Excavator Work

Today was Reece's last day at work so I helped him load the excavator to be sent back to Missoula. We had a few extra minutes so he taught me the basics of running the excavator and helped me move some slash around and break a big log. I must say, it was really fun (and hard)!

Wildlife

These pictures aren't too exciting but just some wildlife Bri and I saw in Glacier. This little guy was at Dawson Pass and would NOT leave us alone until Bri gave him her apple core. He had no qualms about coming right up to our bag. When I threw little rocks at him, he chased after them because he thought they were food. The thing I like about these two pictures is the rams were far away but we managed to still get some decent shots.

Glacier, Part III

Bri (my most recent roommate from UF) came into town for almost a week so once again I took her to my favorite place on Earth, Glacier National Park. We camped at Two Medicine, luckily with no water logged tents this time. Our first day we hiked up to Dawson Pass. I'm not sure why I thought climbing 2500 ft would be fun, but the views were spectacular and well worth almost dying. At one point some fellow hikers told us it was "right around the corner"...they lied. We saw a black bear on the trail at one point but by the time we got the camera out, he saw us and ran away. Considering how terrified I am of bears (second only to frogs) I composed myself quite well. (it may have helped Bri was between the bear and myself)

Dawson PassSunset at our campsite.

The next day we hiked to Grizzly Medicine Lake which was not well frequented by other people so it was our own quiet lake. Luckily no grizzlies decided to visit either.

Our last day we drove across the park and stopped at Logan Pass. This time it was not covered in snow (like it was in July with Amber) and we were able to hike to Hidden Lake. We saw lots of animals (pics to come later) and once again the view was amazing.

A view on the Going to the Sun Road. That's an "island" in the middle of Lake Mary.

Sheafman Creek

I went hiking a few weeks ago on Sheafman Creek. After getting lost a few times (I'm turning into my Father!) I was able to find this pond and lake. The lake was formed from glaciers so was just beautiful. There was another lake somewhere nearby but the trail was unable to be seen so I never did find it. But this lake was beautiful and made the hike worth it. I especially liked the rock leading into the water (and yes! that's ice!)

(the pond)

Work is going well. I had this taken after a day of monitoring old fuel reduction sites. That is Painted Rocks Lake in the background. Check out the hard hat...look real close! (Thanks for the contribution Hughesie!)

Catching Up

Jeff came in from Iowa towards the end of July. We went 4 wheeling and had a hawk following above us. We also went down to Painted Rocks and then checked out the West Fork of the river (picture above) where Jeff tried to catch a fish with his bare hands (notice there's no picture...).







Hamilton had a Brew Fest that weekend and we met up with my roommate Asia.












Shiloh came in from Missouri for a few days. I took her to Bear Creek, one of my favorite hikes. We found lots of berries, some of which were delicious and some of which were not.

Shiloh and I went to the Lee Metcalf Reguge and sat by the river for a while. Right before sunset we saw this bald eagle and followed him till the sun set and the mosquitos ran us away.
The Montana Western State Fair was in town so we went to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert. We walked around and had some fair food- the best of which being the corn on the cob and the Wisconsin fried cheese curds!