Let It Snow!

Well.......  summer is gone here in Montana.  I can't fully explain the palpable excitement among locals here when the snow starts.  The ski shops open for business and everyone starts waxing and tuning their skis.  I can't believe we won't have an Indian Summer, but right now I'm thinking about that big plane I'm getting on tomorrow and hoping they have the de-icers ready!!

The snow started this morning and really hasn't let up all day.  The good news is that the roads are still warm and, barring a 16 degree overnight temp, we should be fine to drive to the airport tomorrow.  The forecast in Big Sky predicts overnight lows in the low 20s for the next week.  It's a good time to come back to Tennessee while the snow accumulates in Montana. 

Look for more pictures of grandchildren, coming shortly on this site!!

If I Were An Eagle ... looking at Old Faithful

But, I'm not an eagle...  I had to hike a half mile and climb 250 feet to get this view.  It was well worth the trip.  The sky was blue and Old Faithful had one of its more exuberant eruptions,  The view from down below is always impressive, but there are always so many people, even in the off-season.  We found a spot where we were all alone, and just sat and waited.

When we left Big Sky for the park, the sky was very hazy.  As we got closer to the park, the haze picked up, and sure enough, we started smelling smoke.  A wild fire on the eastern side of the park, ignited by lightening strikes over the weekend, was burning and we suspected that we might be in for a day of low visibility and no photo ops.  Unbelievably, just about 3 miles before we got to Old Faithful, the smoke cleared and we had a picture perfect environment.  Smoke goes wherever the wind blows, and fortunately the wind was blowing from the south taking it all away from us.  Unfortunately, the wind gusts caused the fire to spread.  We have had an unusually wet summer here and no wildfires until now.  The last two weeks have been dry, however, and there's enough dead wood (thanks to the pine beetle) to provide ready tinder when lightening strikes. 

Old Faithful is located in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone, part of the larger caldera that bubbles and spews constantly.  Off in the distance, we could see Castle Geyser which erupts about every 14 hours.  It's a long wait, compared to Old Faithful which erupts on a 90-minute schedule.  But, when you see Castle Geyser, it may erupt for as long as 90 minutes.  Indeed, we hiked down on the west side of the overlook and in the 30 or so minutes it took us to reach Castle, it was still erupting.

Solitary Geyser stands alone in a forested area at the bottom of the overlook trail.  The sign tells us that it erupts about every 5 minutes, but this is one of those bubbling eruptions that sounds more like a mud pot.  This is one of the more beautiful geysers, deep blue in the center surrounded by yellow sulphur powder.

Most of the Upper Geyser Basin is connected by raised walkways and bridges.  The Firehole River meanders through the basin and the geysers empty into it.  We walked back over the river and headed to the parking lot.  As we drove back north toward West Yellowstone, all the smoke had blown away, but we did see the smoke plume to the east.

Word today is that the fire is contained to 9,600 acres.  A cold front is on the way and 4-6 inches of snow is forecast for tomorrow.  Sounds like a good time to head to Tennessee!

Black Butte, King Butte, and Beyond

Just another perfect day here in Yellowstone country!!  Just 18 miles south of Big Sky on Hwy 191, we enter the northernmost boundry of Yellowstone National Park.  Most of the park is in Wyoming, but a small percentage - about 3% or 100 square miles - is in Montana just south of us.  That means the trails are maintained and the wildlife and environment are protected.

We decided to hike a new trail today, the Black Butte trail named for Black Butte Creek which flows down from Black Butte mountain through the drainage into the Gallatin River.  The 600-acre privately owned Black Butte Ranch, which has been owned by the same family (Patten family) for 4 generations, is just to the west of the trailhead and adjacent to the park boundary.

The trail parallels Black Butte Creek through stands of mostly lodgepole pine, but there are also a few groves of aspen and Douglas fir.  Black Butte is just south of the trail and is the first landmark we passed.  The trail climbs about 600 feet for 2 miles and then forks with two options - neither of which we took.  The more challenging option - for another day - is to continue on for 7 miles and a 3100 ft climb to the summit of Big Horn Peak, and if your're really energetic, on to Shelf Lake 3 miles further.  The other option is to connect to the Daly Creek trail, a more moderate challenge that continues on for another 10 or so miles.

