Sweet Summertime..... Almost

I know summer does not officially start until June but it feels and looks like summer here in Montana. I know many people think that Montana is like the North Pole. It is true some parts of Montana can get rather cold but where we are has relatively mild winters. Actually where I live here in the Bitterroot Valley is called "The Banana Belt". Anyway it has been in the low 80's with a slight breeze,just awesome weather. We have been working in my garden and flowerbeds. When I say we, I mean my mom and myself. She comes up every year from Florida and stays the summer with us. We have already started our corn,cabbage,beans and tomatoes inside and we are going to start some onions tomorrow. I have not grown onions before so we will see. Gardening in Montana is much different than Florida. Not only the obvious shorter growing season but the ground is much harder and dryer here so every year we learn something new by doing the wrong things. My sister and nephew will be here to visit on July 3rd. We are going to Mount Rushmore,Crazy Horse,Devils Tower and the Little Big Horn Battlefield. We have been all of these places once before but my sister and mom have not so I am looking forward to going. There is something to be said for seeing something through someone else's eyes. My brother and his family will be coming about 4 days before my sister leaves. We do not see him very much so it will be nice to visit with him. We will also do plenty of camping and ATV riding this summer as well. We have hundreds of National Forest roads and forest all over to ride and camp in. I am always amazed that within one hour in any direction we can be so far back in the mountains that you do not even see another person. Last summer we stayed in a fire lookout tower for the night. You can rent them through http://www.recreation.gov/. Most people do not realize they can stay in forest cabins and lookouts in every state for next to nothing. We also stayed in a Forest Cabin in Idaho called Magruder Ranger Station. I thought I would add some pictures from both of those trips. Enjoy


Gird Point Lookout--Bitterroot Valley,Montana 2008

The lookout as you are walking up to it from the parking area. This sits about 17 miles up a dirt road on the very top of the mountain.

Inside the Lookout. (It poured down rain and the wind blew ninety to nothing. We thought for a minute we were back in Florida with all those hurricanes!!)

View from lookout.

Clint and Myself.

Enjoying the breeze(before the rain and wind).


Magruder Ranger Station-2008

Jackson and mom

That is the ranger station house in the background. We rented it for about 3 days last summer and have it reserved this summer as well.

Awesome picture of the cabin. It sits about 35 miles back in the woods on a dirt road.

A close up of the cabin. It had all the amenities of home except no TV

Magruder Ranger Station Complex. this picture was taken from the cabin. There is a ranger station office and garage where they keep tools for when they come up to that area to work on the roads etc. The complex was empty the whole time we were there.

Keep the Faith

Marie