Mosaic Monday #192: Summer Farewell

My dear friends, this will be my last post as the host of Mosaic Monday, so it is fitting that I close this chapter with a final set of summer photos.

August featured no less than 3 backcountry camping trips.  Too many pictures for one post, but I can sure show you some highlights.

Our first trip, with an intended destination of Gray Wolf Lake, is a story in itself.  We fell short of our destination, and it rained while we gobbled our dinner, and for most of the night.

Rain is such a unique event during the summer in Montana that we were a bit surprised by this rainstorm.  The thunder and lightning that accompanied the storm ignited one significant wildfire some 15 miles from where we camped for the night.  But I will never complain about rain in the summer, given the extreme drought conditions in the Mountain West!

Between two camping trips, we spent one night in a hotel situated midway from the trailheads.  We were a bit early to check in, so we stopped at a nearby eatery for a treat of coffee and ice cream.

The next day, we worked off that ice cream with more than 3,300 feet of elevation gain in 5 miles.  But this is the reward: Mollman Lake.

The day of these photos also happened to be our 31st anniversary.  I had drawn this card and brought it with me.

"Husband" is just a title every man can have.  But it takes a heart and life to live by it.  You have never failed to show me how much I mean to you.  Happy Anniversary!"

Can you believe we had this whole place to ourselves?  Priceless!!!!

Of course, you don't always have to go far from home to capture beauty.  The next two photos were taken on August 16, right in our own neighborhood as I came home from town one evening.

August brings the Northwest Montana Fair to the fairgrounds, complete with wall-to-wall 4-H competition, food you shouldn't eat and rides that light up the night sky.  I went two days to support the grandkids of my Dear Neighbor Friend, and trust me when I say the kids cleaned up in most of their events!  I continue to learn the finer points of showmanship, and the importance of udders and other body parts on goats, sheep and cattle!  On rodeo night, I worked the funnel cake booth for St. Matthew's Church - I think I can still feel the skim of frying fat on my skin, and smell funnel cake batter in my nostrils.  I took a little time to spin through the quilts/home-made crafts section - always inspiring.

 

In this post in December 2021, I wrote about discovering Spanish blackwork.  I was thrilled to see this example of it at the Fair!  (By the way, I have purchased a design utilizing blackwork, and I am anxious to get started on it!)

At the end of August, rolling over into September, a three-night backcountry camping trip in Glacier National Park checked all the boxes: wildlife, fishing, jagged mountains, glacier-blue lakes.  Let's take a look!

Video of waterfall along the trail.

Video of bighorn sheep ewe and young one.

Back at home, it was wildlife of a different sort and proportion that attracted my eye.  Check out this video of the largest bumblebee I have ever seen.

Grasshoppers pick on the Russian Sage, climbing its stalks and nibbling through the very peak, toppling the lovely, symmetrical flower pyramids.  In the process of hunting the grasshoppers, I spotted this precious little frog.  It is you, my dear, that I hear singing after the sun goes down. 

In early September, we were delighted to welcome my oldest brother and his wife, who flew their "Blue Eagle" plane from Morgan County, Utah, to Kalispell.

Over the five days of their visit, we kayaked on Lone Lake, hiked in Glacier National Park, and were treated to aerial touring in the Blue Eagle.  I was thrilled to provide a garden tour, and Head Chef kept us well fed as usual.  A lovely visit all around.

Flying over the landscapes we see every day, but flat-footed, is a gift.  Is that hill really that steep?  Does Ashley Creek wind in such a serpentine manner?  The area around Whitefish has many more lakes than I realized.  Do they have fish?

I love this video of Ashley Creek in Smith Valley.

The latter part of September has brought wildlife of every description.  One night, sitting in the great room, I imagined an owl calling.  Going out on the deck, I was thrilled to hear Barred Owls echoing each other.  One is a blessing; two or more feels like a miracle.

The cygnets that I featured in this post are growing up.  On September 17, they were swimming together, but without their parents.  And they came so close to me - no fear?

