Friday, May 31, 2013

Today was another cool and cloudy day. Temperatures pretty much stayed in the mid 40's all day but luckily the rain held off and we only had a few sprinkles. It seemed like a good day for a walk so we drove to an area of Gallatin National Forest out mill Creek Road and went for a walk. The road pretty much goes along Mill Creek and the water in the creek is still quite high. There is still plenty of snow on the mountains and we heard some places got a couple more inches last night. Until the snow all melts, I imagine water levels in most of the streams and rivers will remain high.

Speaking of the water levels, one other difference we noticed here is that the water levels in the rivers apparently is very closely monitored and recorded. If you check fishing conditions for any area river online, they give the latest water level for that river in CFS (cubic feet per second). For example, today the Yellowstone River is running at approximately 8,000cfs. If you go in one of the many area fly fishing shops, they have fishing conditions posted in a board and they, too, post these water level numbers. People seem to be very aware of what the numbers mean. The last couple of days have been very cool so the numbers went down because the snow melt slowed. When the temps warm up, water levels will rise again because the snow melt will increase. There seems to be a big interest here in these numbers. We don't see anything like this in NY.

One other thing we have noticed in Montana is that the people here are exceptionally friendly. If you go in a store and ask a question, the clerks are very helpful and offer more information than you might expect. We have found we have learned a lot about the area just from talking to the employees at various stores. The same is true of other people we have met. Everyone has been very friendly.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

While we haven't had any special events to report, I keep finding it interesting to learn new things about how life in Montana (and maybe some other western states) differs from that in the east. I'm sure residents here might feel,the same if they were to visit NY state. I realize some of you that read this have visited here and already know the things I'm writing about but this is for those who haven't been able to visit yet.

One of the first things you notice is the vastness of the area. I've tried to capture it in pictures but it seems impossible. Often when you look out, you can see for miles and miles over rolling hills and then onto the grassy covered or rocky mountainsides. Trees are nowhere near as prevalent here as they are in the east. I'm not sure if it is from logging, from the rocky terrain, from the pine beetle that was killing many of the evergreen trees or from a combination of all these. In places where you do see trees on the mountains, most seem to be evergreen trees.

As you look at this vastness, there are very often farms out there, or maybe I should refer to them as ranches. They are huge, covering many acres, if not several miles. Some of the ranches have crops and others seem to be raising beef cattle. Some also have sheep and almost everyone has at least one horse but more often, they have several. The other day we came across some of those horses at work as we had to come to a complete stop on the roadway to allow a huge herd of cattle pass by. They were being herded by a group of cowboys (I call them that because of the cowboy hats, chaps and long barn coats they were wearing) on horseback. The cows were all mooing in protest and it was quite a sight to see if you haven't seen it before.

Another thing they have here are water "ditches" that bring water from the large rivers to residents in the area. Near our cabin is one of those ditches and the landlord told us it is for the cabin as well as for two or three other neighbors. In a visit with one of those neighbors, he was trying to explain how that water works and the bottom line is that it is very complicated. There are water regulators who work for the town. As the water in the ditch gets lower, the person on the ditch who has had their rights the shortest time, gets cut off. The person with the oldest rights is the last to loose their water from the ditch. This water is often used for watering lawns or gardens, not for drinking.

I think I've mentioned speed limits before but I still find it different. The Interstate speed limit is 75mph in Montana. Then as you drive along, at the base of a long incline you may see a pull-off with a sign saying "attach chains here.". Then you continue up the mountain and as you start down the other side, there is another pull-off with a sign saying "remove chains here." This time of year the trucks seem to use this areas as rest areas. On the regular two lane state roads, the speed limit is 70mph during the day and 60mph at night for cars. Then it is 60mph during the day and 55mph at night for trucks. In between the speed limit signs you will often see signs reminding you to beware of wildlife on the roadway.

One similarity with northern NY in the time we have been here is the weather. The temperatures have been similar as well as the number of cloudy days. There is still plenty of snow in the mountains here and northern NY just got a couple feet of snow on the mountains there. All in all, it is an interesting place to visit.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Despite the fact that it poured all Thursday night, we woke up to blue skies yesterday. It was quite windy but temps went into the 60's and it was a beautiful day so we decided to go for a hike. We started out at Big Creek trail which is probably 5 or 6 miles from the cabin. The trail started in wide open fields and headed up. With the winds, it was actually quite cool even though we had jackets and hats on. We hiked a bit and then decided to try another trail down the road.

