Tag Archives: travel

Sharing the Woods

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I have a problem.  I admit it.  I’m addicted to moose.  I just can’t help it.  First of all, I was raised in Phoenix.  No moose there.  When I first came to Montana I was in Whitefish, and when I had the first moose in my front yard I was hooked.  Big, gangly, goofy looking thing. And adorable.  I was lucky enough to see them a few times in Glacier National Park – browsing around, tasting trees and shrubs, dipping their noses in the ponds, comfy in their lovely surroundings.  Then after I moved to Washington I saw none.  Withdrawal was hard.  After having to spend almost 10 years in there, I was tickled to come back to Montana, but, for unknown reasons, I never saw a moose in Lake County for the 18 years I was there.  Hmmm. And then I retired and moved to Hamilton.  Wow!

I had no idea that this is moose heaven, for them and for people like me.  The river areas and all the adjoining parks are home to them.  I got here in October and saw my first one in April, posing nicely in an area that, since then, I have probably seen more than 10.   Hard not to get hooked.  I have a new walking buddy, Ralph, and he’s as addicted as I am. 

Here’s Ralph in the trees getting pictures of a bull with his good camera last week –

Here’s samples of what he got that day –

Though I can go months without seeing one, mid-winter through April and maybe none in late summer, they make up for it the rest of the time.  They are big and dark but can be hard to see.  In the spring it’s mamas and babies, sometimes twins!  Often times it’s just cows.  In the fall there are more bulls, but always cows and yearlings to watch.  The males have especially big “bells” or dewlaps hanging off their necks.  Just goofy.

I took pictures of moose 4 times this week. 

Sometimes we see families.  Such a treat.  On Thursday we were surprised when a family came out of the bushes.  They were talking to each other, something I haven’t heard before.  Kind of grunting, whining, nasally sounds.  Probably planning to tease those humans with the cameras.  You gotta watch them – they can be aggressive.  At one point the bull stepped out in front of the cow and calf, right into the trail.  Ralph and I, Coco in tow of course, ran into the alders to clear a path for him.  He watched us closely but moved on.  We giggled and loved it.

It’s a precious gift to be able to go out to the river here, barely out of town, and share the beauty and serenity with the animals that call this home – deer, birds, bears, turtles, etc., etc., etc.  The river plays soft background music and the clouds stay busy painting shadows and highlighting dramatic geology in the canyons of the Bitterroots.

I can’t think of anything to say that is particularly profound or thought provoking about loving moose, but, as is always on my mind, the preservation and protection of such precious and generous creatures needs to be foremost in our minds.  Mining and logging and too many commercial projects can lead to the reduction and desecration of this shared land.  We have to keep it “as is” – for us and for them! 

Thanks to Ralph Bangs for the fun and the pictures!

Tuesday Treat

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My neighbor called me about 6:45 and asked “Are you interested in northern lights?”  Silly question.  Then he sent this picture he took of my house!

I was out the door so fast!!!  This isn’t what I could see as I stepped out but it’s what my camera saw.  OMG!!!

I decided to get out of my tight neighborhood and headed for a dark stretch of road not far from town.  Again, I was surprised that all I could see was vague red fog with a tinge of green.  But I got out the cell phone and wow! You’ve gotta hold the camera REAL STILL to take a shot. Got the big dipper showing off in this third one!

I wonder now how many times I’ve missed the auroras because I didn’t know a camera was necessary.  In the late 90s I drove up to Alaska, and somewhere in the Northwest Territories, just before bed, the horizon began to glow green.  I’d been told that was an indicator of better lights to come.  And when they came I could see them plainly.  Though I had a camera tucked away somewhere, there were no cell phones yet, and the green curtains waved to me as clear and bright as could be. 

A year ago there was an aurora prediction so I drove out and parked at a local cemetery, a lovely dark, spooky place, hoping to be awed by pulsing colors.  The lights never came.  Thinking back, I saw pale lights in the distance, looking like city lights miles away, and now I realize it was auroras, but had never heard of using my camera.  Don’t know how I’ve missed that trick all these years.

