May 9, 2017 - First time I ever saw Calypso Orchids
Can you believe it? May 3, 2020 marked the third anniversary of our arrival in Montana. (If you need a refresher on our epic cross-country journey, check out this post.) I perused my blog and came to the shocking realization that I have not written about this anniversary. You can read posts about the first, second and third recurrence of my retirement, but you will find zip, zero, zilch about an event that was a decade in the planning. Well, I ask you - what's more significant, the retirement or the destination? It's the destination, my friends. So, I am about to rectify this disappointing oversight. Buckle your seat belts, and welcome to Montana!
June 12, 2017 - Day 2 of the re-set of our log house
July 2, 2017 - Black Lake - hike in Jewel Basin
July 11, 2017 - Man with Hat on the Highline Trail with Heavens Peak
August 31, 2017 - Mama mountain goats with kids - Crater Lake
October 19, 2017 - Golden glory - Middle Fork of the Flathead River
October 27, 2017 - Golden larches reflected in our house, 7 months into
construction
October 31, 2017 - our first Halloween in Whitefish
November 6, 2017 - house bedecked in snow
January 2, 2018 - skiing at Whitefish Mountain Resort
March 2018 - snowshoeing at Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park
Moose at our lake - May 2018
May 23, 2018 - reflection in Hodge Lake
June 24, 2018 - we moved in April 14, and by June the landscaping
was completed
July 11, 2018 - Lupines and blanket flowers
near Many Glacier, Glacier National Park
August 12, 2018 - Man with Hat and me - overwhelmed by Grinnell
Glacier and Grinnell Lake
September 2018 - apple pie made with Goodland apples from the tree
we planted in honor of my Mother
November 2018 - Mission Mountain views
December 26, 2018 - the family skis/rides at Whitefish Mountain Resort
January 11, 2019 - my favorite picture
of Miss Josie before she died in September
February 28, 2019 - dog sledding!
May 24, 2019 - Great Horned Owl in a larch tree outside our house
June 8, 2019 - Columbine in my garden
June 10, 2019 - Holland Lake
June 13, 2019 - Sunrise at our house
June 2019 - bear collage - all bears from trail cams near our house
July 20, 2019 - at Logan Pass before we start hiking the Highline Trail
July 20, 2019 - beargrass along the Highline Trail
July 28, 2019 - Female Nokomis Fritillary on the bee balm in my garden
January 27, 2020 - mountain lion caught on trail cam
March 21, 2020 - Man with Beanie practicing social distancing at Bowman Lake, Glacier National Park
If you were counting, that was 32 pictures and collages. Boy, it was tough to choose! Someday, when I have nothing else to do (hah!), I will count the number of pictures I have taken since May 3, 2020. Hundreds! A shout-out to my Spousal Unit, who applied his ruthless editing skill to help me downselect from the original 93 options that I compiled. How appropriate that he stands out in the last photo of this post!
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.
Sunday, July 2, 2017 - Jewel Basin - 10 mile loop with 1800 feet net elevation gain "We did it! Back on June 5, 2017 (entry 10), we were thwarted in our attempt to start a hike from the Camp Misery trailhead … but today, success!" So begins my journal entry for this hike, almost a full year ago. But you should read on for the 'rest of the story'.
"It was not without its trials … there was still a lot of snow on the trails. This meant it was physically more demanding than normal hiking. Also, at the intersection of trail 55 and trail 7, there was so much snow and a lack of trail signs that it was impossible to figure out the location of the trail. The topographical map was a huge help, and we also crossed our fingers that some of the footprints in the snow were directionally correct." As I noted in the margin of my journal, I was very pleased that we were calm and worked through it! Ok, now that I have that out of my system, let's approach this a little more calmly. Spring flowers were abundant (yes, at this elevation, July 2 is still 'spring').
Upper left: Red Paintbrush; Middle left: Elliptic-leaved Penstemon
Lower left: Mountain Buttercup
Upper right: Glacier Lilies and Western Pasqueflowers
Lower right: Man with Hat on rock
Along the way, we met a family planning to camp at Black Lake. At a few obscure points on the trail, we helped each other find the way.
Black Lake
At Black Lake, 3 guys and their 2 dogs were breaking camp. They reported hooking cutthroat trout in the lake for their supper the previous night.
Creek leaving the foot of Black Lake
We cruised on and made our picnic break at Jewel Lakes. We heard the three guys pass us by and thought nothing more of it.
From left to right: Yellow Columbine, Green False Hellebore, Yellow Columbine, Shooting Star
However, as we ascended past Blackfoot Lake, we heard gunshots, and it was impossible to determine the source. We started shouting and continued the racket for quite a while. Some distance on, we came across the same 3 fellows, and learned that they had been doing some 'target shooting' at dead trees. Swell.
Beargrass surrounds Man with Hat
Climbing, climbing.
Blackfoot Lake; saw two bald eagles flying around lake
Yes, this is the trail!
Met a group of 5 heading the other way, planning to camp at Blackfoot. About this time it was getting quite warm and I could not imagine that this much snow was still around. I used snowballs to help cool down … at one point, we MIGHT have had a good old-fashioned snowball fight!
Enter the hour of trail confusion. I won't belabor the point I made at the beginning of this post, other than to say snow can be a blessing (you can see every footprint) and a curse (you can see every footprint). Once we worked through it, we were rewarded with the view of Twin Lakes. Worthy of a break.
Top: Western Pasqueflower
Center left: Paintbrush and Western Virgin's Bower
Center right: Larkspur
Upon returning to the trailhead, as I was taking off my boots and sweaty socks (too much information?), I felt victorious, confident, reassured, relieved and pleasantly tired. Accompanied by a healthy respect for snowpack in July at 6,000 feet. Linking to All Seasons Floral Friday Fotos