Neither of these options was our goal, so we just found a log at the base of the massive King Butte and sat and ate our lunch surrounded by the silence.  Oh, we heard a few birds here an there - a junco and a magpie - and the breeze was strong enough to make a low whistle.  But, there was not another person on the trail.  Nor was there any wildlife other than a few flying grasshoppers and an occasional squirrel busily collecting his stores for the winter.  We saw some evidence that elk or grizzlies had been around:  grasses matted and bark stripped from tree trunks - but no live sightings.

But, we don't have to go far from our front door to find wildlife.  Thursday night we were having dinner with friends in their home which overlooks Lake Levinsky within walking distance.  As we sipped our wine on the balcony, we spotted 3 moose - one cow and two bulls sparring for her affection.  It's just a constant reminder here that we are sharing space with these magnificent creatures.

The views on the way out were just as beautiful and, since the trail was downhill, we made the return trip in about half the time.  When we returned to our parking spot beside the Gallatin River, we spoke to a fisherman just jumping into his waders and getting ready to flyfish for trout.  As we say... just another Chamber of Commerce day.

Fall in Yellowstone Country

This was a beautiful clear blue sky day, a perfect day for a hike on one of the many trails in Yellowstone National Park.  We chose a trail we had never hiked before which led to a beautiful little lake, Harlequin Lake.

We enter the park through the west entrance at West Yellowstone and follow along the Madison River for 16 miles which ends at Madison Junction.  Just 1 mile short of Madison Junction is the trailhead to Harlequin Lake.  As we crested the ridge, the lake was visible just ahead, half covered in lilypads.  Fall is such a serene and beautiful time in Yellowstone.  The crowds of visitors are gone, and except for one other hiker who had cycled to the trailhead, we had it to ourselves.

We took our lunch, found a vacant log, and ate surrounded by silence save the honking of a few Canada Geese.  The only other wildlife we saw were some mallard ducks swimming and dabbling on the lake.  At this time of the year, it's possible to hike the circumference of the lake due to the receding shoreline.  As we walked around the lake we crossed a lava rock slide on the opposite shore where young aspens, just beginning to show their fall colors, are already coming back after a wildfire several years ago.

The fires which swept through Yellowstone in 1988 have left their devastating imprint on this land.  At the same time, it has refined the landscape and made way for the growth of new foilage which was previously crowded out by the more quickly growing lodgepole pines, although the lodgepoles are making a strong bid for this land again.  We saw thousands of new pines along the trail  The cycle of nature is never more evident than in Yellowstone - beautiful, sometimes cruel, but there for all to see.

We hiked back down the trail and, on the way back out of the park, we spotted some elk cows cooling off in Gneiss Creek.  It was 80 degrees today, unseasonably warm for this late in the season.  We were told that the bull elk of the harem was on the ridge above the creek, and that he was quite the handsome 7-point elk.  We never spotted him, and didn't wait around to hear him bugle at the end of the day.  It won't be long now until we can hear the elk bugles all over our side of this mountain we call home during the summer and early fall.

As much as we love this country in the fall, I must say the draw of home and family is strong.  We will be back in a week to see our new granddaughter, Malenda and her parents in Nashville.  Then, on to Chattanooga to see our grandson Will and his dad and our soon-to-be daughter-in-law and grandchildren, Seoung, Miles and Camille.  Ahhh...  life is GOOD!!!

Welcome Malenda Sage!!

We have a new grandaughter - Malenda Sage!

Malenda was born on August 25, weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and was 22 inches long.  As of this writing she is 4 weeks old and pushing 10 lbs.  We are so thrilled to welcome this wonderful little girl into our family.  And, I'm so pleased that she shares my name.

Her name is a blend of my name and my daughter Marci's name - MaLenda.  Dad Ryan chose Sage as her middle name - let's just say he's an avid fly fisherman! 

