This is Where I Want to Be

From the summit of the Beartooth Pass



From the Dead Indian Pass on the Chief Joseph Hwy

As I was surviving my half-hour on the elliptical this morning, the Alabama song "Right Where I am (is Where I Wanna Be)" came up on my i-pod. While on the elliptical (or even sitting at the computer typing this) is NOT where I want to be, one line in the song describes me perfectly ~ "Each to his own, but I feel at home, standin' on this mountain high."






From the plateau above Independence

My favorite part of any drive/hike/ride is when we come out of the tree line and reach the summit. I especially love the summits where we can see mountains in every direction. I thought I would share some of my favorite mountain vistas.  



Also from Independence

 Enjoy!

Iron Mountain

Benbow Road

This was taken from the Silver Run Plateau. Unfortunately, the day we actually made it to the top of Silver Run Peak (12,500 ft), it was snowing (in August!) and we couldn't see a thing. :(

 

Storming the Castles

Not long after we moved to Montana, we drove over the Castle Mountains in a Dodge Omni. Yeah... Not our smartest move ever, but we were new to Montana and new to mountains. Obviously, we lived to tell the tale ~ probably because God sometimes chooses to protect us from our own stupidity. ANYWAY, Friday afternoon, we returned to the Castles for the first time since that trip, but this time we took the atv's. We were too late in the season to go over the mountains, but we had a blast playing in well over a foot of snow! The views of the surrounding mountains were breathtaking.

The Crazy Mountains from the Castles

It was a tight squeeze!

 Saturday morning, we headed to "the range next door" ~ the Little Belts. It turned out to be a beautiful day to ride, and the trail recommended to us  was gorgeous! It wound its way through open aspen-filled meadows and shady, thick pine forests. The best part of the whole ride, though, was a stretch called Haymaker Narrows. The trail and the creek bottom braided their way through towering rock spires. Not a ride I would attempt during the spring run-off!



I saw something on Saturday that I have never seen in the wild before. I am fairly certain that I saw the back half of a wolverine! I gave half a second's thought to jumping off the machine to give chase, but then I remembered that a)wolverines have a notorious reputation for a very nasty disposition, and b)Dan had the camera anyway. Since he hadn't seen it and hadn't stopped, I continued on my merry way.


We ate our lunch on an outcropping overlooking the whole valley. We could see the Crazies, the Beartooth-Absoroka Range, and even the Pryors. The wind was a bit chilly, but the view more than made up for it. But, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so we made our way back to the truck and called it a day.

P.S. We learned something on this trip: Perhaps there IS a time to stay on the paved road! My poor baby! :(

Michigan on my Mind

I hope that in light of today's government shutdown that this post does not seem frivolous. But, just maybe, you need to read something positive as much as I need to write it...



I absolutely LOVE fall! I love hoodies and crackling candles; a blustery, cloudy day spent in my jammies; and a hot bowl of chili or stew with fresh-from-the-oven biscuits.


In my "What Makes Me..." page (see sidebar), I mentioned that I am a Michigan transplant. While there is no denying the breath-taking beauty of afternoon sun on golden aspens, I sometimes still find myself a little homesick for Michigan's flamboyant color display. She decks herself in colors ranging from delicate peach and pink all the way to flaming tangerine, burgundy, and red.


The other thing about Michigan fall that I miss is apples, especially apple cider. Apples are to Michigan what corn, wheat, and sugar beets are to Montana. One just can't go very far without driving by an orchard. And in the fall, they all sell freshly squeezed apple cider. Mom always bought (or made) some, and if we were particularly good and helpful children, it wasn't too hard to talk her into making doughnuts to go with our cider. THAT, my friends, is a Michigan fall.

The More the Merrier

We have been trying to get this ride together all summer. What started out as three couples turned into 14 riders on 11 machines! It was chilly, but we were prepared. The rain that we have had all week made for some awesome puddles. Mud on helmet ~ good!
 
Despite some snow, both on the ground and freshly falling, we did get to Independence, a mining ghost town from around the turn of the century. We grabbed snacks and ate in the shelter of an old cabin while Dan fixed the broken shifter on his machine.
 
We all made it back down to the trucks, where the sun was shining, of course. (I did not say that it was warm!) 
  
I am tired and a little stiff from the 60 mile ride, but we had a great time.

What you will NOT find on my blog

This is a blog all about leaving civilization far, far behind. My husband, Dan, and I love to take a road all the way to the end. Signs like "Pavement Ends" and "Road Not Maintained" are to us like siren songs to sailors of old. Dan grew up wandering all over Vermont, and my favorite place growing up in Michigan was Wildwood. (Actually, it was pretty tame compared with the wildernesses of Montana.) So, while I may occasionally wander away on a rabbit trail, these are subjects that you will NOT find on my blog:

1) Posts about fashion or make-up. I always do my best to be presentable, but I refuse to ride the merry-go-round of trends and fads.

2) You will not see a recipe or a home-decorating idea. I can cook well enough to keep us alive (my mother made sure of that), but it is not something I enjoy. I love every one else's home projects, but in my little house, they just feel like clutter.

3) No tv or movie reviews from this girl. Since my girls left home, I hardly watch either. (Dan just isn't into wedding planning shows, cooking shows, or chick flicks.)

So, now that we have the "won't-be"s out of the way, here is what you will see.

1) Mountains. We live in the shadow of the beautiful Beartooth-Absaroka range. The Big Horn Mountains, the Pryor Mountains, and the Teton range are other favorite destinations.

2) Waterfalls. Big, small, towering, or just wide rapids, I love them all!

3) Wildlife. Many of our drives have had no other purpose than to see what we could find and photograph.

I hope you enjoy my blog.