We went over to Pine Creek trail. The sign at the start of the trail said it was one mile to the waterfall. That sounded like a good destination so we headed up (as in up hill)the trail. We were in a very wooded area and it was also a canyon type area with the high mountains on each side so there was no wind there. I'm not sure who measured the distance but it seemed like a long mile to me. We made it though and it was a pretty big waterfall. I posted pictures in the album on Shutterfly.

Despite my comments about the distance of the hike, it was nice to get out and get some exercise in such a pretty area. It was a fun day.

Friday, May 24, 2013

One of the things I am noticing about this area is that the weather forecasts tend to be pretty much the same as they are for Long Lake, at least since we got here. Temps are similar and they both had the word "snow" in them this week. I'm not sure if I already mentioned this but the elevation of our cabin, even though it is located in Paradise Valley, is approximately 4,900 ft. Some of the mountains around us are well over 10,000 ft and one over 11,000. The highest point in NY state is Mt Marcy at 5,344.

Yesterday's forecast was for cool weather (temps in the low to mid 50's) with a good chance of showers so we decided to head out to check some new territory. We headed north to Livingston, then west to Bozeman and drom there, we headed southwest towards Norris and Ennis, MT. In this area we got our first glimpse of the Madison River which, along with the Yellowstone River, are world renowned for their trout fishing. We stopped at some of the fishing access sites along the way to check out the water conditions. This time of year there is a lot of snow melt and run-off so the rivers are high and fishing isn't as good as it would be later on but there are always diehard fishermen out there no matter what the conditions and we saw a few of them. A couple were taking a boat out but most were fishing from shore. We had our lunch at one of the sites and after lunch, Jim decided to try a few casts. He actually hooked a nice trout on the first cast but unfortunately it managed to get off before he could get it in.

We continued on past Hegben Lake and saw the Hegben Dam. The Madison River runs into northern Hegben Lake and then out the southern end where the water flow is controlled by a dam. This helps regulate the water in the Madison which makes it a better fishing choice this time of year.

Next we came to the town of West Yellowstone. I'm not sure the population here but their main street is full of all sorts of shops and various places to eat. The town is right at the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We stopped there for a short time so Jim could check out Bud Lilly's Fly Shop and I wanted to check out The Eagle Store, which is a clothing and gift shop. I had contacted them last fall about purchasing my things and I wanted to stop in person to show them some items and see if they would like to order.

By this point, we had travelled over 120 miles. There is lots to see but nothing is close to anything else. As we left West Yellowstone, we entered Yellowstone National Park. The road traveled along the Madison River for several miles and that is where we encountered a herd of buffalo. The traffic came to a complete standstill in both directions as some buffalo stood on the road. It was like they couldn't decide which way they wanted to go so the cars were not able to move. Then two huge males started pushing at each other right in the center of the road. I thought sure they might have a big fight right there!! I have pictures posted on my Shutterfly page. We also saw some mountain goats back near Hegben Lake, and some elk and antelope in the park but I wasn't able to get pictures.

We continued on through the northwestern part of Yellowstone to the north entrance at Gardiner and then on north to our cabin. It was about 200 miles od riding but we got to see a whole new area we had not visited before so that was nice. The rain held off until we passed Gardiner so it didn't interfere with our day at all.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Today we had blue skies and warmer temperatures which was nice. Most of the day was in the 60's. It looks like there may be more snow on the mountain tops than there was when we arrived. Several rainy nights had temps in the high 30's and low 40's here at the cabin so we think it may very well have snowed in the mountains.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Saturday we headed to Bozeman for the Super Yard Sales. In NY we call them town wide sales. We were able to find quite a few. We didn't buy much but it is always fun to look. We did find the Sportsman's Warehouse store though and Jim said he could have spent all day in there as there was so much to look at. They not only had supplies for all sorts of sports, they had large varieties of everything in stock. It Is still cool and very cloudy this morning but it is supposed to start clearing up and warming up a bit after today.  We went into Livingston yesterday since it was raining, visited several shops and got a few groceries.  We overheard several different people talking and everyone (except for us) was very glad to see the rain.  Someone said they couldn't remember the last time it rained all day.  Apparently it has been very dry and they really worry about wild fires in this area.  We have driven through several areas that were devastated by wild fires in years past.   Along the interstates in South Dakota and Montana, they have signs at each exit to say that if the light is flashing, the road is closed ahead. Then there are these bars, like at railroad crossings, that can come down to block the road ahead so you are forced to exit. Obviously these are for winter storms which make the interstate pretty bad. There are also pull-offs along there interstate that are to be used to put your chains on!! We don't have either of these things in NY.                 

