Thursday, March 14, 2024

Getting my (camping) mojo on!

March 15 marks the day we can enter a lottery for back-country camping reservations in Glacier National Park, and I am caught up in memories of picturesque pit toilets, gourmet meals on a camp stove and wine as an end-of-hike treat.  What better way to celebrate this moment than to highlight an epic trip from last year?  Hoist your backpack and come along with me!

My nephew and his girlfriend embarked on this pilgrimage with us, an epic trip covering 37.3 miles and 10,090 feet of elevation gain in the first 4 days of August 2023.


Does it look like we left the house at 4.45 am?  That's what you do when you want to make sure to get a parking spot in Glacier National Park!  Here we are, fortified with breakfast burritos and ready to go at 7.15 am!


This is Mineral Creek with Heavens Peak in the background.  Below is a picture of my nephew on a seasonal bridge - this means that every fall the Park Service takes it down, and every spring it is re-installed.  From this point, the trail rises to Flattop Mountain, and along the way we passed through the thickest huckleberry bushes we have ever seen, and every one was laden with luscious fat hucks.  We already have a plan to return here this summer!

As we reached the plateau that is Flattop Mountain, a delightful waterfall (see video below) greeted us and provided soothing pools for our feet in the afternoon heat of August.


Not long after, we arrived at the campground.  My nephew, in the lead at the time, shouted "I see a pit toilet!"

A forest fire that went through this area (in 2005, I believe) meant there was little shade to be had.  Flattop Creek had a few trees, and cooling waters - a pleasant respite from the relentless Montana sun.  The flowers thrive there too!


We closed the day with a few hands of cards, and a chicken and curried rice dinner, a specialty prepared by the father of our nephew's girlfriend.  Delicious!

Day 2: since the day held only 7 miles of hiking and the least elevation gain of the trip, we had a leisurely start.  The crisp morning gave way to shorts and light shirts as the sun moved overhead and numerous jagged mountains came into view. Around the cooking area that night, a Park Ranger would tell us that the area is called Fifty Mountain because you can see fifty peaks on a clear day!


 Getting closer.


We paused at this dry creekbed for a break, and I couldn't stop taking pictures of the flowers that lined its banks in undulating waves of Arnica yellow and Aster purple, with an occasional splash of Paintbrush red.

August in the high country can pose water supply challenges, and although we had verified with the back country office that water is available at Fifty Mountain campground, hearing it first-hand from a fellow camper is priceless.  Three fellows described the location of the water source in detail, which enabled us to choose the prime campsite when we arrived to a deserted campground.  Hubby and I came up empty with our goat observations, while the other two went on an excursion.  As the sun dropped, more hikers arrived until 3 of the 4 sites were taken.  The latest arrivals were making quite a racket until Spousal Unit got of our tent to hush them up!  We wouldn't normally do that, but we had our sights set on an early morning departure, and we needed some shut-eye.



Day 3: the moon hung over the cooking area/food hang when we emerged at 6 am, planning for a 7.30 am start.  It must have been the slow gas canister, or watching the pot boil, that turned into an 8.15 am kickoff!  As we trekked the 12.5 miles and 3,283 feet of elevation gain that day, we were easily distracted by the jaw-dropping views around every twist in the trail.

Up we go.


 Toward Cattle Queen Creek.



This waterfall came right out of the rock!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see my nephew and his girlfriend standing the creek-bed of Cattle Queen Creek?  And he is 6 feet 7 - these mountains are GRAND!


If you look carefully at the photo below, you can see a trail descending the far mountain - we came from over there!


In 2021, I wrote several posts about our first Glacier hiking trip with my nephew (July 25, 2021, August 8, 2021 and August 15, 2021).  In the August 8 post, Helen Lake - a veritable slice of paradise - was featured.  Wouldn't you know that this current hike offered a spur with an overlook of Helen Lake?



And did I mention it was our anniversary?

It may not be apparent from the photo, but the overlook was peppered with about 20 people, more than we had seen in the previous 48 hours!  We were tickled that we timed our departure to have this refreshing stream to ourselves.

 

 

 

 

 

We were glad of cool feet as we finished our ascent to the Granite Park campground, arriving around 4.30.

Water was scarce there - we had to walk upstream quite a ways to find even a few small pools.

We weren't late to bed - as they say, early to bed, early to rise!

Day 4: We improved our process, and we left camp 25 minutes earlier than the day before.  Our destination?  Swiftcurrent Lookout, almost 2,200 feet of elevation in a couple of miles!!!  And why?  For goat observations, of course.  And for the views.  Except, the day dawned with low clouds and rolling mist.

 



It was surreal and a tad disconcerting to see my hiking partners disappear into the clouds.

 

 

 

 

 

Momentarily, the Lookout peeked out from the mist. (It's the little square on the top of the mountain.)


Check out this video of the clouds rolling over the mountains.


Despite the mist, we were able to observe 3 goats.  Yippee!  


