Bigger Heads : Happy in Montana

The causeway

A quick jaunt to the lake . Sunset is not too far off. It is said that living in a cold climate or high latitude causes the brain to work harder for survival . It makes you a bit more clever as your life does depend upon your ingenuity with the changing seasons. Shelter , food , clothing all need to be more proactive and prepared for versus hanging on the tropical beach. There is actually quite a bit of interesting research on this from adaptive skills to cranial and brain size. What kind of person goes around measuring brain sizes  ?

Foot path through the marsh

So a trip to Echo an hour before sunset .  I was looking for the Otters. The lake is quite frozen except for a small patch of open water up at the northern end of the marsh where the foot path winds across a culvert . I would suppose they are hanging out there now instead of down by the main Causeway.

Frozen Echo Lake and the Swans

 Below is a perfect Mouse House in the form of an old stump . It looks like the kind of house that some little critter would like  to have as home base.

A mouse house 

Pete's Ridge in the setting sun light 

 As we take a walk along the lake the sun starts to set lighting the surrounding peaks with some rosy twilight colors.

Heading home 

 After our hike we head back to the car and up the road to the house . The Swan Mountains are glowing . Sunset is an especially nice time here in the Northern latitudes. There are a few moments each day when the sky transforms to magic .

Jewel Basin

Goodnight for now to the Jewel Basin. Aptly named for it's gorgeous peaks and views.

Lazy Day Becomes the Long Night

 Lazy snowy day for errands . Snow all night and everything is newly frosted. The Swan is quite glowy in the afternoon sun. Some blue sky peaking through the snowy clouds . Heading East on the Swan Highway after the days chores in town.

 A particularly bright spot on the mountains north of Jewel Basin . I stop by the lake to see what is going on . It is a slow day so I wait by the lake by a hole in the ice. There are bubbles coming up so maybe some kind of animal is lurking under the ice. I have to be very quiet. I am sure it has super human hearing and even my shallow breathing can be detected by this unknown entity that is locked under the icy crust of the lake .

 My patience is rewarded by a river otter that surfaces and slithers onto the ice. It is breathing hard as it had to hold it's breath waiting for me to leave. Of course I didn't leave and now we are face to snoot. It watches me and I watch it. Then it dives back into the icy waters.

 Before it climbs out again it pokes it's head out and peaks around the border of the ice free hole.

 North end of the lake is quite still in the afternoon chill. It was fun to spend some time with the otter.

 Back on the road to the house . Hovering near freezing as I travel past Jewel Basin. The roads are not too slick but still have patches of ice.

 The trees at the top of Jewel Basin are covered in snow. These trees are quite tall but look tiny on the 7000 foot ridges.

The road into the basin is beckoning but more work to do so maybe another day .

A quiet day of exploring the great frozen North West gives way to the silence of the night. Tonight is the Long Night . Tomorrow is Solstice and we will once again welcome the sun back from it's long journey in the Winter sky.

After the Storm: Happy in Montana

striking out

 The day after the snow storm. There is something hypnotizing watching the flakes swirl from the blackness of the sky and collect on the deck. A foot of snow in the yard and a lot still on the county road. The plows do not run on the weekend. Or at least not yet in our neck of the woods. 3 distinct tracks which works well until you have oncoming traffic then someone has to go into the snow . As it turns out the majority of the snow fell in and next to the Foothills. Once I drove out of the Foothills, the snow was extremely light and the roads were dry. Onward with the day's errands.

North Shore of the Flathead

 The wind was blowing at a pretty good clip on the north shore. The Lake is always a welcome sight. It is like a mirage. As you travel south it rises out of the blur of the horizon and then makes itself known. At first you can't believe it is there in all of it's bigness , then you realize it is indeed real. It catches the sun and makes a grey day shimmery.

Wind picking up and making some white caps

 The water towards the north west area of the lake was a beautiful glacial green with white caps from the gusty bursts of wind.

Wetlands

The land on the north shore of Flathead lake is flat and full of wetlands and waterfowl nesting areas. Of course this shoreline is low and subject to flooding as well especially for high snow pack years. All of the snow melt from the western slopes of Glacier Park eventually finds it's way here to this lake via the Flathead River.

Echo Lake and the wintering waterfowl

On the way home I dipped down to see what was going on at Echo. Dozens of ducks and geese were swimming in the unfrozen part of the lake. Their squawking fills the air. I am not sure why I am drawn to ducks and geese. They seem to be so happy and they love their flocks. Their togetherness. Sometimes in this connected world I wonder if we have more togetherness or less?

