Big Timber and A Hike

Yesterday morning we met the gang at the RV park and then drove into Big Timber. We did the Farmer's Market and all the little stores along McLeod Street. Jim makes salsa and jelly and needed some habenero peppers--none to be had in Big Timber--so we decided to go to Livingston and have lunch at the Rib and Chop House. After lunch Jim was successful in finding peppers at Albertson's.

Today Dortha, Ellie and I took the Elk Creek hike leaving the house about 9am. We took our time with lots of photography breaks---


When we reached the creek, we sat down and had a little break before trekking back up and down the hills to reach the trail head. At one point Dortha was in front and saw a little bear run across in front of her--exciting!

Dortha and Ellie headed back to town and I got in some quilting this afternoon. We were to have joined them for dinner in Big Timber but Michael ran into problems at Twelve Springs trying to get the water system leak fixed. We will try to meet up for dinner tomorrow night.

As I write this we are having a major thunderstorm with lots of wind and rain.

Rving Friends

We took a short walk this morning, about all the Jazzy girl was up to. Michael then made a quick trip into town to pick up the hose for the swather. I spent the morning finishing up a few last minute things in anticipation of the arrival of our friends Jim & Ellie and Mark & Dortha.

We met Jim and Ellie in Tucson in early 2008 at Doc Justin's RV Park. They have two Schnauzers and I would run into Ellie and the pooches while walking Jazz. They joined us one afternoon for happy hour and were talking of buying a new motorhome to replace their Bounder. They bought that motorhome and we kept in touch through blogs and e-mails. Last winter they were in Rockport, TX while we were in San Antonio. One weekend we hooked up the RV and took it down to Rockport and spent a few days. While there we got to meet Jim & Ellie's traveling partners, Mark & Dortha.

There is something about this RVing lifestyle that makes lasting friendships out of chance encounters. We have met and kept in touch with several couples in the years we have been traveling. Jim & Ellie and Mark & Dortha are those kind of friends--they arrived mid afternoon and we headed off to Natural Bridge Falls for a little walk (the guys acted as if we were killing them!) They felt much better when we got home and gave them a beer. The six of us enjoyed a wonderful evening and meal. The homemade strawberry ice cream was the best part!

Tomorrow we are going to tour the big town of Big Timber--shouldn't take us long!

A Cool Morning

July 9, 2009 and it was 36 degrees at 6:30am! And, Ellie and the rest of the gang, that is fresh snow way up on that mountain which can be seen from our house. This is a very strange summer, every afternoon a thunderstorm moves through and we get just a tiny bit of rain. It is wreaking havoc on all the ranchers trying to put up hay!

Michael worked on his tractor and baler all day. Nat came for lunch, I grilled steaks and made garlic mashed potatoes.

I cleaned the house, made a batch of bread dough and mowed the grass here at the house.

Late this afternoon Michael decided to take the swather up the road to the Woolsey place and cut the hay. He only got to the bottom of our driveway before he blew a hydraulic hose. He will have to go into town tomorrow morning and get a new one.

Our jungle this year.

Jury Duty and Billings

It was very cool and cloudy this morning, I wore a sweatshirt while spraying weeds--I had a date with the backpack sprayer this morning, UGH!

Michael headed out bright and early for possible jury duty. It was a one day trial and he wasn't picked. When he got home at lunchtime we decided that a run to Billings might be fun. We had no appointments or "have to do's" which is unusual for us. For a long time Michael has wanted to locate the grave site of his uncle Jack, his Dad's older brother who died shortly before his 20th birthday in 1937. From the letters we have it sounds as if he probably died of a kidney disease. Michael's grandmother was devastated by the death of her oldest and insisted that he be buried in a mausoleum. So, we headed to the largest cemetery in Billings on Central Ave. because Nat seemed to remember something about Central Ave. and we found Uncle Jack's spot in their mausoleum.

We had a very enjoyable late lunch/early dinner at CJ's then headed to Lowe's and Costco to pick up a few things. We are looking for new faucets for the motorhome and think we found what will fit.

