2014 in Review, Part II

American Bison (bison bison) on the National Bison Range

Moiese, Montana

July 6, 2014

July was a month for entertaining friends at home, viewing wildlife around the state, and not an insignificant amount of in-state travel.  In addition to the bison shown above, I managed to get pictures of antelope also at the Bison Range, ducks in Missoula, and even a cow and calf moose on our own property near Plains.  My dahlias brightened the deck with their red, pink, lavendar, and yellow blossoms, and one of the large orchids given me by my friend Hank deigned to bloom--one small, solitary bloom, but one I could photograph, none-the-less.  I got some wonderful shots of Glacier National Park, taken from the backseat of Kevin's big red Ford.  Not having to drive Going-to-the-Sun, I was able to see (and capture) scenes that have always eluded me when driving that narrow, twisting road.

Canadian Pacific Railway Water Tower

Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada

August 6, 2014

August brought us another WarmShowers guest.  WarmShowers is an on-line community of bicycle tourists and people who can host them, offering them a warm shower, as it were.  We have hosted many such guests over the past couple of years as Montana Highway 200 is one of only two roads into the state from the west that don't involve crossing a mountain pass.  The day after our guest left, we took a day trip up to Cranbrook, British Columbia, the first time I had been out of the country in three years.  I was able to find a few geocaches while there, which allowed me to add a foreign "souvenir" to my geocaching statistics.  We went to Trout Creek for their annual Huckleberry Festival.  A Scottish pipe band was visiting from Sandpoint, and I recalled the day, some thirty or more years back, when our Scottish Country Dance group from Missoula performed in Trout Creek. We also traveled to Butte for one day of the Montana Folklore Festival, and spent a great day near Sheridan with friends from Butte and our gracious host Jim Schwindt.  August also brought lots of blooms in the guise of my dahlias, my hibiscus, some lovely and quite different petunias, and the patch of wildflowers that grew like crazy around the pond in our front yard.  (Ok, they're not really wild.  We bought a packet of wildflower seeds and spread them in the dirt around the pond.)

Two Medicine Lake

Glacier National Park, Montana

September 21, 2014

The beginning of September brought my dear friend Ken to visit from Fairbanks.  I've known Ken since the early 1970s when he was my first Scottish Country Dance teacher in Berkeley.  I traveled to Turkey with Ken in October, 2000, and it was great fun getting to act as his tour guide this time around.  Together we drove through the Mission Valley and around Flathead Lake, we took another day trip to Cranbrook, this time to visit the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel, and we spent a couple of days in Glacier. Our garden started producing peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, more tomatoes that we could use, actually, but we do have quite a few jars of home made tomato sauce and tomato juice in the pantry now.  Our one and only CouchSurfing guest visited from southern California, and during the week that he stayed with us, I got to play tour guide all over again, including another two days in Glacier.  We drove Going-to-the-Sun on the last day it was open for the season, and a few days later rode our bikes down the Hiawatha Trail on the last day it was open for the season.  In between, we hiked into Cabin Lake, a four mile hike (one-way) from the trailhead along the West Fork of the Thompson River.  We also made another trip to the Ross Creek Cedars.  All in all, September was a great month for being outdoors.

Bowman Lake

Glacier National Park, Montana

October 13, 2014

October started with a hike up Spring Creek, a few miles west of home, and ended with a four-day down and back trip to Phoenix, Arizona, a trip I've already recounted in this blog.  In between I turned that magic age, 65, and went on Medicare, which dropped my medical insurance costs significantly.  Another visit to the Ross Creek Cedars, and yet one more to Glacier, this time to the western side of the park, where we visited Polebridge and then Kintla and Bowman Lakes.  A week later we drove up Going-to-the Sun one last time (the road was closed at Logan Pass), and I got some beautiful photos of the fog in the McDonald Valley.  I spent more time in Glacier Park in 2014 than any other year in my life.  It's a beautiful place to visit, and I look forward to many more exploratory trips.  Having a Federal Senior Pass means that I don't have to pay entrance fees, nor do any of the people traveling with me.  Come for a visit and I'll show you the Park as well.

Loaf Shaped Como Bread, Fresh From the Oven

November 11, 2014

It's been an unusual year, weather-wise.  I still had flowers blooming on November 1st.  Most of the photos I took during November were loaves of bread I baked.  I pulled out my stone mill and ground my own wheat berries to make what has become our favorite bread, a version of Como Bread that calls for both sourdough starter and yeast, as well as both whole wheat flour and white bread flower.  I have made it free-form and in loaf pans, and have used primarily the home-ground flour with just a touch of white, as well as two-thirds white to one-third home-ground.  It doesn't seem to matter, we love this bread.  With Thanksgiving, my "Christmas" cactus bloomed yet again, but by the end of the month, the only flowers we had blooming were the occasional hibiscus which I had moved to the family room downstairs.

