Where We Be
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| St. Ignatius, Montana |
| Our friends' log home in Montana is sized just right, with thoughtful touches throughout |
| Looking towards the barn at sunset |
| Their two horses liked getting spritzed by the sprinkler on a hot 80-degree day |
| The living room with stone fireplace makes for a wonderful place to chill out and relax |
| The west side of the house has the master bedroom (right) and the guest bedroom (left) |
| The east side of the home has a lovely patio they hand-assembled with big pieces of slate from a local quarry |
| The patio offers a panoramic view over the meadow, where wildlife sightings are abundant |
| The main house and barn sit on 80 beautiful acres |
| This is the fine view from the patio |
| Alan hangs out with Travis on the front lawn -- we've been friends with Alan since we were 18 years old together in college |
| Alan and Travis share a hug |
| The reservoir behind their home is very low this time of year due to heavy agricultural use, but it fills up quickly each winter. By summer the water will cover all the tree stumps you see, and the rock I'm standing on will be an island barely poking above the surface. |
| We made a foray into Missoula to buy supplies and topo maps for our upcoming wilderness trip -- and to check out their new condo at the historic Wilma in downtown Missoula. The picture (right) is the view from their 8th-floor condo. |
| Speaking of wildlife, I saw two black bear during my short stay, including one reaching up into an apple tree |
| Robert sits on hay bales stacked high in the barn |
After my solo backpack, I continued on to St.
Ignatius (near Missoula) to visit our good
friends Alan and Robert, who have a lovely log
home on the Mission Range on 80 stunning
acres. My stay there served as an interlude
between two week-long wilderness trips – the
one to the Beartooths, and the other to the
Bob Marshall Wilderness with Alan and Robert.
Ironically, I saw far more wildlife just sitting on
their porch than I did in two weeks' worth of
wilderness hiking. Deer, black bear, grizzly,
fox, coyote, turkey, they all come traipsing right
through the meadow. Black bear are common
enough to hardly warrant a comment – except
for one they’ve dubbed “V-neck,” who jumped
straight at them when they tried to scare him
out of an apple tree one time! Their dog Travis
makes it his special mission to chase and bark
at bear each evening – the highlight of his day.
Ignatius (near Missoula) to visit our good
friends Alan and Robert, who have a lovely log
home on the Mission Range on 80 stunning
acres. My stay there served as an interlude
between two week-long wilderness trips – the
one to the Beartooths, and the other to the
Bob Marshall Wilderness with Alan and Robert.
Ironically, I saw far more wildlife just sitting on
their porch than I did in two weeks' worth of
wilderness hiking. Deer, black bear, grizzly,
fox, coyote, turkey, they all come traipsing right
through the meadow. Black bear are common
enough to hardly warrant a comment – except
for one they’ve dubbed “V-neck,” who jumped
straight at them when they tried to scare him
out of an apple tree one time! Their dog Travis
makes it his special mission to chase and bark
at bear each evening – the highlight of his day.
| The porch off the master bedroom faces west, catching the late afternoon sunlight |
| The mountains of the Mission Range rise up behind the house |