Solo

 A cute solo duck paddling in the still waters of Echo Lake.

Snow transforms life to Still in Black and White

 Jewel Basin in still life and black and white. The snow has transformed the surrounding area into an Ansel Adam's like print. The north end of  Echo Lake is shallow and has started to freeze over. Echo is a gift of quiet whereas the Flathead Lake is a dynamic windy movement filled place.

Jewel Basin 

 The drive home is punctuated with dramatic skies and quiet snow covered meadows. As I drove past this coyote meadow a bald eagle flew over head. Greetings to the Eagle spirit. It is good to get back to the cozy house in the woods.

Black and white

The morning drive started in Black and White and various shades of grey. The valley is known for it's cloud cover in the winter. This has upon occasion driven the local population to late winter insanity. However I am good. No insanity here. I spent 14 years in the Southern Appalachians ( see my earlier blogs) and very interestingly the Smoky Mountains have some same weather features as the Western slopes of the Rockies. In a way I was perfectly preconditioned to live in the "valley of gloom ". Perhaps those are strong words. I actually am grateful for the cloud cover. It insulates us during the winter months so we do not plunge into the single or negative digits. It keeps the Good Earth somewhat moist. Less than the Smokies but more than a desert. So I celebrate our cloud cover.

Angus

 Neighboring Black Cows against a beautiful morning in a simple palette of greys.

Jewel Basin

 Driving home in the evening was a different story . Muted blues against the snow cover. Looking south the Swan and Jewel Basin are glowing .

Peter's Ridge

 Above a bit of Alpine glow graces the ridges above my house . I often look up at the tree line and wonder how many mountain lions are contemplating life in their rocky perches.

Eastern Foothills

 Access to the Strawberry Mountain Trail frosted with a few feet of snow . This is a great place to take a walk in the snow shoes.

 Last leg of the journey home . The roads are snow packed but quite passable. The sun is setting and drenching the sky with color. I spy my turnoff  just ahead and smile with satisfaction that I am home again.

Sunset looking towards the valley

 The last few rosy rays of pink light my way as I walk to the house . It has been a good day .

Alpine glow through the trees

A Jewel

 Sunday broke cool but not clear. We have had a lot of smoke in the valley from the Washington wild fires. No rain for most of August and September has made it impossible for the firefighters to get ahead of the fires west of us. We had thought about heading to Glacier but decided to hike close in Jewel Basin. On the way down the road my daughter spotted a medium sized black bear hustling across the road. We drove the six miles up to Camp Misery and the trail head. Dusty narrow climbing to over 5000 feet . The air in the basin was not as smoky as the valley but we lacked the usual blue sky.

 Traveling up the trail a nice spring fed creek slips out from under massive rocks. I was glad to see some water sources for the wild animals. ( even the griz) there are several tagged griz here in Jewel Basin. We had headed up another trail for a few hundred feet however there was an overwhelming smell of very wet dirty bear. We decided to take another trail in the opposite direction.

 We were treated to some fall colour and massive rocks as the trail wound its way up the mountain.

 the trail cut through dense forest and underbrush ( perfect for hiding bears)

 The evergreens were happy and perfectly shaped. Their needles were soft and fragant. It was nice to say hi to them as we headed for the bald in the picture below. It had experienced a fire many years ago and was bare on the South side facing the smoky valley below.

 Looking down into the basin is the parking lot and Camp Misery. What a name. It looked pretty inviting to me. Below the trail running up the bald. Dead trees standing in quiet in the smoky afternoon warmth.

Climbing the summit

 A map of the Jewel Basin area and Camp Misery. Lots of opportunity to see some beautiful country.

Jewel Basin Map

 A good afternoon and a good ending to another "little feet " adventure .

Jewel Basin

A nice sunday to drive to Jewel Basin. Last summer they were repairing the road and it was closed to the general public. Now the road is good. Good being relative. A nice gravel road twisting up into the mountains.

The first part of the road has several farms and houses. A nice new fence graces the curve in the road. There is something about a well built fence.

Carry on up the narrow road squeezed by open areas in the forest after logging. A riot of wild flowers carpet the floor of the forest.

Now and then you dip and there is a marshy spot with water plants . The water is slow but clear as new snow melt.

Close by the road snow melt races towards the larger lakes and rivers.

The green fertile valleys would please any grazing deer or elk.

A great day for a drive ! Nice road and lots of solitude. If you don't count the deer, bird song ,  and the rippling brooks.