While I was at the lake's edge, Spousal Unit called me.  "Can you see the elk?  It's a mama and a baby, in the water."   I scouted the lake, with the binoculars and without.  Nothin'.  I worked my way north, and then I heard the splashing.  Mama saw me or sensed me first.  The best I got was the baby running away through the woods.

Meanwhile, our neighborhood black bear has been roaming, building up fat for the winter.  We have seen him at least once a week, and in one case, I saw him while running out in the woods ... I took the long way around that day!  These shots were taken as I came home from town one day - less than a half mile from our house.

Thistles are one of the many species that we combat for preservation of the native habitat, but before I cut the seeds off and put them in the trash, I momentarily admire their beauty.  In many ways, they represent the fleeting nature of summer.  Weightless. Perfectly designed for purpose.  Ephemeral.  Majestic simplicity.

And so, we bid farewell to summer and to Mosaic Monday.

*****

My dear Mosaic Monday friends: I am pleased to tell you that Heidrun @ Soul and Mind and so on will be taking over Mosaic Monday, starting next weekend.  She carries on the fine tradition established by our previous hosts – Mary @ Little Red House through August 4, 2014, Judith @ Lavender Cottage from August 10, 2014 through July 24, 2016, and Maggie @ Normandy Life from July 31, 2016 through October 29, 2018.  I hope that you will continue participating in Mosaic Monday – your posts through the years have inspired me more than you know!

Some of you have asked if I am leaving the blogosphere altogether; I will still be posting occasionally, and linking to Mosaic Monday as well as other link parties.  So, I will see you around, my friends!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time).

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Mosaic Monday #145: July Jumble

I am so blessed with adventures in our beloved Montana that I doubt I will ever lack for blog content!  I have already penned 5 posts about our July activities, and yet I have more to share from last month.  It's a bit of a potpourri, a hodgepodge, a mish-mash.  Welcome to the July jumble!

My nephew took the picture at left - isn't he a terrific photographer?  He was so kind during his visit - always asking if we would like a photo!  And sometimes, he snapped one from behind us.  Awww ....

Kootenai Falls and Ross Creek Cedars are go-to sights when we have visitors.  On the day we explored the area, it was red hot, and ideal for dipping toes (or more) into the glacial waters of the Kootenai River.

Montana hosts are required to ensure tourists enjoy their share of huckleberry products while in the state.  Head Chef made his special huckleberry cheesecake, and we also took my nephew to the Huckleberry Patch in Hungry Horse, famous for its huck pie and huck ice cream - double the fun!

Before we began our back-country camping trip with my nephew (see previous posts here, here and here), we navigated the white-knuckle twists of the mountainous Going to the Sun Road.  I have lost count of the number of times we have gazed upon the majesty of Glacier National Park from this road, but I can assure you I never tire of it.

The summit of the Road is Logan Pass, equally renowned for access to the Highline Trail and the Hidden Lake Trail, AND the difficulty of obtaining a spot in the parking lot!  I won't bore you with the details of finding not just one but TWO spots; let's focus on the photos and videos of the 3 mile round trip "hike" to the Hidden Lake Overlook.

You might (reasonably) surmise from the photo above that no-one else was around; in reality, this is one of the most popular hikes in the park since the views are expansive, the distance to the Overlook is relatively short and the trail is (mostly) flat.  So, it takes some ingenuity and patience to obtain shots without any people!

In the summer, it is quite common to see mountain goats along this trail, and this day did not disappoint; we must have seen at least a dozen goats, including kids born in the spring.  Sometimes it even seems that they are posing for you! 

Check out the videos!

At the Overlook, a circular boardwalk provides plenty of space for hikers to linger for a snack with a view.

On the way back, I snapped this picture of a meadow strewn with glacier lilies.  As one of the first flowers to emerge in the spring, this is evidence that it wasn't too long ago that snow still covered this area.  (And this picture was taken on July 8!)

We headed down from the summit of Logan Pass, toward St. Mary's.  Along the way, we stopped for a short stroll to Sun Point.  I am eternally grateful to my nephew for suggesting a photo op featuring a hug, and then taking this picture (the background really makes the shot, don't you think?)  We might be getting this one framed!