Mount Baldy

Sanders County, Montana

December 25, 2014

December brought snow, then rain, and on the night before Christmas, more snow.  We did have a white Christmas, at least at 12 Kay Wood Drive, if not in the town of Plains itself.  December also saw me say good-bye to my trusty 1989 Ford F-250 and the 11' Lance camper that rode on its back.  We haven't used the rig in the two plus years we've been here, so it was time for it to find a new home.  More bread, more hibiscus blooms, and an early Christmas present.  In the Spring, I had the opportunity to try a new GPS unit, and while I found it somewhat frustrating to use without proper instructions, I knew that I could learn it given time, so I asked for a Garmin Montana 650t for Christmas.  Kevin found one on-line and ordered it.  I showed up a week or so before Christmas, and after asking my Facebook friends for advice, I decided that life is short.  I was able to use the unit for several geocaching jaunts, most of which I've written about earlier in this blog.  I love it, and I'm so grateful to Kevin for buying it for me.  We have one week left in 2014, and who knows what mischief I can get into in that time.  I hope you have enjoyed spending the year with me, and I look forward to chatting with you through the new year.  Please feel free to leave any comments you might have on the blog site.  I know people are looking at the site, I see the number of visitors.  But almost no one ever leaves me any messages.  Go on, I promise I won't bite.

7. Flathead County, Montana

7

As I have noted in earlier posts, at the time Montana Territory was created in 1864, most of the land west of the Continental Divide was in Missoula County, first formed in 1860 as one of the counties of Washington Territory. Montana became a state as part of the Omnibus Statehood Act of 1889, and Missoula County remained undivided. That would change in the 1890s. In 1891, the Great Northern Railroad arrived in the Flathead Valley and established its division point north of Flathead Lake. In 1892, the city of Kalispell was incorporated around that railroad division point, and in 1893, Flathead County was created out of the northern extent of Missoula County. In years to come, Lincoln (number 56) and Lake (number 15) Counties would be formed out of Flathead.

The Flathead County Court House

Flathead County was established in 1893 and the courthouse built in 1903. The county takes its name from Flathead Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, which in turn is named for the Salish people native to the area erroneously named the Flathead Indians by early explorers. The county seat is Kalispell.

Flathead Lake and the Mission Mountains

Today, Flathead County is one of Montana’s fastest growing areas. It offers year round recreational opportunities situated as it is between Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake. One of Montana's main destination ski resorts is The Big Mountain, located just north of Whitefish, Flathead County's second largest city. Whitefish is served by Amtrak, as is Essex, at the southern end of Glacier National Park. The Izaac Walton Inn at Essex was originally the Great Northern Station and Hotel. Essex is the point where the railroad puts extra locomotive power on trains to get them over the Continental Divide at Marias Pass, just a few miles east. I always try to schedule my trips through the area so that I can have either lunch or dinner at the Inn. For the really adventurous, the Inn has railcars refurbished as overnight cabins, and they're working on redoing a locomotive to serve as a cabin.

Lake MacDonald, Glacier National Park

In 2000, the US Census showed 74,471 people living in the community. The 2009 estimates indicate a 20.3% growth rate, with an estimated county population of 89,624, making it the fourth most populous county in Montana. Flathead County is unusual in Montana in that there are five communities in the county with a population over 1500. Each city has its own feel and atmosphere. Most have resort-based economies. Some of the best theatre I've ever enjoyed was at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, at the northeast corner of Flathead Lake.

While no interstate highway comes close to Flathead County, you can drive there on US 93 which stretches from Phoenix Arizona to the Canadian border and, as British Columbia 93 continues on toward Revelstoke, Radium Hot Springs and Kootenai National Park, then as Alberta 93 through Banff National Park and Jasper National Park. The main east-west highway is US 2, known in Montana as the Hi-Line, which runs from Everett, Washington to Houlton, Maine, with a section crossing southern Canada between Michigan and New York. As noted above, Amtrak has two stops in Flathead County, the only Montana county with two Amtrak stations, and air travelers can fly into Glacier International Airport (Airport Code FCA), located at a midpoint between Kalispell, Whitefish and Columbia Falls.

