Spending my Birthday in Red Lodge

New road, new views

A girl only gets one birthday a year, so it should be embraced and celebrated! I had already decided what I wanted to do today, so I was a little concerned when I woke up to grey skies. But fortunately, the clouds started to break up, and by the time I made myself as pretty as possible, the sun was shining.

Yep, been to that tippy-top!

Off to Red Lodge! In honor of the occasion, Dan even found a road that we have never taken before ~ not an easy feat! The gravel road had its own surprise for us ~ perhaps the most head-on view of Silver Run Peak that we have seen. We have an affinity for this 12,500 foot peak. Climbing to the top of it will do that.  Along the way, we were reminded that while the new truck has more "muscle" under the hood, the tires are NOT what we had on the old truck. (Soon to be remedied!) Only once was I afraid that we just might not get up the hill, even in 4-wheel drive. But after a couple of tries, she got her wheels under her and we made it to the paved road and on down into Red Lodge.




While I love Montana and can't imagine living anywhere else, I am very glad that I did not arrive in this era!
  

Red Lodge is a favorite mountain haunt of ours ~ It is the start of our all-time favorite drive, the Beartooth Highway; the trailhead to Silver Run Peak, our longest, highest hike, is not far out of town; and the little shops and lack of corporate America reminds me of my hometown in Northern Michigan in the 70's and 80's. We did a little Christmas shopping, visited with a couple of local professional photographers (there is always something we can learn), and had an awesome plate of nachos at Bogart's. Of course, no stop in Red Lodge is complete until I have been to the Candy Emporium. I guess that is enough for one birthday.

A beautiful end to an enjoyable day

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Thanksgiving is absolutely my favorite holiday! I love the foundation of family and counting blessings. The lack of pressure - Will she like my gift? Did I forget anybody? - probably doesn't hurt anything either.

Even growing up, this holiday was probably the best in my book. My dad was usually hunting, so our meal was almost always after dark. In the morning, my sister and I would watch the parade on television, then help Mom with meal preparations. Then it was just a matter of waiting, and waiting, and w a i t i n g for Daddy to get home.

One childhood Thanksgiving, however, clearly stands out in my mind. I don't remember exactly how many people were crammed into our tiny kitchen, but it was a lot! But the next day, it was another tiny room that was in great demand ~ EVERYBODY was sick! Looking back, we have decided that cross-contamination from the turkey to the cranberry sauce was probably to blame, because my grandpa and I were the only ones who didn't get sick. (I hate cranberry sauce and my grandpa had an iron stomach.)

These days with my family and our kids far away, our Thanksgiving is a rather quiet gathering at Dan's sister's house. She is a fabulous cook, and dinner never disappoints. Of course, with my job in retail, I will not have the day off, but at least I can join the family for dinner on my lunch hour.

However you celebrate the day, I hope you will take a moment to count your blessings. I know I will be.

Different Desert, Different Day

Bryce Canyon National Park

Arches National Park

Zion National Park

Dan and I have been thinking for a while now that it is time to get back into a diesel truck with a little more pulling power. We spent all of last Friday and Saturday looking at every used Chevy diesel in Billings, but nothing seemed quite right. So we did what every savvy shopper does ~ we came home and pulled up trucks on the internet. NOW we had choices! Since we were being picky anyway, I insisted that we only look at red ones. After one false start, we located a truck with real possibilities in St George, Utah. It was really neat to sit back and watch God put the pieces of the puzzle together: the right truck, the financing, the extra day off work, etc.

We took off Thursday morning for the 14-hour drive. (I love spontaneity!) Friday morning, we hit the dealership five minutes after opening. The truck was just what we needed and we were able to make a deal, so we were leaving the city by early afternoon.

With the deal made and two and a half days' time to get home on, we turned to tourist attractions. While we were just a stone's throw away from AZ (one of the few states that I have not visited) and the Grand Canyon, we decided to save that for another trip and go east instead.

We started with Zion National Park, as recommended by several locals. It was absolutely gorgeous! I loved the rock formations, the river, and the trees, but I wasn't too fond of the mile-long tunnel in the main road. It probably didn't help that it was unlit, and right up until that moment, it never even occurred to us to check the lights on the truck. After a couple of seconds, Dan got it figured out, but I was still very relieved to exit the tunnel.

I love the etching in the rock.

From Zion, we headed to Bryce Canyon National Park. Since we had very little daylight left, we made a bee-line straight to the main attraction. All I could say, over and over again, was WOW! We watched the moon rise and the sun set and just kept taking pictures. After a delicious buffet dinner in the historic lodge, we drove across the desert floor, still enjoying the mountains by the light of the full moon.

Saturday morning found us up bright and early and making tracks for Arches National Park. I have seen pictures and tv travelogues on these parks, but that is just not the same as being there and taking your own pictures. The timing of the trip was perfect, too... not too hot (ok, downright chilly), and not too many people. We photographed all the main arches, saying the whole time that we need to come back when we have time to hike.


 
 
 Unfortunately, there is no flat route from I-70 to I-80, so we had five hours of white-knuckle, edge-of-the-seat driving after dinner. But God watched over us all the way, and despite one "close call" (Dan's words), we arrived safely in Rawlins, WY.
We were both very relieved to travel the rest of the way home on Sunday on clear, dry roads under sunny skies, surrounded by the beautiful mountains of home.



A High Desert Day

Cactus and sage

Dan did some looking online this week for new places to ride. Right "next door" to an area we have ridden several times, he spotted some roads we hadn't yet tried. So when we awoke to sunshine this morning, we took off for Belfrey, a tiny town near the Montana/Wyoming border.

Heart Mountain




Because it's there, my friend, because it's there.



We located the road we wanted and unloaded. We left the parking lot and immediately started gaining altitude. It wasn't long before we were looking back down into the valley and enjoying views of the mountains in all directions. After a short, dead-end spur, we found a road going the way we wanted. When we stopped after a while for a snack, we were back in the valley ~ the next valley over. Looking around, we noted some interesting trees and rocks along the ridgeline, so we had to climb up! (Dan assured me that the rattlers are starting to den up this time of year, so even if we spotted one, it would be "sluggish." Makes it easier to catch, he tells me. Hmmm... Comforting!) We scrambled our way to the top and were rewarded with really neat rock formations, trees, and views of the Pryors.


Can you spot the machines?

Then it was "on the road again." We crossed a main road and realized that we were in the area we had ridden before. So we rode there for a while. When we looped back to the main road, I was ready to call it a day. BUT... not so fast. We got relatively close to the truck without trouble, but then we just couldn't seem to find our way back down off of the ridge. We took wrong roads TWICE! (Good thing we have a GPS. It helps if you check it now and again!) We did beat the sunset back to the truck, but it was dark when we got home. At least I had ribs waiting for us in the crock pot. Yummy!