Our next milestone was Many Glacier, to drop off my vehicle at the end of the trail (where we would emerge 4 days later).  In the past, we have been fortunate to see bears along the road, but at a safe distance.  Once again, we were not disappointed; a mama black bear and her baby were grazing in the meadow.  They are hard to see in the video below, but be patient and they will appear!

On July 31, Spousal Unit and I went out for dinner to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary (it actually falls on August 3, but he would be headed to Alaska that day for salmon fishing).  A fitting end to the month, and hopefully the beginning of another adventurous 30 years!

   

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time).

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Mosaic Monday #77: Looking Forward by Looking Back

If you know me at all by now, you know I am a planner.  So it won't surprise you to discover that brainstorming for an epic 30th anniversary getaway has already commenced.  And just when is our 30th?  August 2021.  Yes.   Fifteen months in advance.  

Of course, these dreaming sessions began before I had even heard of COVID-19, and the advent of the pandemic has thrown quite a bucket of water on the whole process.  But BEFORE that wet blanket, Spousal Unit and I mused about what might define an "epic 30th anniversary getaway".  We found ourselves wandering through the memory banks of "excellent" vacations, and "not so good" vacations, and distilling those experiences into a set of critical criteria.  

So what's important? Scenic beauty.  Cultural experiences.  Pampering for part of the trip.

As I initially pictured my ideal, my mind kept returning to our 20th wedding anniversary, a trip to Rosewood Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda.  Scenic beauty?  Check.  Pampering?  Check.  Cultural experiences?  Not so much.  But this is how you get the hang of asking the right questions about vacation destinations!  Coincidentally, this is one of the trips that I documented in my travel journal as featured in this post.  So, come with me, back in time, and we can explore the pros and cons of this locale!

The British Virgin Islands, officially simply the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.  In other words, a long way from Cleveland, Ohio, where we lived at the time.   Our flights routed us from Cleveland to San Juan to Tortola, where we were met by the Rosewood Ferry for transport to the resort.  And so the pampering began.  Yes, the resort had its own ferry, which on this day was our own personal boat seeing as no other guests were on board.  We had enough time to sip two glasses of complimentary rum punch before the boat shimmied up to the dock.

We immediately noticed the British influence at the resort, from the classic red mail box to the British general manager that we met at one of the manager's happy hours.  Since Spousal Unit is a Brit by birth, this familiarity brings comfort, but if a new cultural experience is on your wish list, then it might leave you a bit hungry.

The indulgence continued with the complimentary bottle of champagne (it was our anniversary) and bottle of rum (argh, matey!) that we found in room 116 upon our arrival.  I was bemused and impressed to find that the resort did not give out keys to its rooms/suites.   Exclusive and secure - are we locked in or are others locked out?  

On our first night, we walked into Spanish Town for dinner at the Rock Cafe.  My journal says nothing about the food or the town, nor do I have any pictures of the evening.  But both of us remember being distinctly underwhelmed by the look of the town.  Suffice it to say that we did not return to town for the rest of the trip. In hindsight, we could have learned more about this before our trip - on an island as remote as this, it is reasonable that it won't have a main street with boutique-y shops and hip pubs.  But no museums, old churches and the like? To this day, I don't know anything about the history or the people of Virgin Gorda.

Breakfast at the resort was served in the Pavilion, part of the peaked roof structure you see in the second picture of this post.  Delectable fruits, cheeses, breads and other items were available buffet style, and you could also order a la carte items.  Every morning, the staff would bring a handout to our table, featuring news articles and crosswords.  So civilized, my darlings!  I would have been content to settle back in my chair, sip coffee and look out at the view.

But adventure beckoned, so we hiked a short distance from the resort to Savannah Bay, billed as Gorda's loveliest beach, a long strand of powdery white coastline lapped by placid waters.  Numerous hermit crabs and even some goats shared the trail with us.  Giant termite mounds were visible among the dense foliage, and I tried not to point out the snakes to Spousal Unit - he's not a fan!  Once at the bay, we snorkeled without noting any unusual fish or other features.  We did have the place to ourselves!

