Crisp Montana Winter

So it turns out that Montana is cold.  Who would have thought?  We are only at 3,200 ft in the middle of the Northern US Rockies.  But alas, an inversion has been hanging around for a week or so making it cold, but more noticeable to a camera, frosty.  The following samples will illustrate the words I have written in a visual nature.  

--Large crystals

--The Mist

--Frozen everything

--Cold Buddha

Sunny, snowy days

A trip up the Mt to see the town covered in snow.  

--Snow dusted Rattlesnake from Mt Sentinal

--Dont run in hiking boots.  (It is icy and I needed grip.)  

2009 years ago... time and space were born

We got back to Missoula on the day before New Years.  Maggie and I had a night out on the town.  Not much to do on New Years when you dont drink.  But we had fun.  

--Peace in Cara's Park

--Maggie took this one.  

--And also this one

--New Years Earl Grey

--Our bikes resting from their long journey to Montana.  They will rest all the way till spring.

Home for the Holidays

I decided to go back to Washington for the Holidays.  I took the train.  Of course there is no snow in Montana until the exact day I need to leave.  The train leaves out of Whitefish; a two hour drive from Missoula. The first snow here isn't light, its six inches, forty mile-an-hour winds, and twenty below.  These storms are referred to in some literature as "blizzards".  So the highway is shut down and my ride to Whitefish informed me that it was too dangerous to drive.  I traded in my ticket for the next day.  Blizzard continues.  Traded it in for the next day, and got a Greyhound ticket to Whitefish.  Bus breaks down from cold in parking lot.  Two hours later, a small van takes me and a few others to Whitefish.  A nine hour wait (Amtrack station closed for five hours of it) till the train departs.  Walk about 1.5 miles in -34 degree windchills to the local movie theater.  Longest movie playing= Australia.  All in all I though it was semi-rad.  Nice quite ride to Tacoma after that.

--I thought I would catch a break from the snow in Washington.
--I was wrong

--Armed Tacoma snowman

--The final three pictures compose a segment featuring a spoiled dog named Bango.  Above, he holds his edible 'best dog' xmas card

He is the best dog in dog history

--A new hand crafted large squeeky bone.  His personal favorite.

A visit from Maggie C

Maggie C. came up here in mid October to visit.  I showed her around Missoula and she seemed to like it very much.  It was a  pretty sweet weekend.  

--Photo by Maggie C of two-story bicycle

--Sweet trail around the side of Mt Jumbo.  Even though it was the wrong one.  My geographer skills are still being honed.

--view of Missoula from the "L"

--David C and Maggie C

--Crazy guy paragliding off the summit

Pictures that indicate the season...

It is presently Fall.  Here are some examples (Starring Bailey, the landlords dog):

The Back yardage

Arteries
Miss Bailey in full effect
I am officially going to stop combating these text problems.  From now on whatever it decides to be... it will be.

Lots of pics of my backyard

Is it just me or do these leaves look edible?  Like sugary cereal.  I am going to try and eat them tonight.

Hi-fiving trees!

Leaves + light

Behind the backyard.  Don't know if that property belongs to us or not.

Bailey has grown weary of my picture taking.

She finds the squirrel much more entertaining and intriguing,  

Garnet- My first Montana ghost town

Garnet is supposed to be the best preserved ghost town in Montana.  It sits at the top of the garnet range.  It was a gold mining town.  I don't know much else about it except that it burnt down once and was rebuilt before it was abandoned after they cleaned out all the gold.  Some people now live there and restored some of the buildings.  I usually like ghost towns that are left how they were at the time everyone left, but it was cool to see the history laid out and to know the story behind everything.

--The drive up the Garnet Range.  It was hazy so its hard to see, but it's a nice view

--Mossy tree

--Garnet in full effect
--Old

--Mining Cars and the old general store

--This is the Saloon.  It was built in 1898.  People became innibraited here.

--This is the newlywed cabin...apparently

--This is the corner of it.  Sorry for the underline.  I don't know how to stop it!  It makes me want to punch things

--(Punching things is the solution.)  An artifact of some type

--Various miners cabins

--grass and a crapper.  (Damn this underlining!  Punching isn;t working anymore)

--Whoops the cabin is dead.

--This is some sort of machine, which I can only assume performed some sort of function.

--The jail!

--These trees look like gigantic beargrass

--Listening to the beginning of the vice-presidential debate on the way back poisoned this beautiful view