And even more special, a little pika entertained us at the lookout.  We heard a squeaking among the rocks, and a little patience earned us a photo of this adorable critter.


And then it was down, down, down to the Loop, our starting point three days before.  In August, the last three miles are a dusty, dry, downhill slog - the views don't change and you are ready to be done.  Inevitably, we see people on this stretch who are dehydrated and not faring well.  We gave them electrolyte tablets and a bottle of glucose water and advice to take it slow.  Almost everyone rejoices with a splash in the pool below the bridge, just a quarter mile from the parking lot.  We add some adult beverages to round out the picture!

So, here's to winning another extraordinary back-country trip in Glacier!

*****

Joining LeeAnna's I Like Thursday.  Prompt this week: "What is your favorite spring flower?  Do you try to grow them in your house or yard?"  Since moving to Montana, my favorite is the Glacier Lily.  I have a few in my yard, but they occur naturally - I have not made any attempt to plant more.  Maybe in the future, someone will get to see a blanket of them in my yard, such as the picture below, taken on Beartrap Mountain in May 2017.  Happy Spring everyone!

Linking to Mosaic Monday

Sunday, February 11, 2024

A Finish, and February Fun!

 

A quick post to report that I have finished my hexagon stitch-a-long!

We are in Cincinnati as I write this, visiting #1 Daughter and our son-in-law.  When we return to Montana, I will take it to Michael's for framing - they have always been immensely helpful in choosing a frame and matting that complements the piece.

During our visit, we have continued to discuss the wedding cross-stitch design, which I wrote about in my January 14 post.  At that time, I pitched utilizing StitchFiddle as my pattern creator, and also asked my readers for input.  People suggested Stitch a Photo as an alternative, and I called one of my favorite cross-stitch shops for advice - Stitch a Photo!  This pattern creator charges a fee for the design (at StitchFiddle you can opt to pay for a Premium version), and I am willing to pony that up if it ensures a quality design, and more importantly, a quality result!  I have been communicating with Gail at Busy B Crafts (creator of Stitch a Photo), and she has been so helpful.  Stay tuned for more details!

In the meantime, we are having a fabulous time celebrating my 60th birthday, and I might just get in a little stitching time during the Super Bowl today!

*my sister gifted me finger-less gloves and a matching headband!

Linking to Slow Sunday Stitching

 Slow Sunday Stitching

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Playoff Sunday Stitching

Hello football fans and fellow stitchers!  All week, I have been looking forward to Sunday - kept clear of all responsibilities other than watching the playoff games and stitching throughout!  Such a "guilty pleasure".  So, this will be a quick post with an update on The Steady Thread Botanical Blackwork Stitchalong.  Two weeks ago, I had 2 hexagons to go, plus the leafy frame.  Check out my progress!

 

As with most blackwork, you have the option for a classic black and white design, or you can add color.  Since this is destined for a guest bathroom decorated with shades of blue and brown, I wanted some color.  I hadn't decided on colors for the leafy frame - I opted for one strand of DMC 3045 combined with DMC 3781 for the "branches", and then selected five leaf colors, two of which were in the hexagons (DMC 320 and DMC 166).  Armed with those five colors, I had to map out placement within the leafy frame, trying not to put DMC 320 and DMC 166 next to each other in the hexagons.  Does that make sense?  It was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle!

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday of stitching.  Go Ravens and go Lions!


Linking to Slow Sunday Stitching

 Slow Sunday Stitching

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Stitching Updates, and a new project

In my post two weeks ago, I wrote about The Steady Thread Botanical Blackwork Stitchalong.  At that time, I had 13 hexagons to go, plus the leafy frame.  I am happy to report that only 2 hexagons and the frame remain.


The design (in the form of a pdf) only resides on my computer, so at times when I am away from my laptop, I have snuck in a couple of hours stitching #1 Son's Christmas stocking.

In the midst of all the preparations last year for #1 Daughter's wedding, I had reached an agreement with the betrothed to complete a cross-stitch for them, once they had chosen a favorite photo.  They settled on several options for the design, shown below in order of their preference.




I knew that Herrschners had a professional service for this, but when I went to the on-line catalog, I could not find it.  A quick phone call determined that the service is no longer provided.  Back to the Web.  I looked at several pattern creators, and chose StitchFiddle for an initial design.  I uploaded the photos and then played with sizing, thread count and the like.  Fairly quickly, it became obvious that photos 1 and 3 above would have to be massive (and bigger than the max design within StitchFiddle) in order for meaningful detail.  So, we have settled on the second photo (with a little cropping).  This is a screen shot of the design.

Assuming I work it on 14 count Aida, the size is 21.43 x 16.64 inch.  Now, we are considering the color of Aida fabric to use, and how much of a border to leave for framing.  Does anyone out there have suggestions on either topic?  Also, have you ever used StitchFiddle or another pattern creator?


