North

Every year no matter what summer comes to an end and it is earlier for us than the rest of you.  We were very busy closing up our Montana summer just like normal.  I always have to come to with grips with leaving one wonderful place and heading back to work! I can say  my work is in another wonderful place, too!  We drive back and forth from AK to MT I call it the reverse migration as many of you know form previous postings.

Tally really doesn't like the bugs and they her nice tender hide!  Often she will just sit int he back of the rig until it is time to get int he tent.

Meanwhile, Sadie just loves being outside and her downy under layer is a great bug defense.

The drive north has many beautiful views one of our favorites is the AL-CAN highway lined with Fireweed.

This pass summer northern BC and the Yukon had many fires and here is the aftermath.

I always think there is a hidden world under or around mushrooms.

Another campfire a must as camp every night on our trips back and forth.  Once we got into north central BC we could have fires. 

Poor butterfly that didn't make it.  We hit several stretches of road that tons of butterflies.

I love ferry rides and enjoy knitting along with the hum of the ferry engines.

Morning knitting, sunrise, my girl Sadie, and my morning must have coffee!  Also sitting in my new killer cool best every camp chair---Helinox Sunset Chair!  This is an expensive chair with a life time warranty and the best chair I have used or owned! Helinox Sunset Chair is amazing!

A late breakfast on the road with the Helinox Sunset chairs.

Morning fireside coffee with my girl. Our stainless steel coffee mugs are from REI co-op.  I just looked and they don't seem to have this style any more which is to bad as it was simple with out all kinds of buttons and gadgets to break.

We had to stay one night in a mostly RV park and we are tent folks.  I felt a bit out of place and to be honest I was going to write a snide post about RV camping.  I am not a fan of these huge rigs.  However, everyone was very chatty and nice to us low life tent folks.  They are out and about enjoying the beauty of the north and having a trip of a life time for many. 

This is the part I will not understand is the pull into a place plug in and sit inside . . . but everyone has the right to do what they want! 

One of our very favorite spots on our trip.  Village Bakery and Deli in Haines Junction, Yukon.  Yes they do have gluten-free, salads, pizza, sweets and non-sweet items . . . ice cream.  It is a great place to visit and rest from the road heading north or south.

The Yukon is amazing!

Stretching the legs

Tent life with the girls!

Warmed up left overs for dinner

Sadie wondering are we there yet is that Alaska?

South-Western Montana--Spectacular Country!

We recently went on a trip to the south-western part of Montana.  Amazing country!  We stayed in a few more forest service cabins in some of the most beautiful country ever.  One certainly gets very spoiled living in Montana and then you find yet another hidden treasure . . . under Montana's Big Sky!

This little gem of a cabin is called Beaver Creek and we love this place!  However, this is the first time we have ever seen it in summer!  We have been coming to this cabin since the early 1990s.  There is great backcountry ski touring out of this camp, hiking and mtn. biking.  In the winter you have to ski into the cabin 5k.  In the summer you can drive all the way in to a wonderful little cozy home.

Yes there is wildlife there and that would be a big ol'grizz print.  This area has one of the highest concentrations of grizz.

Great mtn. biking and look at that view!

We love this place and each other and our lives!  Grateful for it all!

Over the years to stove has been replaced and the outhouse has been updated.  The inside of the cabin is still in great shape and very basic just how we love it!

Poor Tally is a magnet for mosquitoes!

Tally has various mosquito hiding devices!

Knitting away on the recently completed Crown Jewel hats all five are done and should be arriving to their new home as I type.

Tally and her boy . . . these two are pretty much inseparable!

Biking down through an old burn area.

The loft and bunks.

The next cabin we went is called Black Butte and this cabin is in a wonderful area of Montana.  It is remote, high elevation, and spectacular country.  We will be heading back tot his spot again I am sure!

High open alpine is one of my favorite eco-systems!

Sadie loving her time exploring the flowers and open spaces.

This little spot would be perfect for a little cabin for me to hide out in for the rest of my life!

One of our meals at Black Butte.

Yes still knitting on Crown Jewel hat project!

About 9,700 feet biking slowing but biking.

Stellar little place!

These 3 photos are all Indian Paint  Brush but look at the color difference.  The red is the most common I would say, followed by upper lefts orange and then yellow.  I have never seen the yellow in north-west Montana.  I will keep an eye out for it now.

Lichen I am always enthralled by lichen.  This vibrant orange caught my eye.

Forest Service Cabin Rentals

We spent a few nights up at McGuire Fire Look Out earlier.  (Earlier in July) It was during our hottest weather here in north-west Montana this summer.  Being up higher in elevation helped, it was still really hot for us winter folks.

McGuire is an older look out and was built in the 1920s.  It is not in the best of shape and really needs some TLC.  It is located in a gorgeous spot and the views are unreal!  One can see into Glacier Park and the Cabinet Mts.  The trail that leads to the look out is in great shape and was just a perfect 2.5 mile hike.  I have not carried a full back pack in years----nice to know I can still do that easily.  There was tons of broken glass around the look out which we spent hours picking up.  The inside of the look out is as bare bones as can be which is fine, but the forest service should get up tot he cabin and do some maintenance to keep the look out safe and its guests. 

My FIL (79 years old and a great outdoors man) volunteered to haul water in for us.  There is a stream/spring and the water was low but we were able to purify it.  Our dogs carried their own food and water which helped a lot.  They had Mountain Smith dog packs which fit well and did the trick.

Sadie and I enjoying the endless views from McGuire.

Tally and Christian

My FIL enjoying the view.  I can say he has honestly seen most of Montana either on foot, skis, or a motorcycle.

Early morning in the look out

Chef Christian cooking dinner and the ever hopeful Ms. Tally waiting!

The look out has a lot of windows, but they don't have any screens.  Our secret to getting rid of the bugs is to use in-scents to drive the creatures out! From this photo one can see it is a cute LITTLE place!

Morning coffee with a buddy and view

Knitting . . . I am always knitting.  This is one of the many Crown Jewel hats I have been working on this summer.  In fact they are now all done and heading to the post office once this post is done.

I would get water into a smaller bottle and Chrsitian purifies the water using a Steripen.  This is by far the easiest purification device we have ever used over the years.  The purified water was poured into a larger bottle for camp.

Here is the spring which is about 1/4 of a ml from the look out down the trail we walked up.  There is another spring but we couldn't locate it.  Here we are in the water purifying routine.

Naps at camp are always a treat! A little smoke to de-bug!

Tally the dust bunny dog.

McGuire Look Out

Knitting in progress

I never tire of Lupine and I always think of the story: Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney

We did have some fires burning way off in the distance in Canada which gave us some rather dramatic sunsets.