This naming tradition started with my mother who named me Lenda Nell because of her best friend Lenna, who was also her cousin, and my mother's last name Davis (which was also shared by Lenna).  My mother's given name was Nellie Mae which she shortened to Nell as an adult.  The tradition continued when I named my daughter Marcia Lenell, a combination of my name and my mother's name.  Marcia is her paternal grandmother.

We got the call about Malenda's birth on the day she was born.  Marci was working in Dallas and got the call that Malenda was waiting for them.  Marci got back home on Wednesday evening and she and Ryan met Malenda on Thursday morning.  For more on their journey, check out Marci's blog.

We were able to get a quick flight to Nashville on Friday and, along with Ryan's parents, met Malenda on Friday afternoon.  Malenda was quite calm, considering all the excitement around her.  We were permitted to go into the nursery, after properly scrubbing and gowning, and hold her as much as we wanted to.  The staff at the hospital was so supportive.  On the 3rd day, they moved Marci and Ryan to a rooming-in room and they spent one night with Malenda, with fabulous nursing support, before bringing her home on Sunday.

Now...  I apologize for bringing politics into this, BUT Malenda had the good sense to arrive just in time to justify my trip to Nashville on the weekend of Jackson Day.  It was a very exciting weekend which started with a meeting with Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia.  He met with about 20 very active volunteers from across the state who had worked in the Obama campaign and listened to our ideas and concerns.  In fact, I just took a cab from the airport to downtown just in time to make the meeting.

Then, on Saturday night, the keynote speaker for the Jackson Day dinner was former President Bill Clinton.  Along with other friends from Grundy County, we had participated in a phone bank challenge to win a table next to the head table at the dinner - and WE WON!!  The head table included former Vice-President Al Gore, former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr.,Governor Phil Bredesen and  former Governor Ned McWherter.  Before I knew about Malenda, I had given my tickets to my son Jimmy, and his fiancee Seoung, who were thrilled with their blue ribbon seats.  Seoung teaches environmental science and was very pleased to meet Al Gore.  I was able to get a ticket at the last minute at the Hamilton County table.  By the way, the gentleman in the picture with them is Senator Roy Herron, who hopes to become the next Governor of Tennessee.

OK - that's all for politics - but a big thanks to Malenda for making it necessary for me to be there on that weekend!  Not sure what this portends for her political future, but I am grateful for her timely arrival into the world.

I was able to stay in Nashville for a little over two weeks and help Marci and Ryan get settled.  My favorite times were definitely the walks with Malenda in the stroller.  On her second day home, she was fussing a little bit so I decided to take her outside for a change of environment, and, to my surprise, she went right to sleep.  So, the next day, Jim and I put her in the stroller and took her on the wonderful riverwalk trail in the neighborhood.  She went to sleep within the first 5 minutes and had a nice 1-hour nap while we got our exercise.

I also took the overnight shift for a couple of nights which meant waking up every 3 to 4 hours for a feeding.  Fortunately, she quickly established a nighttime sleeping routine of taking a bottle and going right back to sleep.  I, however, am not accustomed to having my sleep interrupted, so I was quite sleepy the next morning, so Marci or Ryan would take over the next morning and let me sleep in.

How quickly little ones change!  Before I left, she was already resonding to the mobiles and floor mat toys.  As soon as she learned that she could make the toys move and jingle, she really got her whole body into it.  Her arms and legs were in constant motion and she even started smiling and cooing in response.  Oh my, I miss those sweet little smiles and know she will have changed so much by the time I get back there again.  Fortunately, that won't be too long!

Grand Targhee Bluegrass

It had been 6 years since we were in Grand Targhee, WY for the annual bluegrass festival.  The last time we were there... what a lineup - Del McCoury, Blue Highway, Cherryholmes  - and those are just the ones I  remember!

This festival is a 3-day event, Friday thru Sunday, and the lineup this year, while trending more toward "newgrass" than to my liking, still had its fair share of traditional bluegrass bands, along with some new acts (new to me, at least) whom I will follow for years to come.

