I had heard about Arod Lakes for several years and always planned to stop by when I was in or near the Choteau area. Well, it finally happened when I was taking a short-cut from I-15 near Collins and heading west to Fairfield. After taking a wrong turn I saw a sign for Arod Lakes. The month of May in Central Montana has been a bit wet – snowmelt and rain have all contributed to beautiful green grass, … Read more
Sluice Boxes State Park is just off US Hwy 89 north of Monarch, Montana. If you are driving north it is tempting to zip right by, and I suppose the same is true if you are heading south when you are picking up speed to climb the hill. Don’t be tempted to pass this gem by! Even a stop at the scenic overlook is worth your time. There are interpretive panels in an easy in-and-out … Read more
I have the opportunity to take the drive between Great Falls and Helena quite often. Sometimes I’m scrambling, in a hurry to get there when I didn’t allow enough time. Other times I just have a lot on my mind and I’m a bit grumpy. Well, it doesn’t take long to relax and improve my mood when I head south on I-15 from Great Falls. I drove this route a week ago and stopped several … Read more
I was at Giant Springs State Park this morning looking for some photo ops. Before I drove the short distance from my house in Great Falls, I looked at the sky and said “yup, good sunshine coming through the clouds”. As I was driving along River Road I saw that sunshine slip behind the clouds and only saw glimpses of it after that. I had fun taking photos at the state park though and the first … Read more
I’ll be the first one to admit that we get wind in Central Montana. My comment to that is we have plenty of fresh air, no stale air pollution here! The downside to wind in the fall is that our beautiful fall foliage tends to be short-lived. I’m not sure what’s different about this year but I’ve found “a photo op a minute” in several different directions when I’ve been out driving. Tonight I drove southwest … Read more
Every now and then, actually quite frequently during the summer, you’ll hear me complaining about highway construction. If I’m not complaining I’m stressing about whether or not I’ll hit construction and be delayed. Well, I must give kudos where they are do. A week ago I was traveling south on US Hwy 89. I knew there had been construction there this past summer but it was after work hours and I hoped they were either … Read more
I was in Lewistown, Montana a couple of weeks ago. My day had been one of those where just about every hour I had to be somewhere and I was feeling like I was glued to the clock and hadn’t completed anything. When my last scheduled meeting was over I knew I had 100 miles to go to get home. Still, I decided I could use a de-stress session and I took some time to enjoy the Lewistown Community Labyrinth. I’m always … Read more
The Central Montana Astronomy Society pulled out all of the stops (well, all of their scopes) Friday evening to view the sun and later the stars. They always set up in the parking lot of the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center east of Great Falls. It’s far enough away from the lights of Great Falls to avoid the glow of artificial light. And, the Lewis & Clark expedition used celestial readings to guide them on their … Read more
During the month of June it seems like we had nothing but rain in Central Montana. We don’t usually complain about moisture but I was eager for summer-like weather. By the end of the month everything changed and now it seems like we have hit our summer high temps big-time. My answer to that was to cool down with a river trip! We decided to spend about a half day on the Missouri River launching at a location … Read more
I have known about War Horse National Wildlife Refuge for quite awhile. But, it’s taken me quite awhile to get there and enjoy it! Finally, an opportunity to be near Winnett happened and I told several people I was definitely planning on visiting War Horse. I was driving east on MT Hwy 200 and looking for some type of sign that said to turn to go to the refuge. Information on U. S. Fish & … Read more