Back at Little Dix Bay, we snorkeled in the rain and spotted four large squid and one massive barracuda.  We luxuriated in a couple's massage at the on-site spa - pampering with a capital P!

In this post, I wrote about our first experience scuba diving following our certification as a family.  The trip to Gorda marked our second time diving, and how different it was!  Two dive masters led us and another couple on an underwater tour of the RMS Rhone, a UK Royal Mail Ship.  She was wrecked off the coast on October 29, 1867 in a hurricane, killing 123 people.  Now a popular dive site, the area around her was declared a national park in 1980.  

That evening, we savored a beach-side dinner at the Saw Mill, one of the restaurants at the resort.  Afterwards, we played a few hands of Gin Rummy at the bar - Spousal Unit was winning when we quit for the night.

One of the amenities offered at the resort are Beach Drops.  There are seven secluded beaches on Virgin Gorda, several of which can only be accessed by sea.  On request, the resort transports guests via water taxi to the beach of their choice.  An umbrella and towels are provided, and the resort's chefs can prepare a gourmet picnic lunch if desired.  It doesn't get much more romantic than that!

Yes, that is our umbrella.  And yes, we had the beach to ourselves.

We chose Devil's Bay, which features an additional attraction of the Baths.  Giant boulders or batholiths, brought to the surface by volcanic eruptions, are scattered about, forming a beautiful grotto and tranquil pools.   It was a thoroughly pleasant afternoon, sunning on the beach, rock climbing and snorkeling.  

Left: I loved how this tree grew among the boulders.  Lower right: some parts of the Baths had ladders to enable you to climb through openings or get a better view.

Dinner found us at the Saw Mill once again, with live music provided by Morris.  We continued our Gin Rummy tournament at the bar, and I prevailed!

Thursday's dive trip arrived, and we had the boat and the dive master to ourselves.  My travel journal says nothing more about the diving, presumably because I documented our sightings in my dive book!  In the afternoon, Spousal Unit took a sailing lesson while I made the most of the spa facilities with a facial.  Before dinner, we strolled the grounds and spotted a sting ray and turtles from the dock.  During our visit, it was very common to see pelicans fishing in the bay.

The final night of our stay, we opted for dinner in the bar.  The food was still high quality, but the environment was more casual.  This would have been our first choice over the Saw Mill, but we didn't discern it was an option until later in our visit.  You live and you learn!  My travel journal notes tell me we played Scrabble in the bar that night, but not who won.  It looks like we had fun, doesn't it?  

By now, you have probably forgotten that this post began with dreams of an epic 30th anniversary trip.   So where are with our brainstorming?  We have focused on Europe because we will be there in the fall to visit my in-laws, our standard time of year to be in the UK.  Although I feel we have barely scratched the surface, here are some early ideas:

(Internet) - Grossglockner Mountain

Austria - Grossglockner Road: more than 50 miles of alpine beauty; mountains, glaciers, lush valleys and dozens of pretty villages in which to seek a good meal and a simple overnight guesthouse.  

(Internet) - Dordogne

France - Dordogne and Cave of Lascaux: Hilly but not mountainous, the Dordogne is perfect walking country.  This scenic corner of France is also rich with flower-strewn valleys, Romanesque churches and medieval hamlets.  The Cave of Lascaux contains the world's most extraordinary repository of prehistoric wall paintings.  The original cave was closed to the public in 1963 to prevent deterioration, but a dazzlingly accurate replica was made in the 1980s, only 200 yards away.

France: Corsica: Are we allowed to return to one of our favorite places?  We went on holiday to Corsica twice when our kids were young.  Looking back on it now, we realize that we experienced a miniscule portion of this island, which resembles a mountain in the middle of the sea.  Corsica is a place of astonishing natural beauty, and its charm is evocative of the old Mediterranean.  

Corsica - 2006

For all those world travelers out there, do you have any suggestions that fit our criteria?  I look forward to hearing from you.  And here's praying that world travel will be a part of the new normal for all of us that dream of it!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter