Mosaic Monday #112: More Family Festivities

By the time you read this, #1 Daughter and The Boyfriend will already have been at their home for a week.  But it's never too late to recap the final days of their visit with us.

On the Monday before Christmas, we surprised them and #1 Son with a dogsled ride.  (Actually, I think #1 Daughter and #1 Son had guessed the plan, but it didn't lessen our joy one iota.  Spousal Unit and I experienced this adventure last year, and I knew they all would love it.)  The day was made all the more special because it was snowing as we pulled up to Dog Sled Adventures, and that white stuff kept falling throughout the ride.

The mushers radio ahead when they are a few minutes from the dog yard, so I was able to get outside and capture a video of the sled pulling in.

While I was waiting, I was totally amused and laughing out loud at a dog named Oreo - it was catching snowflakes as they fell!

No winter vacation in Montana would be complete without a trip to the Whitefish Mountain Resort.  #1 Daughter is normally a skier, but as moral support for The Boyfriend, she gave snowboarding a try.  Spousal Unit and #1 Son, both boarders, were their instructors for the day.  To protect the innocent, I will share no videos here - but this picture at the end of day shows them still in one piece and with smiles on their faces!!!

The next day, we went to Glacier National Park.  #1 Daughter and The Boyfriend had been there during their vacation in August (see this post), but it is a sparkly, white world in the winter!  We hiked from Lake McDonald Lodge to the Sacred Cascades and back again.  Later in the season, snowshoes would normally be required for this three-mile excursion, but in late December you can manage it with hiking boots and trekking poles.

Someone had placed a few small ornaments on one of the pine trees near the trail.  So festive!

As faithful readers will know, it is customary for us to stop for huckleberry pie after a hike in the Park.  This day was no different!  Yum yum!

On Christmas Eve, we returned to Whitefish Mountain Resort.  The Boyfriend continued his snowboarding lesson with Spousal Unit, while the kids (can I still call them kids?) and I went skiing/riding.  It was a rare blue sky day, and the scenery is practically indescribable.  These pictures will help you envision it a little!!!

Whitefish Mountain Resort allows foot passengers to reach the Summit via Chair 1, so at the end of the snowboarding lesson, The Boyfriend met us at the Summit.  Perfect time for a photo op!  (The mountains of Glacier National Park are in the background.)

After we returned home, Head Chef, #1 Daughter and I prepared the dessert for the next day.  You have seen this confection before!!! (White Chocolate Huckleberry Cheesecake)

We watched the movie Klaus (outstanding, if you haven't seen it) and turned in fairly early since it had been a long, active day.  And Santa won't come unless we are asleep!!!!  The next morning, Monty the Moose stood guard among the gifts while we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.  And then the un-wrapping began, one present at a time!

It must have been exhausting for the young lady in the Santa hat, because she was napping in the afternoon!

Before we knew it, the mouth-watering aroma of turkey and all the fixin's was wafting through the house.  We all pitched in with our various talents, and sat down at the table with great anticipation.  No one left disappointed!  It was a delicious topper on an already wonderful day.   How I love Christmas and all its traditions!!!

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. 

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Mosaic Monday #79 - Three Years in Montana

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!  

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

Mosaic Monday #18 - Deep Freeze February

Northwest Montana just wrapped up the coldest February on record since 1936.  What does one do when the temperature peaks at less than 15 degrees Fahrenheit?  Add an extra layer or two, folks, and get on out there.  Even my oldest sister saw fit to visit us from Cincinnati during the month.  Check out these adventures in the great white, frigid north.

ONE: CARVING UP THE MOUNTAIN

Skiing and snowboarding on Big Mountain is a weekly event, especially given our roles as Ambassadors for Whitefish Mountain Resort.  On one of my workdays, we took my sister to the 'office'.  Visitors can buy a walk-on pass for $24 and ride Chair 1 to the Summit.  Unfortunately, on that day, visibility was poor.

On a clear day, the mountains of Glacier National Park

would be in the background

At least she got a sense of our responsibilities as Ambassadors, and observed our operating environment first hand.  She worked her cross-stitch and chatted with skiers stopping into Summit House for a warmer-upper.  In the photo to the right, the temperature on the sign is unclear, but I recall it was minus 4 degrees at the time of that photo.

