Wild Montana Skies - a photo essay

The last major piece of my sabbatical this summer was a trip to Bozeman, MT., where I spent a long weekend with Mike and Nora Miller.

There was a big engine right outside my window.

We flew over Wenatchee, although it was a little hazy.

The first full day there, Mike, his nephew, and I did about a 10-mile float down the Yellowstone River. Unfortunately, the fish weren't very active. For the record, though, I was the only one to actually pull a fish into the boat. Just don't ask me how big it was or I'll have to lie.

The second day Mike took me to a lake about 15 miles from their house. We rode quads up there, fished awhile (we both caught some decent trout), sat out a thunderstorm, then road back.

 

Dinner that night was spent on their deck. It's a gorgeous place to enjoy a fine meal.

The third day, Mike, Nora, and I took a 9-mile hike to Emerald Lake, where we enjoyed some fine fishing right up until being caught in a massive thunderstorm.

 

Later that night Mike took me to an underground bar in downtown Bozeman, where they have live bluegrass every Monday night. It was the perfect end to a long day.

Flying home, I had a brief stop in Portland, where they have a nice display of hand-crafted musical instruments.

And then, back in Seattle, and that was the end of my summer travels.

Road Trip Redux

One of the things that struck me on our trip is the amazing diversity of this state of Washington. From the lush Puget Sound lowlands wherein we live, up to the reaching Alpine heights rich in forest and granite wall, to the fertile prairies and the deep, barren coulees of eastern Washington; we really have three states in one.

We also experienced a rich diversity of social structure. On the one hand, we left world-class Seattle and Tacoma, and spent time in Spokane, a grand city in its own right. On the other, we were able to spend three days about as far off the grid as you can get, up in the Yaak.

So perhaps variety was the theme of this vacation.

And, yes, it was a good trip, and we feel relaxed and refreshed, and, no, I'm not ready to get back to work yet.