Looking North into Glacier National Park

Photo Information:

Flathead County Sign: Composed in Photoshop CS4.

Flathead County Court House: Taken 2/28/2010 in Kalispell, Montana. Nikon D80 DSLR, Nikkor 16-85 mm wide angle/tele/zoom lens set at 26 mm. ISO 125, f /16.0, 1/20 second. Finished in Photoshop CS4.

Home on Flathead Lake: Taken 2/28/2010 near Lakeside, Montana. Nikon D80 DSLR, Nikkor 16-85 mm wide angle/tele/zoom lens set at 85 mm. ISO 125, f /16.0, 1/125 second. Finished in Photoshop CS4.

Lake MacDonald: Taken 7/18/2009 in Glacier National Park. Nikon D80 DSLR, Sigma 18-50 mm tele/zoom lens set at 50 mm. ISO 125, f /8.0, 1/250 second. Finished in Photoshop CS4.

Glacier Park View: Taken 7/18/2009 near Marias Pass on U.S. Highway 2, Flathead County, Montana. Nikon D80 DSLR, Sigma 50 mm lens. ISO 200, f /4.8, three exposures blended to make an HDR image in Photoshop CS4.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Rattlesnake Creek in January
Taken 1/3/09 in Missoula, Montana

Looking back at the year 2009, I can only say that it's been a strange and sometimes wild ride. I started my new job on December 1st, 2008, so there was no time for any holiday outings either last Christmas or New Years.

The beginning of January I was able to get Kevin out on cross-country skis. We headed up Spring Gulch at the trailhead to the Rattlesnake Wilderness Area, just a few miles from home. Kevin never quite got the technique required to manage skinny skis with no metal edges. He prefers downhill skiing. I did get a good shot of Rattlesnake Creek with its banks covered with snow. One of the few photos I'm proud of from 2009. I'm sorry to say that was the only ski trip I took all winter.

Mid January found me taking my first (and so far only) business trip out-of-state. My boss, a co-worker and I flew from Missoula to San José California, then rented a car to drive on to Monterey where we had meetings with the staff at the Defense Language Institute. That trip got off to a rocky start when our plane was unable to land in Seattle, but flew on to Portland instead, which really messed up our connections. Still, we made it to Monterey and had a good time there. I'd driven through Monterey before--years and years before--but had never spent a night there, so we were able to do a bit of sightseeing and wonderful eating while in the area. Our hotel was just at the end of Cannery Row, so I had to reread Steinbeck before the trip. It was worth it.

Toward the very end of January, Kevin stopped by my office with bad news. My former partner, Gary Pitts, had moved to Denver in May, 2008, looking for a more urban experience and higher pay. Apparently Denver was not the promised land, and in late January, Gary committed suicide. He had taken our twelve-year-old diabetic dog Rocky with him, and while there was nothing more I could do for Gary, I could do something for Rocky who was now in the hands of Denver Animal Control. Having secured their agreement to release the fellow to my care, Kevin and I headed out, driving to Denver and back in one long weekend. Along the way we stayed overnight with a good friend in Big Timber, Montana, and once in Denver we stayed with Gary's best friend from New Orleans days, Miss Lurline, AKA Terry Hurley and his partner Al. When we picked Rocky up, I wasn't sure he'd make the trip home alive. He was in pretty rough shape. Who knows how long he'd been alone in Gary's apartment before Animal Control rescued him, and while Rocky wears a tag noting that he is diabetic, Gary hadn't left any instructions as to how much insulin he needed. I'm happy to say that eleven months later, Rocky is doing fine, has a thick black shiny coat and a great disposition.

Spring came and went with no high spots, and thankfully no more low spots, and eventually Summer arrived. The one major change in our lives was the addition of yet another rescue. A friend had found a male MinPin running loose in an industrial area, tried unsuccessfully to find an owner, and asked if we would take care of him while she advertised a "found dog." We readily agreed, and Major, as we named him, became part of our family, albeit one we had to watch constantly as his preferred activity was to run away.

We made a few trips up to the cabin, but never spent the night there, and didn't take the camper out for any overnights either. In August we did have a visit from my old Berkeley friend Sandy Stedinger and her husband Jon. They had been camping in Glacier National Park, and Sandy was able to spend an additional week with Kevin and me while Jon flew home to San Diego. Sandy and I put the canoe in the Bitterroot and floated from Lolo to Maclay Flats one afternoon. That was the only time I had the canoe in the water all year.