Saturday, May 18, 2013

It has been cool with daytime temps in the mid to upper 50's since we arrived.  It has also remained cloudy most of the time with rain showers off and on, including this morning.  It is quiet and peaceful here with views of the mountains from every side of the cabin.   Yesterday we headed toward Yellowstone and checked out some of the fishing access points.  Fishing season opens today.  We stopped at a couple shops in Gardiner, which is where we stayed last year and then went into Yellowstone.  We stopped at a picnic area to eat our lunch and then decided to wait for a nicer day to drive in the park.   Our cabin is probably at close to 5,000 ft elevation here even though we are in the valley.  When we go into Yellowstone, the elevation is over 6,000 feet. We saw patches of snow along the road in Yellowstone and one of the roads is still closed due to snow. There is a small herd of mule deer that wander through the yard each day so far.  I guess there are 10-15 of them at times but usually just 4 or 5.  This morning I can see some rabbits chasing each other around out there and often there is a meadowlark sitting out there on the fence singing. I'm not sure if I mentioned it but the speed on the Interstate both in Wyoming and in Montana is 75mph. The speed on the two lane state road we use that runs from Livingston to Yellowstone is 70mph during the day and 60mph at night. There are signs all along warning about wildlife on the highway so the speed seems a bit surprising.                 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

We have arrived at our destination!  We left Buffalo, Wyoming this morning, continued on through Wyoming and entered Montana.  The scenery was spectacular all day with various mountain ranges coming into view one after the other.   Most of the higher peaks are still snow covered even the temperature were around 70 as I took some pictures.

We are pretty much settled in.  It was nice to sit on the deck for a few minutes and spot three mule deer out in the yard.  

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Today we continued on through South Dakota.  It was 66 degrees when we left about 7:30 this morning and it gradually warmed up to 81. 

South Dakota is quite flat and very windy (at least today anyhow).  The speed limit on the Interstate was 75mph.  There are lots of farms and crop fields, especially in the eastern part of the state and then as we proceeded west, the land was a little more hilly and there seemed to be more cattle farms. 

As we entered Wyoming, we got our first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains with the peaks all snow covered.  The speed limit is still 75mph and the price of gas in WY was the cheapest we have encountered so far at $3.35 a gallon.  We also had our choice of regular with 10% ethanol in it or just plain gas, which is about $.15 more per gallon that that with the ethanol. 

WY has quite a few oil wells scattered about in the farm fields.  They are small wells and sometimes there are 3 or 4 in a field.  The land is getting more hilly and there are lots of farms, mostly cattle farms that we are seeing.  We saw a few antelope along the way and I'm sure we'll see more as we continue west.

We have now stopped for the night in Buffalo, Wyoming.  It is 79 here now at 7pm.  Tomorrow we should reach our destination in Livingston, Montana! 

I should mention that I am having difficulty doing the blog posts on my Ipad.  For some reason it won't let me type on the blog page so I've been typing my post elsewhere in a draft email and then copying it and pasting it.  Even that doesn't work very well but so far it has worked.  If anyone has had a similar problem, please let me know how you solved it!  Thanks.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Today we continued on through Wisconsin, through southern Minnesota and into South Dakota.  We will spend the night in Canistota, SD, which is just west of Sioux Falls.  The leaves were just starting to come out in both WI and MN and farmers seemed to be just starting to plow their fields.  We saw several places in MN where they had lots of windmills.  Many were set up in farm fields and I would guess there were at least 100 windmills in each location.

As we traveled west, the temperature gradually rose so by the time we reached Canistota, it was around 80 degrees.  Canistota is about 5 miles off the main Interstate and a very small town (probably even smaller than Long Lake), so we wondered why it was such a popular destination.  Apparently they have what they say is a world renowned chiropractic clinic here called the Ortman Clinic so people come here for treatments at the clinic.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

This morning we continued west through the rest of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois (which meant passing through Chicago), and on to Wisconsin.  Tonight we are staying in Janesville, Wisconsin, which is just over the border from Illinois.  It was a cool day with a high temp of low to mid 40's.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

We left Long Lake this morning.  It was 54 degrees when we left and that was pretty much the average temperature for the day.  It was cloudy all day and luckily we only ran into a little rain.  We have now stopped in Avon, Ohio which is just west of Cleveland.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

We are once again getting ready to head west. We will leave Long Lake on Saturday, May 11, 2013 and this time we will head straight for Montana where we have rented a cabin for a month.  This is the area where we will be staying.  I hope to post information on our travels so stay tuned.