Friendly Montana

From Butte to Kalispell, Montana to see friends and the sites!

Funny how a two month road trip is taking over a year to blog about isn’t it? Kinda like being on one loooooong summer vacation for a year.  But then again, who would complain about that prospect?

Montana, full of fun times with friends.  From day at the lake to doggy ice cream, always a good time to be had while visiting friends.

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Montana, full of passionate beliefs. Now this was an eye opener for this California girl. Not only was this one location a sign mecca but I was surprised to find that many people posted huge ten commandments signs on their properties.  Don’t get me wrong, I am 100% for freedom of expression and I do believe in the ten commandments. This was just surprising because I had never seen anything like this before. But then again, I grew-up in California. I have seen other things that no one should see. Need I say more?

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Montana, full of amazing views and experiences at Glacier National Park. My friend Kim was a good sport to wake at the crack of dawn and allow me to drive ourselves to the tippy top of the mountain to the Glacier Visitor’s center and go hiking. As I huffed and puffed, she made it look like a breeze to scurry up the walkway. I was not used to the altitude. (Yeah, that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it.)

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Kim had warned me that the 2 lane road was narrow and curvy but I had assured her that I would get us there safely. There are the Red Bus tour cars you can take, but personally, I only trust my driving and I like to be in control of where and when I stop to peak over the steep cliffs. We made it there and back safely but still wonder to this day how one tourist managed to flip their car completely onto its side and block both lanes right outside the visitor’s center.

And of course, being two educators, we especially enjoyed the displays for kids:

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Visiting Lake McDonald’s Lodge was a special treat.  We took a rainy but exciting boat ride on the lake and ate a delicious lunch at Russel’s Fireside Dinning Room. Originally, The Lewis Glacier Hotel in 1914, it attracted nature enthusiasts including Charles M. Russell, who is claimed to have etched pictographs in the dining room’s original fireplace hearth.

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Montana, full of the amazing farmland I adore. I won’t even write too much about this bit because if you have been reading my blog you already know that I have a fascination with farms. I don’t know if it stems from reading Charlotte’s Web to my third graders every year or what? But then again, I always thought it would be cool to have a pet pig growing-up. Just sayin.

 

 

 

There is a road to somewhere spectacular!

And if you can not find one, make your own road for others to follow. 

 

 

 

Off to Moab!

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The drive from Salt Lake City to Moab was filled with big raindrops and bright sunshine. The ADD me was thrilled with all the weather changes as I drove!

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At first it looked a little daunting.

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Then I wondered what would be on the other side.

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Add it was beautiful!

My destination this time? Arches National Park! 

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Open 24 hours a day!  First timers may find it interesting to know that if you get to the opening gate before the rangers, you can drive right in for free!  Seriously though, everyone should buy an annual pass to support our national parks to enjoy all year long. I received an annual pass from my student’s families at the end of the school year.  BEST TEACHER GIFT EVER!

Funny thing about landscape photographers with tripods.  We are usually big time introverts that don’t talk much other than the approving glance to one another.   I’ve read that many photographers hate having a chatty person ask them endless questions as they are trying to concentrate on what is before them visually and how to capture it in a photo. I try to be very respectful of this. 

But when the light melts away some of those introvert ways disappear. Benefits to staying late at a national park are you can make new friends (I’m talking photographers here.) and get to try something new. I stayed to take pics of the sunset but alas the colors just were not there that night.  Fortunately for me, a few lovely photographers lingered longer.  One gal stayed to take pics as her husband  “painted” the arches and the huge rocks with his flashlight for us as we took pictures.  (“Painted” means he waved his flashlight in the direction we asked for about 30 seconds. What a patient guy!) 

I’ve never taken pics at night so these are novice pics, however, I appreciate how much I learned this night from my wonderful fellow photographers.

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