One of the newbies appeared on Sunday, a misty, rainy day, unlike the two other glorious blue sky days preceeding.  I sat under an umbrella for their entire set and bought TWO CDs.  Anne and Pete Sibley have been together 10 years and their music is some of the most soulful and touching I have heard in a long time.  Two of the ballads, "Calling My Children Home"  (an Emmylou Harris song) sung a cappella, and "Just the Right Moment" sung in 3/4 time and written by Anne, brought me to tears.  Add to that traditional gospel tunes like "Angel Band" and "Wayfaring Stranger" and I'm in total bluegrass heaven!  Take a listen to their music clips and let me know what you think.  This couple is so connected - Anna's lead and Pete's harmony is spot on and they're not bad pickers either.  Oh... and did I mention that they write their own music and lyrics and just won "The Great American Duet Championship" on NPRs Prairie Home Companion.  They live in Jackson Hole, just over the Teton Pass, so their whole family was there including their adorable 2-year old daughter who was decked out in her red lady bug rain gear and ushered around by Anna's mom.

The other group I will be following is Bearfoot.  The 3 young women in this group are knockout vocalists and all 5 band members are talented musicians.  One of the guys grew up in Alaska and went to school at ETSU in Johnson City - so some Tennessee connection there.  They have some TN and NC dates in September.  They were also recently nominated for IBMA's Emerging Artist of the Year Award.



Steep Canyon Rangers, a band I had already heard at the WDVX Blue Plate Special about 3 years ago, was also there and brought the house down.  They won the IBMA Emerging Artist of the Year Award in 2006 and have earned an international reputation in traditional bluegrass.  Based in Asheville, NC, the hallmark of this group is their gorgeous vocal harmonies. The lead vocalist and guitar picker, Woody Platt, is not only very pleasant to gaze at, but a pleasure to listen to.  I also understand that he's a heck of a fly fisherman.  Maybe my son-in-law can make a connection there!

There's always such a diversity of people at Targhee.  The one constant is the hula hoops.  At the entrance to the festival are a stack of hula hoops.  The hula hoopers generally line up behind the sound system stage and merrily hula hoop in rhythm to the music.  Some of these people are really quite good and I suspect they have been at this every summer for years.  They carry on conversations, eat full meals and drink beer without ever losing the hoop.  Amazing.

Equally entertaining is the variety of clothing.  This year, we had hippy Santa Claus, birdman with some 3-foot bird feathers in his hat and a woman wearing a fur vest and boots - and this was a very warm day!

Sunday was to be a blue ribbon day with The Wilders and David Grisman.  Alas, the drizzle turned into outright downpours so we finally called it quits.  I'll have to catch them another time, 

The drive back through beautiful eastern Idaho, in the shadow of the Tetons, was filled with bluegrass music from the autographed CDs purchased at the festival.  Driving through this beautiful country always reminds me of the lyrics to America the Beautiful...  "spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountains"...   It's great to live in the country that everyone sings about!!

Until next year....

Will's Summer

One of the things I miss most about being in Montana for the summer is weekly visits with our grandson, Will. Can it be that he is 6 years old this summer and getting ready for first grade? He celebrated his birthday in May in fine fashion at Chuck-E-Cheese with a Spiderman birthday cake. I'm not sure he was thrilled with the Chuck-E mascot, but he loved the cake and the friends who were there collecting tickets like crazy for take-home gifts.

One of his favorite gifts was a Spiderman scooter.  He really caught on to the required balancing skills fairly quickly and now is zooming around the neighborhood - thankfully with his helmet on!

We were in town for a few days at the beginning of July and spent the afternoon at the pool with Will and his dad. Will's swimming has improved exponentially. He was actually doing a pretty good free style without holding his nose. His favorite activity for this particular afternoon was using his dad's hands as a springboard for flips into the water.

In a recent telephone conversation with Will I was trying to persuade him that he needed to come to Montana for a visit. "You don't have a pool," was his response. He was very surprised to learn that not only did we have a pool, but that there was no snow on the ground. That's understandable since the only times he has been here are for annual ski trips - Montana and snow are inseparable in his mind.

Maybe next summer he will be ready for a Montana vacation. Can't wait to introduce him to wildflower hikes, horseback riding, trout fishing - and yes, even the swimming pool!!