Linking to Slow Sunday Stitching

 Slow Sunday Stitching

Sunday, December 31, 2023

2023 Stitching, and a lot of it!

As my faithful readers know, stitching takes me to my happy place!  So, this means 2023 must have been overwhelmingly cheerful - seven completed projects, and two more well underway!  Let's go to my virtual sewing room!

In my January 11, 2023 post, I showed pictures of my first blackwork piece in progress, a cross-stitch destined for my oldest sister.  Initially I had planned to give her only the finished cross-stitch, but once I decided that I would hand-carry it to her in October (on the same trip as our daughter's wedding), I was inspired to bring her a fully completed pillow.

This project tested my ingenuity.  First, I wanted to "hide" the back of the cross-stitch.  I devised a plan to sew the cross stitch onto a solid piece of fabric, which would then be sewn to a second piece of fabric to form the pillow case.  Second, it seemed ugly to leave the raw edge of the cross-stitch fabric in full view, so I took a page from some of my past Christmas ornaments and added ribbon around the edges.  Third, I discovered "invisible" zippers while researching how to sew zippers, and I decided to give it a try.   This also meant learning how to change the foot on my Mom's sewing machine to an invisible zipper foot - for many of you long-time sewers out there, this process may seem old hat to you, but I had to call in my local engineer (Spousal Unit) to help me with that one!


The next large project of 2023 was a Christmas stocking for our son-in-law-to-be.  In fact, it was finished the night before we would fly to Cincinnati for the wedding!


This time last year, I had completed a stocking for our daughter (see my December 21, 2022 post).  My heart danced to see both stockings hung on the mantelpiece at their new house for this Christmas!

 

 

 

 

Of course, in the midst of all this I also crafted the wedding handkerchief for our daughter (previously shown in my Wedding Bells post on October 30, 2023).


On one of our recent visits to the UK, I came across designs for cross-stitch bookmarks, and they were perfect choices as Christmas gifts for our son and daughter.


Several years ago, I instituted the tradition of selecting a Christmas ornament design for each of the kids (including our son-in-law).  This year, to commemorate the new house for our daughter and son-in-law, I created a single ornament for the couple.  And the Monopoly ornament is for #1 Son, reflecting our shared love of board games.


And now to works in progress!  As soon as I wrapped up the Christmas stocking for our son-in-law, I embarked on the new stocking for #1 Son.  (I have "child" stockings for our daughter and son, which we have used for years.  Two years ago, I offered to "replace" them with adult stockings, and this is the design chosen by our son.)

Now that Christmas is past, and it is obvious the stocking will not be completed until NEXT Christmas, I am going to take a little break from it, allowing me to return to my 2023 Stitch-A-Long.  I wrote about this project in my January 11, 2023 post.  "During my time in the blogosphere, I have seen many mentions of stitch-a-longs, and viewed creativity in action when my fellow bloggers post pictures.  This year, I finally decided to jump in.   Somebody out there introduced me to Loretta Oliver, and I subscribed to her email for access to free cross-stitch patterns.  On December 29, when the Great Big List of Stitchalongs to Join in 2023 popped into my email inbox, I decided to take a look.  Imagine my delight when I found The Steady Thread Botanical Blackwork StitchalongFlowers AND blackwork, a perfect combination for me!!!  And it's free!"

March 21 marked the last time I took a picture of this project (12 hexagons completed), but at the moment I suspended stitching, I had 36 full hexagons in the design, so that must have been the beginning of September! (Steady Thread released one hexagon per week, so I calculated 36 weeks.)

I have 13 hexagons to go, plus the leaves that frame the pattern.  I chose my own color palette for this project, and so I will also have to think through my approach to the leaves and stems!  As most of you know, I am a "follow the recipe" person, so this is stretching me (just a little!!!!)  *NOTE: when I went to the Steady Thread website to retrieve the 13 remaining hexagons and the leafy frame, I learned that the Stitch-A-Long is closed and there is a charge for any designs I need.  It's not a lot of money, and I certainly don't begrudge the artist who created this lovely design - just a memo to me for the future!

 

I asked for the above book for Christmas, and I leave you with this Navajo song (from Night Chant, for the ninth song).  Praying that 2024 brings you the desires you hold close in your heart.  Happy New Year!

May their roads home be on the trail of peace.

Happily may they all return.

In beauty I walk.

With beauty before me, I walk.

With beauty behind me, I walk.

With beauty above and about me, I walk.

It is finished in beauty.

It is finished in beauty.

******

Joining LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday - prompt this week is: Does your family have a favorite appetizer? Bean dip.  Sausage, Pepper Jack and salsa - need I write more? Can you share the recipe?  See photo below.  Would you rather have buffalo chicken dip or artichoke dip?  Artichoke dip - sometimes the buffalo is too spicy for me.  What do you try first when you go to a party with snacks?  I prefer savory snacks, and I like to try different things, so I would gravitate to anything new that is also savory.


Linking to Thankful Thursday

Linking to Slow Sunday Stitching

 Slow Sunday Stitching

Linking to Needle and Thread Thursday

Needle and Thread Thursday 

Linking to Mosaic Monday

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