Category Archives: Montana

Skiing at Zero Cold Thirty

Posted on January 12, 2013 by westerner54

Saturday, January 12, 2013.    Really cold.   Like 400 degrees below zero.  Fahrenheit.  Dang. I forgot to put on sunscreen. When the steam from the cement plant is doing this, you know it’s a pretty serious inversion.  But we’d decided to … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Montana, Nature, Outdoors | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments

Owl Creek Cabin in the Flathead: Maybe Winter’s OK After All

Posted on January 7, 2013 by westerner54

Feeling like you want to rough it, but just a little?  Not up to hauling everything on your back and skiing miles to get to a cold cabin in the woods?   Want to cook on an electric stove and plug in … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Travel | Tagged , , | 21 Comments

Writing That Feels Like Home

Posted on January 2, 2013 by westerner54

In The Anthropology of Turquoise,  Ellen Meloy writes “Of all the things I wondered about on this land, I wondered the hardest about the seduction of certain geographies that feel like home–not by story or blood but merely by their forms … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Montana, Nature, Writers | Tagged , | 28 Comments

Snow and Solitude: A Yellowstone Solstice

Posted on December 24, 2012 by westerner54

Mammoth Campground, Yellowstone National Park,  December 21, 2012, 4:43 p.m.  The shortest day of the year has just ended, and the long night is beginning. We are the only campers in Mammoth Campground on this calm and silent winter solstice.    … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, Yellowstone | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Looking Back: The Best Outdoor Moments from 2012

Posted on December 20, 2012 by westerner54

You know those perfect moments when it feels like time is standing still?  When you are totally immersed in your surroundings and nothing exists but the sounds and smells and sights of the “right now”?    For me, capturing that moment … Continue reading →

Posted in Hiking, Life, Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Yellowstone | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

Winter Morning

Posted on December 14, 2012 by westerner54

Wintertime weather inversions are a common occurrence in Montana’s mountain valleys.  As high pressure builds, the cold air sinks into the valleys and stays there, resulting in cold, foggy mornings.  Usually you have to climb  two or three thousand feet … Continue reading →

Posted in Montana, Nature, Outdoors, Photography | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Mexican Lime Jerky, Sweet and Spicy Jerky, and Snowshoeing in the Cold

Posted on December 10, 2012 by westerner54

8 below zero this morning, which meant that my plans for a long snowshoe along the Continental Divide might need rethinking.   So instead of subjecting my husband to hours of whining, I suggested a shorter trip and an afternoon making … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Hiking, Montana, Outdoors | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections

Posted on December 1, 2012 by westerner54

My favorite photos are ones like this, where I see something in the photograph that I didn’t notice at all when I was taking it. Didn’t see those bikes at all when I took the picture; the sign of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Montana, Photography | Tagged , | 2 Comments

In Ovando, Montana, Santa Wears Chaps

Posted on November 26, 2012 by westerner54

Here he comes!  See him?  He’s up there, on the highway! There he is!  Wait…that’s not Santa.  It’s his cousin, Cowboy Claus.  He’s helping Santa out. And of course there’s the traditional Christmas shootout: It’s kind of loud, so be … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Life, Montana, Travel | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

The Most Lovable Turkey in the World

Posted on November 21, 2012 by westerner54

I’m not a fan of poultry.   I know folks who keep chickens, and they love the little buggers.   But really, they’re not cute.  And turkeys…well turkeys definitely fall in the not cute category as well. But there was this one turkey…. … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, Camping, Montana, Nature, Outdoors | Tagged , | 12 Comments