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!

Glacier with Amber!!!

Amber (awesome friend from UF who now lives in Texas) came into town for a long 4th of July weekend and we headed up to Glacier. We camped at Many Glacier and got the LAST campsite. We had an amazing time and Amber even volunteered at work with me for a couple of days. There are lots of pictures following and it was hard to choose but once again I have concluded Glacier is one of my favorite places...ever!

Iceberg Lake! My family and I made it halfway here on our vacation a number of years ago before the rain/cold/hunger kept us from going the whole way. Amber and I made great time due to the coming sunset and the fact that we were almost running. But the trip was completely worth it.
View coming back from Iceberg Lake.
Our tent- which was my Daddy's from who knows how long ago. It didn't let the rain in except it soaked in from the ground. So after the first night the Focus served as our "tent" and it was rather comfortable.
Lake Josephine- the hike on Friday.
Grinnell Lake- view from the hike to the glacier.
Grinnell Glacier to Amber's left. The snow drifts are still too big/dangerous to get up close to the glacier.

Modeling from the shore of Grinnell Lake- you'll probably see this printed somewhere and we'll be famous!

Grizzly bear on the mountain. Don't worry, my camera's 10X zoom was on full throttle to get his picture. People were lined up on the side of the road for HOURS looking at this bear. We stopped for a few minutes- it was enough, we were hungry/dirty.

Logan Pass- one day we took the tram across the Going to the Sun Road, and then I actually drove it. It's a little frightening since it's really narrow and the edge goes off the mountain. But we made it (obviously).

I couldn't believe how much snow was still at Logan Pass! When I went with my family, it was the first time I had ever seen snow, but it was about a ten foot wide patch. Right now you can't even see grass and people were skiing/snow boarding the trail. (I was freezing...the snow and the wind so I couldn't wait to get out of there!)

Avalanche Lake...my favorite!!

Gas everywhere else was $4.09....but I got it for under 4 bucks! It's the small things in life that really make me happy.

Just for Fun

There hasn't been one thing in particular to share so here are a bunch of pictures from the past week.

Another sunset view. (you know God's a Gator because he made the sun orange and the sky blue)

A deer waiting for us when we got to the field Wednesday at work. (objects may not be as near as they appear in the picture due to my extreme zoon)

Some falls leading into Lake Como.

This is Indian paintbrush. It's everywhere around the forest and I was in a mood to take flower pictures. I think this is one of my favorites. Usually it's more orange and when it grows next to the blue lupine...well you get the hint.

Lake Como. I walked around the whole thing. It was really pretty but made me wish I was on a boat skiing like other people.

The subsoiler we'll be using at work to break up compaction.

Well we had the subsoiler and waited on the excavator...ALL DAY! This was the view from one of our waiting points. I thought it was really pretty, especially the sky and clouds.

The excavator finally arrived! And only 6 hours late!
Reece giving the thumbs up as he hooks the subsoiler onto the excavator. Ten minutes later that was a thumbs down when we realized the pins to connect the subsoiler did not match up correctly. Hopefully we'll get it figured out soon and there can be some action shots to show you!