Sunset at the Bridge

Shawn didn't bring me any fish tonight when he was out, but he did bring me pictures of a gorgeous sunset.

Impression: Lighthouse

I'm not sure why I like this picture of the Craighill Channel Lower Range lighthouse - taken in low light and at fairly high speed - as much as I do. But I do!

Lighthouse or Birdhouse?

You decide!

The Craighill Channel Lower Range Lighthouse, near Miller's Island.

Dog Days

We took Crockett for a boat ride today in search of fish and a respite from the heat.

No luck with either endeavor -- a couple of little blue fish and one decent-sized (but not picture-worthy) perch and persistent 90 degree heat all day...

Who Do You Love?

Thanks to our friends Rich & Helen for hooking us up with tickets to see George Thorogood at the Rams Head Live in Baltimore. We weren't the youngest people in the crowd, but we were far from the oldest. Shawn took this picture with his cell phone from the VIP balcony.

Too much fun!

The Lone Ranger Rides Again

Spotted on Capitol Hill

Our Post Office has a sense of humor!

Who is that masked man?

... and his little dog too!

Purple Mountain Majesty

Flathead River access under Route 2. The haze is from the smoke of nearby forest fires.
I found a comfortable place to read while Shawn fished.
Our trusty Jeep Commander.

A River Runs Through It

Norman McLean seems to have provided much of the inspiration for our Montana adventures. Using his spinning reel instead of a fly rod, Shawn caught six species of fish -- the two pictured here are the Montana Mountain Whitefish (the namesake of our little resort town) and the Cutbow (a hybrid of the Cutthroat and Rainbow trouts). He also caught Rainbow Trout, Cutthroat Trout, Yellow Perch, and Brook Trout.

Not bad when you consider that all the locals told him, "There aren't any fish this year -- too hot and too many people." I guess you have to go where the fish -- not the people -- are if you want to catch fish!

North Fork, Flathead River

Our last day in Montana, and we spent it wandering in and around the park in search of fish and comfortable places to read. Not a bad day at all!

Last Fish of the Day

Losing our light

While I pulled up a comfortable rock and read my book

If you look, you can see me on the stream bank.
I finished Charles McCarry's latest, Christopher's Ghosts, this afternoon.

See -- He Really Caught a Fish!

Creek Fishing

On the way back, we stopped at several streams so Shawn could try his luck fishing off the beaten path.

He took off cross country, but soon came wading back when he realized that I had the camera and he'd missed the chance to get a close up of his biggest fish yet.

Somehow, my long-distance shot across the stream wasn't enough to prove that he's catching fish...

Notice the black neoprene socks -- a new purchase and a necessity to keep his feet warm in the glacial waters. I think they make quite the fashion statement!

Kintla Lake

The end of the road. Canada is 5 miles further north.

What a view!

Glacier Redux

When the conference adjourned today at noon, Shawn came back to the lodge and picked me up for an afternoon of exploring the western boundary of Glacier.

Instead of stick to the more travelled route, we decided to take the backroads toward Canada. Most of our roads today were gravel -- the one pictured here is outside the park and one of the best we drove on.

We stopped at a couple interesting places along the way. The Home Ranch Bottoms is a catch all: bar, restaurant, cyber-cafe, and gift shop rolled into one.

The Polebridge Mercantile caters to hikers and back country campers. It has laundry and shower facilities for people who've had to do without for a while. For day-trippers like us, it has an excellent bakery and the obligatory gift shop.

The back roads in the park are mostly single track. Thankfully, we didn't meet many cars, though we saw our share of whitetail deer. It was obvious that the roads in the park were not well-travelled from the height of the weeds that had grown up in the middle of the track.

Middle Fork, Flathead River

Where the locals in West Glacier fish.

The water in the Flathead is deep, cold, and crystal clear.

What Shawn did while I was in meetings today

Bear Creek

One last fishing stop on the way back to Whitefish.

As the sun set, Shawn and I took turns pulling little trout out of Bear Creek.

If we'd been a bit quicker on the draw, we'd be able to show you a picture of the animal for which this body of water is named.

Driving along Bear Creek, approaching the Goat Lick Overlook, we saw a young black bear ambling across the road. When he noticed a rental Jeep approaching at highway speed, he took off into the woods before we could catch him.

Darn that shutter lag!

Fire

Fire is a way of life during the summer in the Rocky Mountain west. I picked up a copy of Norman McLean's excellent book "Young Men and Fire" to learn a bit about the smoke jumping -forest firefighting culture.

Two fires are burning near Glacier -- close enough that we get some smoke and haze if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, but not so close that we're in any danger of evacuation.

On our way out of the park and back to Whitefish on Route 2, we passed evidence of an earlier fire. Shortly afterward, we drove by a firefighter base camp near the Devil Creek campsight in the Flathead National Forest.

Eastern end of Saint Mary Lake

We stopped just shy of the Saint Mary Visitor Center, where the Park borders the Blackfood Indian Reservation, so Shawn could entice some brookies out of the river.
Success!!

Looking at Saint Mary Lake

Near the end of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The water really is that blue!

Brrr!

Shawn gets his feet wet in St. Mary Creek.

He said it was COLD!