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 sheer ostentation. As you can see, it’s not really enough to have a […]
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 kidding. On August 31, I came pretty close to shuffling off to Buffalo. […]
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 snow thing is untrue. Yes, there’s an unusual amount of it remaining for […]
No country for older men
For all the scenic beauty of my Mom’s place in Sheridan, Mt., it’s not a great place to go walking. They use flood irrigation here so you’re likely to get your feet wet strolling through the tall grass; you can’t see the water until you’re in it. Also, the horses in the east pasture have become more friendly than I remember. They tend to follow along too […]
They say it’s spring
Suddenly it’s spring. It is in Florida anyway, where the temperature today may reach 75. This is February. This feels wrong somehow. I may have mentioned that I come from a state where Groundhog Day means eight or nine more weeks of solid winter — shadow or no shadow — and the most common hiding place for Easter eggs is a snow bank. In the land of […]
An occurrence at the no-host bar
I suppose it’s kind of late in the day to be impressed by coincidence. But last night I met a woman in Jacksonville, Fla., whose aunt was my fourth-grade teacher in Somers, Mont. We were talking in the forced and meaningless way people do when they’re at a cocktail party attended by 200 people: How about this weather? What do you do? Where are you from? I […]
The boy is back in town
Finally home after a 3,600-mile road trip, with a new resolve to post here more frequently, finally finish that damned novel, and mow the lawn, which has gone primitive during my two-week absence. That last will have to wait, since it’s raining now. You can mow a lawn when it’s wet, or you can mow it when it’s a foot high, but you can’t do both. So, […]