Canoeing the Bitterroot River
August, 2009

In September, I got to drive a University van and took a delegation of five academics from VietNam to Glacier National Park. We had good weather for the whole day, a seventeen hour drive that took us to Holland Lake, Hungry Horse Reservoir, lunch at the Isaac Walton Inn in Essex, East Glacier, then up and over the Going-to-the-Sun highway across the center of Glacier Park. Four of the five VietNamese were from Can Tho University in the Mekong Delta. They were studying the effects of climate change--a field of study that is vital as the Mekong is disappearing as the waters rise.

Two Medicine Lake, Glacier National Park
Taken August 30, 2009

By early October, I was climbing the walls and Kevin insisted that I had to take some time off work for some R&R. With that encouragement, I agreed, and we put all four dogs in the truck and took off for Mount Rushmore. Kevin had never been to that presidential site, and I'm always up for a road trip, so why not. I've written up the first five days of that trip in my blog, and will eventually post the final day, but long story short, early October 2009 was the wrong time to take a vacation--at least in the frozen northland. I've taken to calling the trip "The 2000 Mile Sunday Drive," but a Sunday Drive should never include rain, snow, blizzards and wind, wind and more wind. Especially when you're driving a 3/4 ton, four-wheel drive pickup loaded with a 3,000 pound camper. We got about 7 miles to the gallon on the trip and saw more snow covered roads than I care to see in a one-week period. The storms covered Wyoming, and my first (and so far only) view of Devil's Tower was of a huge pillar reaching up into the low-hanging clouds. Fortunately, by the time we reached Rapid City, the snow had stopped falling and Mount Rushmore was glorious with bright blue sky and white ground.

Part of my rationale for the trip was that it would allow me to continue collecting photographs of the 56 county court houses in Montana, and I insisted that our route would have to include the few Montana counties I had never visited. By the time we got home, just in time for record cold temperatures (near zero in mid October), I could say that I have now been in all of Montana's counties, and I have photographs of the Court Houses from about 2/3s of them. Major got away from us three times during the trip--he almost got to find himself a new home in Cody, Wyoming--but all six of us returned safely to Missoula. (Thank you, Kevin, for all that driving.)

Black Roses on my Birthday Cake
Taken 10/17/09 in Missoula, Montana

Just after returning from the trip, I turned 60. Hard to believe I'm that old--but I'm not sure what 60 is supposed to feel like. I think I'm much younger than my father was at 60, but I never talked about age with him, so who knows. And speaking of birthdays, today, Christmas Eve, Kevin turns 55. Just a kid--a kid who got stuck with having a birthday the day before Christmas.

The Missoula Gay Men's Chorus presented our fifth annual Christmas Cabaret in early December, and I sang bass as usual. This year I did not sing any solo, but enjoyed the camaraderie of my fellow choristers and the response of the full house. This was our most traditional concert in ten years of singing together, and also, I feel, our best performance. I wish you all could have been there.

This Christmas finds us spending a quiet time at home, just the six of us. We wish you and yours a most joyful Christmas, fully keeping in mind the reason for the season. We ask you to join us in prayers for Peace on Earth, and for the safety of our soldiers and the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. Finally, may 2010 bring you happiness, health and a truly wonder-filled year.

Love, laughter, hugs and kisses.

From our home to yours
Rocky, Bryan, Gypsy, Minnie, Kevin, Major
Taken 12/24/09 in Missoula, Montana

Adventures in HDR

But I see your true colors
shining through
I see your true colors
and that's why I love you
so don't be afraid to let them show
your true colors
true colors are beautiful
like a rainbow

--Cyndi Lauper

To hear Cyndi Lauper sing True Colors, click here.

Indian Paintbrush--finally an image I like!
HDR Image taken 7/18/09
Glacier National Park, Montana

I'm not a Ham Radio operator, nor do I claim to understand the passion that so many Ham operators seem to have for their activity. I can appreciate the service they give to the community, especially in times of peril, and I can see how it can be fun to talk with anyone or everyone while you're driving down the road. I do go into on-line chat rooms, after all, and I see little difference other than Ham Radio is much older as an activity.

That said, as many of you know from reading my blogs over the past year, I'm all but married (Thanks DOMA, for nothing) to a Ham operator, and some of our closest friends are also Hams. (Is that what they're called? I'm afraid to ask.) Yesterday our friend Mike drove us up to the Waterton Glacier Hamfest for 2009. We attended the 2008 get together as well, and we couldn't help but notice that a lot more people were driving to northern Montana this year than last. Could it be that gas is no longer over $4.00 a gallon?

