“All along the Rockies you can feel it in the air…” Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Yesterday I took boys’ basketball teams to Hamilton, an historic and scenic little town south of Missoula. Lucky for me the main streets were within walking distance of the school. I parked downtown when we first got there so they could have lunch, then I walked back while the kids played.

The setting of Main Street would get even the scroogiest in the spirit. It’s hard to tell in the pics but there were lights and pine boughs and giant snow flakes all up and down the main streets. The weather cooperated nicely for strolling and for bus driving, and the surrounding mountains were dressed appropriately in winter attire.

As a special treat, I had a nice conversation and gave multiple pats and tickles to a black cocker, looking much like my Cooper but I could see Cassidy’s face in all that black cuteness!

Merry Christmas to all from Montana!

I was lucky to be in the right spot in the driver rotation Saturday and drove a kids’ ski club up to Big Mountain in Whitefish. It rained or snowed from start to finish of the trip, not my favorite thing, especially when it’s dark, but had a very fun day and I didn’t even ski! The snow was either too packed or too slushy for snowshoeing but I didn’t run out of things to do!

One of the other drivers lent me his DVD player so sat in the lodge at the base of one of the runs and watched Disney’s Haunted Mansion (not recommended) and next pic was the view from my table.

I walked up to the “village” and had soup in this building, which was there when I worked on the mountain 20 years ago, but almost everything else up there, the condos and the base lodge, are new. This was my view of a different run during lunch.

I walked and shuttled back down to the base lodge and read for a while, took a short nap in the bus, stood by a classic lodge fire. I got paid 🙂

It’s been so cold so far this winter, down to single digits. As I write this it’s 16.9 degrees. Sigh, a little early for this, but there’s a silver lining to all this cold like…

Standing by the warm oven when baking is done, like…

Kids catching snowflakes, like…

Snow landing on deer, like…

Friends who will hike with you no matter what the temperature, like…

Ice skirts around lake bushes, like…

Sara loving the snow and finding deer legs during hunting season, like icicles and glitter in the air. I can’t take pictures of glitter but found some great icicles today!

Another windy, rainy day in Northwest Montana. Staying in my jammies today close to the fire, if the dogs will make room, that is 🙂

Yesterday I was thankful it was dry, though terribly windy. I started my holiday by bundling up and taking the kids down the back slope, where they ran and played and wore themselves out. I was lucky to get to watch a bald eagle playing in the wind. It was blowing so hard that he flew at a complete standstill, his wings motionless. He was close enough that I could see him looking around the valley, his white head clear against the sky. I know eagles have no instinct for thankfulness or appreciation but I know it was having fun and I was grateful for both of us.

Then I made my sweet potato casserole and was off to Cindy’s folks for dinner. A good time was had by all with all the traditional holiday dishes contributed by a lot of talented cooks. Cindy’s mother-in-law made a uniquely Montana dessert – huckleberry pie! Of course, I ate too much! The old stove had been fired up and radiated warmth for soon-to-be-devoured squash, my sweet potatoes and a green bean casserole. The group picture is a little blurry but still tells the story. I hope the holiday was equally blessed for all of you!

Ha, hardly! After my morning route I was lucky to get to drive a bus to Kalispell, a 50-mile adventure, for repairs. Went from blasting through a squall of blowing snow that swirled around on the highway to clear, sunny skies bordered by mountains freshly draped with snow. After my boss picked me up we headed back through town and spotted legs in the air. It’s common to see deer in the back of trucks this time of year but rare to see elk. And this poor elk had been loaded up in a pretty comical manner.

My boss is a great guy and was kind enough to pull over at the lake so I could take a couple of pictures – the lake does weird things as it’s freezing up. We watched distorted mist and little wispy funnel clouds for miles along the west shore then drove through the same snowy squall line we’d hit on the way up. As soon as we got back from that we went and picked up a bus from Ronan, 20 miles south – that’s the last picture. Even with a town in the foreground the mountains are nothing short of majestic. Then I drove my afternoon run. Covered a lot of ground, saw gorgeous scenery, and got paid!

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If there are any pumpkins left they are wearing more than frost this morning – we awoke to a couple of inches of unpredicted snow! Perfect timing – Sunday morning, we lay in bed just watching it come down. No fretting over roads, ice, fog, or pre-warming buses 🙂 I started a fire first thing and Sara went out for her favorite activity – rooting around in the snow!!! Happy, warm winter to all!

I went out to get wood last night and there they were!!!!
Such a thrill to open that box and see my title, my name!!! And Lois wanted to get the first one out of the box, so I called her right over 🙂 Hollywood can call any time now 😀

October 21 is just around the corner, just nine days, and what happens that day? The release of The Sparrow’s Choice!!! Yay!!!

Did my first long trip yesterday. Three hours each way with the girls and boys soccer teams. Couldn’t have been a prettier drive up. I had a copilot, Butch, who is a great guy, happier than he looks here 🙂

Hard to tell from the pics but behind our purple team the leaves fell in a continuous curtain of mixed golds.

Clouds hid the dramatic mountains around this picturesque little town of Libby. Closed mines and mills have left it a depressed place, suffering like so many Montana towns. It didn’t dampen their enthusiasm for their soccer teams though.

I had time for lunch with Butch and then a walk around the neighborhood in between watching Polson score the only 3 points of the game.

It rained the whole way back – I learned real quick about windshield wipers and defrosters. Fun day, start to finish!