What we do on the weekends!

Montana is one of the more inspiringly beautiful places that I have ever seen. I'm not outrageously well traveled, but I've had some amazing views, and this places ranks easily among them!

Jack and I try to take advantage. So here are the details of our outdoor adventures thus far!


Recently, Jack introduced me to birding! With his handy dandy sears binoculars, handed down from his grandfather, a website called WhatBird.com, and Peterson's Field Guide to Western Birds, we have so far spotted (or heard) the Robin, Thrush, Sparrow, Meadowlark (very pretty call!), geese, chickadee (dee dee dee)s, hawks and more. It has been fun! Tonight out of our apartment window we spotted a fluffed up Robin, arranging his feathers for warmth. It was very cute and puffy. I enjoy the challenge of learning these species (I also have been enjoying tree and plant identification). It is valuable to be able to understand your environment when you work in the woods. I have been on projects that have relied on knowledge of trees, and it is good to be able to have confidence in your ability to identify species.

We have visited glacier three times since moving back up to the flathead (the valley that kalispell is located in). And I'll be going there again next week to work in the plant nursery! Glacier National Park is my park. I'm sure that a lot of people feel that way but I'm certain that it is the only park that I will ever know in so much detail in my lifetime. It is simply striking to see the juxtaposition of green lakes, blue skies, and towering snowcovered scupltures. Honestly I will remember Glacier National Park for as long as I live.

This past weekend Jack and I hiked to Avalanche Lake on the west side of the park. The hike is awesome! It goes along a gorge dug out by glaciers along which runs the creek going up to the lake. Although the west is typically dry, the trail falls just under the continental divide where rainshadow encourages growth of trees normally only found in the pacific northwest (cedars and hemlocks). The cedars are COOL trees. They easily reach over 100 feet and their needles are very elegant and flat, forming a great canopy from the rain. For whatever reason, the floor of a cedar forest is always realitively free of thick brush so it is also very airy and sort of mystical, with bright green moss and trickling streams. I kept telling jack that I felt like I was in fairy tale land.

Anyway, we finally reached the lake and heard, well, AVALANCHES! Apparently the man who discovered Avalanche named it for the very same reason. This isn't something that happens all year round though. Avalanches are common during the spring as snow melts. I couldn't see the avalanche, but being the first one that I have ever heard, I was definitely excited. It sounds like a train, or like a truck dumping gravel. Go figure....

Well certainly as the season progresses I can fill you on on more adventures to come!