week of blustery, rainy weather ahead (of course we do – given it is spring break!) so hopefully the Missions will get another good layer of snow up there.
Christine March 8th, 2010
One bright spot in the day of a range cow is the daily feeding hour. As soon as the tractor entered the field there was a neat line forming. This photo I took on the morning of a funeral for the father of this ranch family in the valley where my folks live. Jack established the ranch many decades ago as a young man and now his son and grandchildren will run the operations. Life goes on and the chores have to be done regardless of what happens back at the ranch house. I bet that’s the way old Jack would have wanted it.
Christine February 8th, 2010
We used to spend summers in this city when I was a little girl. My father was working on his Master’s and we usually spent close to a month in the heart of the city during the sessions he attended at the Theological school. I have so many wonderful memories of these times – walking the pier, my mother buying crab right off the boat, going to the zoo, taking the ferry over to Victoria…it was magical for a little girl from small town Montana. I have been back only once to Vancouver as an adult and it is a much busier, greatly larger place now. It is about the only city I am truly in love with. Enjoy this video which I discovered on the Dish.
Christine January 20th, 2010
The frozen Clark Fork River looking west in the opposite direction of a similar photo posted two days ago. This scene reminds me a little of that Kate Bush song about skating on a river which has frozen over on itself. You can listen to it here – Under Ice – it is only a couple minutes long. I always got goose bumps from this song and not in a good way, but I think that is exactly what she intended for the song to do. We have had a bit of an air inversion all over western Montana the last few days. A blanket of fog and no sun means no fun! My brother informed me that he likes that closed in feeling if he has a good book and a nice cup of tea on hand. He has a point. But I still say… (not my bridge art).
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