Class Dismissed

I have known for several months now that I was going to have to spend a couple of days in Helena for work. I was trying to have a good attitude about it, but I just wasn't working up any enthusiasm for the trip. Dan cheered me up considerably though when he asked, "Well, you're taking a camera, aren't you?" Hmmm... hadn't thought of that. 

Monday was the big day, and my travel buddy, Krystal, and I arrived in Helena just before 7 pm. We checked into the hotel, got some dinner, and located our training store. Tuesday morning came early, but we managed to stay awake and learn something. When class was dismissed just before 5, I was delighted to see some sunshine as we exited the building. There was plenty of daylight left after dinner, so we made our way out to Canyon Ferry. 

As we crossed the dam, I looked down to my left and saw people far below us. What I did NOT see, however, was how in the world they got down there! Before long, we pulled over to take a few pictures, and I checked the GPS and found the road that went to the bottom of the dam. I was very disappointed upon arrival to find NO water coming from the top of the dam. 

I loved the eerie, castle-like feel
of this rocky point.

As we turned back, I noticed a gravel road taking off from our paved road. Well, then... that's more like it! The road wound its way up through rocks and trees. Eventually, the road came out on a paved road. After a very short distance, we turned back onto a different gravel road, but we chickened out! The GPS showed it meeting the other gravel road that we had been on, but it was getting narrow and rough, so we turned around and went back the way we came. (Did I mention that if we missed ANY class time, we automatically failed the course?) I was beginning to think that this forest was devoid of wild life, but Krystal finally spotted a small herd of mule deer. Unfortunately, low light and manual focus didn't produce any good pictures. But they are always fun to watch just the same. 



As we returned to the lake, the setting sun was turning the scattered clouds to a lovely rosy hue. I just had to make my way down to the beach! The breeze was pretty chilly, so Krystal elected to stay in the car. I had the whole shoreline to myself, and it was so very peaceful. However, the day had been long, and I knew that the next day was going to be even longer, so I didn't linger as long as I might have otherwise. But even a few hours in God's creation was a really refreshing way to end the day. 

I thought this striated , layered rock was cool.