TWO: SNOW SHOEING

We thought we might take my sister to Glacier National Park to see the contrast between summer and winter (she had previously visited the Park in August 2017).  So, in preparation for her visit, we did some reconnaissance.  At this time of year, the Going to the Sun Road is plowed only as far as Lake McDonald lodge. 

Beyond that point,  cross-country skiers as well as snow-shoers can peacefully traverse a road that is bumper to bumper with traffic in the summer.  On the day of our investigation, everyone was using the same trail, when protocol calls for snow-shoers and hikers to be in a separate track from the skiers.

So Spousal Unit and I performed a little bit of community service by breaking trail for 2.5 miles.  It was quite the workout so we took turns at the lead.  It was amazing how much easier it is when following someone, and even more so on the return journey.  It was gratifying to see other snow-shoers using our trail as we re-traced our steps.  








After some consultation with my sister, we decided to limit our snow-shoeing to a trek around our property.

THREE: HIBERNATING

Middle left: Josie helps my sister with her Monsters quilt

My sister's stated goal for her trip was to hibernate, so we worked hard (!) to make that happen.








Hibernating is easier when you have Spousal Unit for your chef - no need to go out to a gourmet restaurant when these dishes are on offer.

Top: spaghetti with Brussel sprouts

Left: Chicken tortellini and home-made focaccia

Right: Goetta and eggs

We did take a couple of walks on the roads of our neighborhood, and I couldn't resist the temptation to snap the shot below of the entrance to our neighborhood.  The sign actually reads North Hodge Creek Reserve!!!

We also introduced my sister to a couple of "institutions" around here - Moose's and the Montana Club.  She marveled at the Bloody Mary at the Montana Club; the one she was served upon returning home was "no comparison".  I told her she would just have to come back!

Moose's

Left and middle: Montana Club; Right: back in Ohio

FOUR: VIEWING WILDLIFE

No monthly summary is complete without a list of wildlife that we have witnessed.  Although deer, and trail cam photos of them, are ubiquitous, what makes the photos more interesting at this time of year is the depth of the snow, or catching them plodding through a snowstorm.

I am currently monitoring three trail cams, two of which belong to a future neighbor. In photos taken on February 3, I observed two coyotes that were captured on my trail cam at 3.14 pm, and then on my neighbor's trail cam at 3.30.  I am sure it is the same two.  What do you think?

Of special note this month is our ongoing "battle" with Mr. Bunny.  Earlier in the winter, we placed chicken wire around our burning bushes because I could see from tracks in the snow, as well as nibble marks on the shrubs, that Mr. Bunny had taken a liking to them.

A week ago, I noticed tracks and bunny kaka INSIDE the chicken wire - the snow is now deep enough to enable him to jump over the wire.  Argh.  So, we determined to pull the wire cages up higher.  As I rounded the front porch, heading for the last cage, there he was, inside it.  He jumped out and bounded onto the porch, WITH A BRANCH OF THE BURNING BUSH IN HIS MOUTH.  The cheek - he sat there and munched it as I went about adjusting that cage!

Left: track to Mr. Bunny's den           Middle: branch broken off bush by Mr. Bunny  

Right: Mr. Bunny in front of his den

Thwarted, he has now turned his attention to my dried arrangement on the front porch.  Did you know rabbits would eat pine and juniper?  I didn't.  When I got home yesterday, he was basking in the sun where the porch joins the house.  Maybe this was his way of thumbing his nose at me?  He didn't give a lick that I was taking pictures ...

FIVE: DOG SLEDDING

Knowing what I know now, I wish we had taken my sister dog sledding … but it means she has at least one reason to return in winter!  Dog Sled Adventures Montana is a family-friendly operation, with Alaskan sled dogs that are just hankering to pull you through 12 miles of winter wonderland.  The mushers choose from nearly 130 Alaskan huskies to staff the 10 spots on each sled (each dog only does one run a day; most days the sleds go out at 10 am, 1 pm and 3.30 pm).  As you can see and hear in the video below, the dogs are all ASKING to be chosen.

But once the sleds took off, the dogs in the yard all fell silent.  The next video is just a small slice of our ride - when we weren't talking to Hannah, our driver, the only sound was the swish of the sled through the snow and her commands to the dogs.  Lightly falling snowflakes added to the romance of the experience.  We were astonished by the energy and stamina of the dogs, not to mention their personalities - that entertainment alone was worth the price of admission!  

I suppose I can put up with the deep freeze if it means making memories like these.

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