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

The Two Thousand Mile Sunday Drive--Day Four

Look at that face -
Just look at it,
Look at that fabulous face of yours.
I knew first look I took at it,
This was the face that the world adores.

Look at those eyes -
As wise and as deep as the sea.
Look at that nose -
It shows what a nose should be.

--Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley

To hear Barbara Streisand sing a portion of "Look at that Face," click here.

After breakfast at the Hotel, we loaded up the kids and headed east on I-90 toward Rapid City. Rapid City calls itself the Presidential City and has statues of various US presidents on almost every downtown corner. Of course this is based on its proximity to Mount Rushmore. A brief visit to Best Buy allowed me to buy a charger for my Nikon's battery (with adaptable plates to accept virtually every battery Nikon has ever put in a digital camera). We didn't spend any extra time visiting the city, however, as we really wanted to get to Rushmore. The news report on the previous evening had noted that because of the storms we had driven through, the monument was closed to the public on Monday. Tuesday's sky was bright and clear without a single cloud visible, so we were hoping that we'd be able to see the carved granite up close and personal.

There is so much traffic between Rapid City and Rushmore, that most of the way is a divided four-lane road. The last few miles, however, are two lane leading to a parking area where we had to pay $10 to park the beast. Our Golden Eagle pass was no help as there is no admission fee, per se, just a fee to park in a privately owned facility. Of course we really didn't need to park and walk. The mountain and its carving is visible for quite a ways. But the newly constructed viewing area was interesting in its own right--not only for the fact that the approach to the mountain has been changed. If you look at my photo of the faces, you'll see Washington looking straight out at us, while the other three are at an angle. The view used by the state of South Dakota, however, is more what I remember from previous trips to Rushmore. Washington is facing at an angle and Roosevelt and Jefferson are more "head on." I guess it's just another example of nothing being permanent but change.

Taken 10/6/09 at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

After a respectful amount of time out in the cold air, we climbed back in the truck and drove on through the Black Hills, up hill and down, past lots of different tourist traps, as my father would have called them. At Pactola Lake, we stopped to let the critters do their business, and once again, Major got away from us. While I tried to head him off, dragging three other dogs with me, Kevin ran after him and was soon able to grab him.

Lake Pactola, South Dakota
Taken 10/6/09

Back in the truck, we drove on to Deadwood, which, while having many interesting historical buildings, looks nothing like the town in the tv show. While Kevin dropped some money on a blackjack table at Cadillac Jack's Casino, I walked around town getting a few photos.

From Deadwood we headed back to Spearfish, this time driving north on US 85 to Belle Fourche where we stopped for lunch. I told Kevin not to have any dessert, as there were great milkshakes waiting for us at Crow Buttes. I did ask our waitress if the general store at that particular wide spot in the road still served shakes, but she didn't know what I was talking about. She must not ever drive north from Belle Fourche because right at the north end of town was a billboard advertising the Crow Buttes Mercantile.

Belle Fourche (pronounced Foosh, btw), is the eastern end of a cattle trail out of southern Montana. The story of the area was told in a 1972 John Wayne movie, The Cowboys, as Kevin and our restaurant menu told me. It is also the town closest to the geographical center of the United States--a place I visited two years ago.

A little less than an hour north of town, we crossed the county line from Butte to Harding County and stopped at Crow Buttes. I'm pleased to note that the great milkshake I had two years ago on the 6,000 Mile Sunday Drive was replicated on this trip. The store, its gas pumps, rv hookup sites and living quarters are for sale, should any of you wish to buy a job out in the middle of nowhere.

The Crow Buttes (and US Highway 85)
Harding County, South Dakota
Taken 10/6/09

Crow Buttes is the site of a tragic event in native american history. A sign erected by the Butte County Historical Society tells of a battle in 1822 between the Sioux and the Crow. The Sioux attacked a Crow Camp, and when the Crow men fled to the hills to gain a better vantage point, the Sioux raped the Crow women. The Crow men, having no water, died of thirst on the hills which the Sioux had encircled. Karma being what it is, the Sioux attackers died of a fever they contracted from the Crow. Truly a no-win situation.

Harding County is the northwestern most county in South Dakota and we soon passed into Bowman County, North Dakota. North of Bowman, we drove through Slope County--home of both the highest point in North Dakota (at 3600 feet it's just 400 feet higher than the valley floor where we live in Montana) and the smallest county seat in the nation. Amidon has an official population of 26 and the largest building in this village is, indeed, the Court House.

OK, It's not the Devil's Tower, but perhaps his bunion?
Taken 10/6/09 in Slope County North Dakota

We hit I-94 just west of Dickinson, and started our trip back to Montana stopping for the night at mile 1, Beach North Dakota, where, true to his vocation, Kevin parked the Beast between several larger rigs at the Flying J truck stop. We've now spent four days on the road and have stayed overnight in four different states. Tomorrow we're back in Montana. Stay tuned.