First Day of Summer ?!!

We are having a gloriously beautiful first day of summer here in Montana. Everyone here is commenting on how much snow is still on the mountains. In the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, our local newspaper, there was a picture on the front page showing one of their reporters skiing in only shorts on the first day of summer!! Of course, the lifts are not operating so he had to hike to the top of the mountain to have the thrill of skiing downhill. For me, I'm just not that avid of a skiier.

Here in Big Sky, as you can see in the picture to the left, Lone Peak is still covered. I even heard an avalanche control blast this morning. There's a wilderness outdoors group here this weekend, and they are up on the mountain. An avalanche would not be good - there has already been one avalanche last week in the bowl.

We went on a 3-mile hike yesterday and found the first sure sign that summer is here - the glacier lilies are blooming! They are the first wildflowers that pop up after the snowmelt. That's Jim's hand holding the flower. We also spotted some spring bulbs in front of Huntley Lodge - spring, summer??? I'm confused!! However, the snow is beginning to melt, and running off the mountain in huge volumes. We had temperatures in the 70s today. If that continues, the snow will soon recede to 10,000 feet, a more normal summertime altitude.

Down in the Meadow Village, the North and South Forks of the Gallatin are overflowing their banks. Thankfully, there's no flooding, and probably won't be. But, the power of Nature is so visible and present here. I think that's one of the things that draw me here every summer. When I'm in the beautiful Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee, it's easy to forget what it's like being here. The Cumberlands are my roots, my home and the most comforting place in the world to me. But, the raw, powerful, majestic beauty of the Rockies just leaves me in awe and uplifts my spirits as I stand in its midst.