Cross Country Skiing

So...we went skiing on Monday.  A friend's father is a ski instructor. He gave us

some pointers.  I think he was just making us feel good.  We went to a place

called Chief Joseph.  It is at 7,200 feet on the Idaho and Montana border.  There

was about 3 feet of snow and because of recent snowfall the trails were

not in their usual 'groomed' state.  We actually enjoyed it.  The trees were beautiful and we

will definitely do it again.

First stop...the outhouse!

At one time this forest was clear cut...no trees.  

See the little tracks from our skis?

 Monica was having a hard time.  She called it snow "trudging"

:)

Interesting tidbit.  This cabin is in the park.  It is open during the day to anyone passing along.  You 

can warm up by the fire or get some hot chocolate or tea.  You can rent it for  the night, but you assume

host responsibilities during the day.  You keep the fire going and clean the place up.

It is only 9 bucks a night!!!  $35 in the summer months.

That is crazy!

This is the cabin.  It is basic.  No inside toilet and no running water, but there is plenty of 

water stored in the basement.  There is a wood stove and a little kitchen.  There is 

electric when the cells are charged (see solar panel on roof?), but it has little gas lamps.

There are several beds, but you must bring your own sleeping back and pillow.

I want to do this in the winter sooooooo bad.

Our instructor...taking a picture of us.  He is shy.

Part of our ski group.

The pink things around Monica's legs are called "gators".  They keep the snow 

out of your shoes...very important.

Snow trudging!

A peak of sun...

Skiing was awesome.  The guy at the ski rental place

chuckled when I told him I had not been skiing before.  I was highly offended!!!

Did not break anything, but took several graceful spills.  Was a lot of fun.

We will definitely do this again.

Snow at our level is not so much.  Most of it has melted.  Close to 50 degrees today.

Hope the sun comes out tomorrow.

Til next time...

Posting to Blog

Hey...

Some of you have tried to post comments on the blog, but they didn't go through.  I think I fixed that problem.  So try leaving your messages again.  Hope to get them.

Montana Sights

The mountains here are spectacular.  Clear days are hard to come by though.

This is what you can see...

Try to block out the power lines and houses in the foreground :)

The next two pictures are atop "Big Mountain" aka Whitefish Resort...the lake is Whitefish Lake

Flathead Lake...pertiful!

Clark Fork River at Thompson Falls, MT

 Big Sky Country!  Took this hanging out the window...

 Lake McDonald at Glacier Park...it was a cloudy, rainy day.

Burned area in forest.  

Little trees are growing back.

People...

Vince and Jennifer were here. They got in a cage with a bear.  Vince was afraid (note fear in face)

Then they were fine :)

AWWWWW......

That's not a person!  

Vince, Garrett, and whose that guy on the end????

Notice we all wear those funny hats :)

and...Lord Nigel!

Don't ask...he is dirty, but very respectable.  Lord Nigel is the owner of a friend.

He rescued my friend in Portland. He (Lord Nigel) is feeling a little 

under the weather, but will be well soon.

We were walking at the park and found Lord Nigel's grandma!  She is a 

very early model Volvo.

Vince, Jennifer, Jessica and Anthony...some of our normal friends here in Montana :)

Hope everyone is well.  Lots of people are sick here, but so far we seem to be

out-running it.  Vince and Jennifer were here for 10 days.  That was nice.

We hope they come back in the summer time when we can actually get into

the park.

I need to strap my camera to my back.  So many times I don't have it with me.

Pictures don't really convey the breath-taking sights, hilarious chats, and wonderful

people we are meeting.  One more picture...he is shy :)

Love to everyone!!!

Fall in Montana

This is a conglomeration of pictures I have been meaning to post.

This is called Treasure Mountain.

The yellow you see are larch trees...aka tamarack.  They are pine trees

that change in the fall and loose their needles.  Weird!!!

Yes...it has snowed here.

 This is another view of Treasure Mountain.

 This is a metal sculpture.  There is a guy in Libby Montana that makes these. They are

all over town.  This one is huge.  

 See how detailed. This is all metal.

This one was cool too.

This is all metal too.

The feather is metal
also. I couldn't believe how detailed it was. Several places across town had these sculptures.

This is a mountain ash. It has berries on it and the leaves change to yellow. Very pretty.

These are the Cabinet mountains.

I think...

  Big Horn Sheep.  I called them horny big sheep, but I was corrected :)

Kootenai (Koot-nee) Falls Trail

Kootenai Falls

Monica!!  It was the first day of hunting season and Monica was wearing

blaze orange so they wouldn't get shot!

 They have swingin' bridges here too!

Monica and friends...

 Larch tree close up...

It is getting cold here.  Winter has begun.  There have been some pretty views of the 

mountains.  They are all around us here.  These are just a few pictures.

We have been told they are predicting a mild

winter.  Whoever THEY are...

I am sure it doesn't come with a money-back guarantee!

Hope all are well. It is a busy time of year.  Lots going on.

I hope to catch up soon.  Time will tell.

Monica says hello to everyone.