A very unseasonably cool day in Montana.

An Awesome Hike

Last night's dinner with the Whitney's was great and we got caught up on a lot of their news. It was late when we got back to our house and I had two phone calls--one from Jeane saying it was pouring rain out at her house and she was wondering about the advisability of hiking in the Crazies on Tuesday. The other call was from my friend Nancy--somehow we had gotten our wires crossed and Nancy was down by the road waiting on the rest of us at 6:30 thinking the hike was Monday. I am so sorry for the confusion Nancy, I feel so bad. We wish you could have joined us today.

Jeane called early this morning and we decided not to hike in the Crazies. Tammy really wanted to take a hike so we headed up Elk Creek which is a little ways up the road from us. It was a great decision. Easy to moderate hike, beautiful weather, awesome scenery and wildflowers--we had a great hike.

Wild Columbine which I have never seen before and which Michael says is usually blue in color.

Elk Creek just roaring along, this is where we stopped hiking, to go any farther we would have had to take our shoes off and wade in that frigid cold water.

The fields were so green and the wildflowers abundant and vivid.

The West Boulder Mountains in the distance.

The Crazy Mountains

Tammy came up this afternoon and played on the longarm quilting machine. I think she could also get addicted.

Joe and Tammy are leaving early in the morning. They came up this evening and had a beer (Joe is the marketing director for Sierra Nevada Brewing Company--Pale Ale) so we drink beer when he is here instead of wine. We made plans to do some little odd jobs for them such as installing gutters and doing some chinking between the logs of their house.

Michael got his tractor parts today and got the old (John Deere 42 years old) tractor running. He was thrilled!

A perfect Montana summer day.

Dinosaur Eggs

It was another fun gathering at George and Shirley's last night and their new mud room, bathroom and guest bedroom are beautiful. They were very brave souls, they have been gone for a month to New York and Florida and left the contractor all on his own. The remodel turned out beautiful.

Claire and Robyn who were at the party last night have a Spaniel, a beautiful dog named Molly. She was bitten three times by a rattlesnake yesterday but is fine today, a little swollen but doing well.

It was back to spraying weeds for me today and Michael laid some more rocks on the face of the garage. I cooked up a batch of Jazzy dog food and practiced some quilting.

While I was out spraying weeds, I came across this thing--rock??, dinosaur egg??--no, it is a mushroom. It was at least 16 inches across and a foot tall, ugly thing!


A grumpy little Rufus hummingbird.

Another one of those days with thunderstorms moving through every hour. We are going to Tammy and Joe's for dinner tonight (social butterflies again) and tomorrow Tammy, Jeane and I are going to take a hike up in the Crazy Mountains outside of Big Timber.

Social Butterflies

In a few minutes we are heading down the hill for a little social hour at George and Shirley's. They have been gone for over a month and got back home in time for our party yesterday. They have been having some remodeling done in their home and we get to see the finished product.

Our party yesterday was wonderful. We had 31 guests, tons of food and just a whole lot of fun and visiting. The homemade ice cream that Jeane brought was to die for. Michael did a fabulous job of cooking the burgers and hot dogs. The weather cooperated and it didn't rain but was cloudy, overcast and cool. Just a perfect July 4!

This is a photo of sunrise (yes, sunrise) a few mornings ago. There was a thunderstorm brewing and it gave the sky the strangest color.

Some of the guests at the party yesterday.

Two of these young men Jeff and Patrick, the two on the ends belong to Joe and Tammy, the owners of our former ranch. The young man in the middle, Logan belongs to Joe and Tammy's friends and neighbors in Colorado, Nikki and Jonathan who also joined us along with their daughter Kristen.

More guests, not sure what Jeane is describing and don't Jill and Kelly look great, they have both been faithful Weight Watcher attendees!

Hazel came to the party with her son Russ who grew up with Michael. She is a delight, over 90 but still loves to visit. Nancy and Nikki are enjoying listening to Hazel's reminiscing.

It was a fabulous party and a great July 4. Hope you all enjoyed your 4th.