I'm alone at the family cabin. It feels good to say “family cabin,” even though this one has been in the family for less than a year. It’s located 12 miles off the highway and eight miles miles off anything like pavement, way up a washboard road made dusty by sedentary adventurers in their […]
When the sun goes down
As someone born and raised in Montana, I should be immune to the summer sunsets here. Or at least immune to urge to take a picture of them. But I’ve been reaching for my camera almost every night now. I guess I understand why Charlie Russell painted so many of the damned things. It […]
An endangered view
Not much to write about today, so here’s a picture taken from the front door of my brother Ed’s house. The field in the foreground was surveyed for subdivision, but then the economy tanked and Ed got a reprieve. Every cloud has a silver lining, right? For my money, it’s not even a cloud. […]
This just in …
One thing about a road trip: The national news of the day tends to fade right into the background. Thus, I was not moved to write about the startling breakup of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Cruise. Anderson Cooper’s shocking admission of 100 percent gayness barely registered at all. I didn’t even care that scientists […]
Pleasure barges of the open road
If you want to know what it’s like driving on the interstate in Montana during the summertime, I’ve prepared a little slideshow to convey the experience. Right after Memorial Day commences the annual Running of the Motor Homes, an annual festival that lasts until Labor Day and challenges participants to outdo each other in […]
Me one, Grim Reaper zero. Booyah.
Imade a lot of memories during my recent sojourn in Montana. I climbed a couple of mountains, had a couple of longish alpine hikes, enjoyed a few sunlit days on the shore of Flathead Lake. I also canoed a stretch of the Yellowstone River near Springdale, which is where I almost drowned. I’m not […]
An expedition to the mountains
You might think I’m just screwing around in Montana, but actually I’m conducting important research. Today, for example, my brother Joe and I hiked up to Jewel Basin because we’d heard there was still enough snow up there to close some trails. As a result of our investigations, I can report that that the […]