Silly me, I didn’t think to take a video, to see if that waving and stretching was happening with these colors.  I’ll pay more attention now what I understand the game. 

It sounds like all of you, in all 50 states, saw some kind of northern lights.  Wasn’t that a treat?!? They showed off a bit on Wednesday but not with the same vigor.  With the next prediction we can all be ready for more dazzling memories.  Our cells are always handy these days 😊

Photographer’s Heaven

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I’m a cell phone picture taker, not sure that qualifies as a photographer, but I’m still in heaven.  😊  Me and Coco go to the river every day, one of three accesses, and I take pictures every time, just can’t help it.  The river runs at the base of the Bitterroot Mountains, and the two of them put on such a good show.  Each season is awesome, and now I’m as pleased as can be to enjoy another autumn. 

There are no deep reds of anything native here, though all the local neighborhoods are splashed with shades of red maples.  Our local birch, willows, cottonwoods and dogwoods still know how to put on a show.  The colors are remarkable and can actually seem to be glowing!

Whether looking straight up through the birch or straight down, where willow leaves paper the ground artistically, there is pretty.  Just leaves floating in a backwater pond are a picture!

The angle of the sun can highlight the number of shades that yellow can come in, or back light with rays of gold.

It seems every few feet there’s another perfect composition.  How to decide?  At one access the river hums slowly by, allowing for reflections that sing out for me to capture them.

Just walking Coco to one of her favorite “get her feet wet” spots, we find scenery begging for attention.  We met a nice couple setting up to fly fish, who graciously posed for the classic Montana shot (and gave permission to use it).

Though it’s easy to enjoy this scenery alone, there are young and old, cell phones users and expensive-equipment photographers, casual walkers and dogs walking their owners out enjoying the display.  It’s fun to share and exclaim over the marvels before us, savoring what we can before the next show starts.  I hope you enjoyed it too!

Sweet Souvenirs

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It’s been too long since I’ve been to my lake west of Whitefish.  After our rainy camp out with the kayak in the van on the 4th of July, we needed a redo.

I’ve been going to this lake for over 30 years.  It’s comforting to know that some places never change, and my lake with the beaver lodge and scenic hikes has hardly changed at all – a phenomenon these days.   

I even got our favorite camping spot.  The other four spots stayed empty until late, always nice.  And this time we had exquisite weather.

I’ve just about gotten the inflatable kayak figured out.  Fast set up gets us out on the lake quickly so exploring can begin.  Not that I don’t know every curve and inset along the shore of this lake.  All my dogs have been out there with me and every time is a gift to be remembered.  This day we saw deer and ducks and a few fishermen.  The mountains put on a deep green summer show with billowy white clouds to enhance the blue sky.

For leg exercise, we did two hikes that took us back to little pocket lakes. Loons greeted us on one but the other we had to ourselves. Luckily no lions or bears. And I noticed serviceberries were ripe, early this year. I picked a few huckleberries as we trekked along but, like we found over the holiday at the spot in the Bitterroots, too small to attempt picking a good haul. But the serviceberries were prolific and fat so, yep, I picked a nice bunch, yummy souvenirs. I sang John Denver songs loudly to let the bears know I was there. So far that’s always worked and I’m sure John looks down knowing why any bears run away fast.

I always take home souvenirs.  It seems the beaver lodge is deserted, hard to know, but the lake is down enough that we could walk out and poke around on it a bit.  I always pick up an old piece of wood with beaver teeth marks and I picked a little wild mint.

A very successful camping trip – more than makes up for last time.  We did a lovely local hike right after we got home and stocked up on more berries and then the cooking began.  I’d rather have yummy syrup than jam and my efforts played out nicely.  Now we have more sweet souvenirs – memorable and edible!