UPDATE 28 SEPTEMBER 2014

Fall is finally here in Montana.  Temps have dropped to normal or maybe just a tad below for this time of year.  Fall colors are not as pretty this year and I am not sure of the cause.  Hasn't frosted yet, has been pretty dry, above average temps are things that are possible I guess.  Connie is spending this weekend with her sisters down in Pocatello, ID for their annual sister weekend.  Our friend Pam was here for a day on her way back to southern UT. 

Connie and Pam walking in the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge.  One of my favorite places to watch birds.  But on the day we were there, it was warm and only a few water fowl were around.

Lots of these caterpillars moving through the area though.

This walking path was taken out by the floods this spring.

Lots of ducks still around.

And the bees are still working the flowers in the afternoons.

A FEW JUMPERS CAME OUT OF THE SKY

There have been some military personnel in the valley doing some very interesting jumps into places not normally jumped into like a cat track on a very steep ridge line at our ski resort.  What a great bunch of guys.  For their last jump, they landed in the yard of Ike and Brenda's who are close friends of ours.  Ike has been a point man for these guys given his special forces background.  Connie and I went over to watch them jump.  Brenda's father and mother were also there and it was nice seeing them again.  We really enjoyed visiting with these guys.  Very professional and dedicated.  

First there was one, then more.

Ike and Brenda's yard with the spectators.

There were 10 jumpers total.

Coming in for the landing.

I did not see any that did not land walking.

 

The airplane made a low pass after all were safely down.

HAUSER LAKE

Connie and I left Holter Lake and went upstream on the Missouri River to Hauser Lake that is right beside Helena.  There are a lot of houses on the lake shore that are pretty impressive.  But parts of the lake are bordered by state and federal lands so these areas we migrated to.  Lots of loons on this lake also as well as other birds, and it is rather large.  Lots of places to paddle and we did not get to paddle all the shore line.  Also explored the mountains to the east of the lake around the little town of York.  Had a great time and hated to leave the nice flat waters but had to get back to the Bitterroot.

The shoreline at Black Sandy State Park where we camped a couple of nights.

Connie and Zeph enjoying the sunrise warmth.

Zeph watching Connie from his perch in the camper.

Another loon picture.  We were really glad there were so many loons on these lakes - missed hearing them from when we lived in Alaska.

This old guy could not close his mouth because his beak's hook was so big.  And he had quite a few feathers that looked pretty bad.

Taking a break from paddling so the dog could do some swimming and run around.

And another dock so the dog could jump off.

I like to get up early and paddle while Connie and Zeph are still asleep.  The sunrises from the water are my favorites.

The dam at Hauser Lake in the background.

Connie snapped these pictures with her phone as she was out walking of me on my morning paddle just about back at the camp.

Zeph jumped in the kayak for a little pet.

You can see that fall is in the air around here also.

A pile of bear pooh.

Fall is here in the high country.

Who would know this place existed?

KAYAKING HOLTER LAKE

Connie and I headed up to the Helena area to do some kayaking at Holter and Hauser Lakes.  Trying to get some more kayaking in before winter hits.  It was a bit cool when we first got there with snow on the peaks the first couple of days.  And the wind blew pretty hard in the afternoons so our kayaking was limited to mornings for awhile.  We spent 4 days at Holter and 4 days at Hauser then had to get back to the Bitterroot.  That will be our last camping/kayaking for the year.  We also stopped and visited our nephew and niece Carl and Debra and their two kids.  They are in the process of moving to Helena from the Seattle area.  Carl got a new position with Boeing at the plant in Helena and they are pretty excited. 

If you look close you can see the snow on the mountains.

View from our campsite.  Since it was pretty cool, not very many people around.

Connie on her smart phone and Zeph keeping the deer away from the camp.  And there were a lot of deer in this area.

A common site - mule deer moving away.

Did a couple of nice hikes behind the camp.  This area was burned a few years ago.

A view of the lake.

If there is a boat dock, there is Connie throwing sticks in for her "dock dog".

Thought these roots were pretty interesting where the water has exposed them.

An immature bald eagle watching us paddle by.

Common Mergansers.

And Jonathan seagull posing for a picture.

We went to "Gates of the Mountains" area and there was this statue.  Zeph went nuts barking at this dog made out of metal.  It took awhile for Connie to convince him it was not real.

A big guy all made out of metal.

Nice flat water to kayak on.

And we really enjoyed all the loons on the lakes.  Love listening to them do their calls early in the mornings.  Pretty sure this bunch is a mother with three babies.

And this guy was watching over the houses in what they call the horseshoe.