A Hamfest like this is a chance for people to get together, swap stories and equipment, and even take in a few activities of mutual interest. Personally, once I've gone around the ring of motor homes and seen all the old equipment I care to see, I'd just as soon leave the chatting to those who share a passion. My passion is photography, so while Kevin and Mike chatted with fellow Hams, I headed out around the campground, camera, bag and tripod in hand.

Very Showy Aster
HDR Image Taken 7/18/09
Glacier National Park, Montana

You may remember my previous posts on High Density Range photographic imagery. If not, you can read about it here and here. One of the main things I have learned is that a tripod is more than a luxury, actually more of a necessity if you want your pictures to come out at all well. I've also learned that I never seem to have the right lens fitted to the camera, so this time I had both the tripod and the camera bag with all my lenses with me.

As in previous HDR work, I started out with flowers--the wildflowers growing around the campground. These were mainly Queen Anne's Lace, Daisies, Showy Asters, and Indian Paintbrush. I love paintbrush, but have never been able to get a decent photo of the plant. My shots have always looked as if they would make better impressionist paintings than crisp, bright photographs. This trip I worked a lot on shooting paintbrush. I like the image at the top of the page. Hope you do too.

Fence
HDR Image Taken 7/18/09
Glacier National Park, Montana

But where I had questioned HDR imagery before was in landscape photography. Since my earlier attempts, which frankly made me wonder what was the big deal with HDR, I've read that some photographers use HDR in landscape work because they feel it renders the image more life-like. The colors come out closer to what the eye sees. I therefore resolved to move away from macro shots of flowers, and try again with the landscape work. I'm pretty pleased with the way things turned out. As you can see here, I not only tried landscapes, but also some middle ground shots like the fence above, and even a stolen red pickup. (In case you're wondering, I'm putting together a photo book of red pickups I've seen around the country. They are "stolen" only in that I don't tell the owner what I'm doing nor do I ask permission.)

I did partake in one of the Hamfest activities. I suppose because people who are into one kind of gadget are also into others, there was a special workshop on GPS units and geocaching. As a novice geocacher with 150+ finds to my credit, I attended the workshop. Turns out it was very basic, intended for people who had little to no experience with geocaching, and I can't say I learned anything new. I did have several people ask me about my camera and photography, though, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Shortly after the geocaching workshop, we heard the chop-chop-chop of a helicopter overhead. Yes, it was one of those confounded black helicopters the conspiracy theorists love to complain about. After circling the area about three times, it landed in the field where I'd been taking photos earlier in the day. Ah--it was Homeland Security come to check up on us. We were, after all, practically on an international border and there were lots of non-US flags flying (Canada, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan were the ones I saw). Lots of US flags were flying as well, as befits an international gathering. I have no idea what the Customs and Border Protection folk were doing there, but in no time they had drawn a large crowd, many of whom climbed into the chopper.

Birch Grove

HDR Image Taken 7/18/09
Glacier National Park, Montana
If you choose to look at only one image full screen,
choose this one!

By this time, we were ready for lunch, and since the burger line was so long at the gathering, Mike, Kevin and I headed back toward West Glacier. I was happy to introduce Mike to the Isaac Walton Inn at Essex, Montana--a former Great Northern Railroad Hotel on the south edge of Glacier Park. We stopped there for lunch (and more photos). I had a great buffalo French dip. Kevin and Mike were more conventional in their choices, but we were all happy with our meal. I would give the Isaac Walton Inn my highest recommendation. The food is always good, the location is beautiful, and the rooms are reasonable. Give it a try next time you're in the area.

After lunch, we headed on to West Glacier, and then into the park itself. Stopping first at Apgar Village, I got some very nice pictures of the old Gearjammer Ford motorcoaches that still carry tourists up and over Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Highway. I also got some nice views of Lake McDonald both from Apgar Village and from the Lake McDonald Lodge.

We all had such a great time, that we decided that next weekend we'd head back to Glacier and this time drive all the way across the park on Going to the Sun. As I took no more images for HDR processing after leaving the hamfest, you won't see any of my Glacier Park pictures in this post. You can see them, however, on my Picasa on-line galleries. The HDR photos are all in the album Adventures in HDR and the images I've processed normally are in the 20090718 album.

As always, all links and photos can be viewed in a new window. I really recommend looking at the images I've shared on this post in a full screen mode--just double click on the image and it will open full screen in a new window. And while we're at it, what do you think of this landscape HDR shot?

Looking into Glacier National Park
HDR Image Taken 7/18/09