I'm just going to glide right over the fact that this is my first post in almost two years and - like you're a dear, long-lost friend - pick up as if we had never left off.The truth is, Montana Roadtrippin' turned into Montana Nowheretrippin' and posting pictures of house shenanigans only went so far. But this summer we proved that we still have some get-up-and-go in us, so here are some pictures of our most recent gettin' up and goin' - to Fairy Lake in the Bridger Range. It was the very first snow of the late summer/early fall but since our summer started with snow, it was a good way to book-end the season.
A quick - though snow-filled - trek down a wooden, wilderness staircase brought us to this gloriousness, which we marveled would have looked a lot more like summer only a week earlier. But Jacob had wanted to drive to see the snow, and see the snow we did!
We could hear the wind as it whipped around the peak and traveled down to the lake, only to shake the trees and fill our sweatshirts with snowballs. So, surprisingly, the lake felt a lot warmer to the touch than the air. The 20-something girl coming up from the lake in nothing but an inner-tube and t-shirt only confirmed our suspicions.
But the foot-deep snow only dampened our socks and not our spirits, making winter a not-so-distant memory.
Like moth to a flame, my Mountain Montana Girl
Oh Louis. Since we last saw Louis, he's gotten closer to age 100, lost a great deal of his hearing, most of his sight, the use of his hips, and all of his desire to chase and kill things. He has always been more than happy and obliging to accompany us on any of our journeys, but after our short jaunt to Fairy Lake, he might be silently begging us to just leave him at home next time. Though the "hike" to the lake was, literally, a staircase, Louis had a tough time. The path continued around Fairy Lake, which wouldn't have been as big of a deal had it not been buried under at least a foot of snow, leaving even us able-bodied tired and sore. On the hike back up the staircase, he had to rest a few times and sounded like a two-pack-a-day smoker. Then he drank a bowl of water, promptly threw it up just as we loaded up the car and backed out of the parking space, then peed his bed just as we pulled off to let him out to be relieved. I think it's just as hard for him to get old as it is for me to watch him get old, but we'll continue to include him in our adventures until it's merely in spirit.
From our plethora of summer adventures, you'd think it would be kind of a
shock to see snow so soon. But, no, it was just as Montana should be.
And though mountains are awesome in their own right, a dusting of snow
really brings out the peaks and valleys and the true jagged beauty of
the landscape. The only thing I don't enjoy is that we have to wait
until Spring to go back.
We brake for lakes!
"And into the mountains I go, to lose my mind and find my soul."
Bridger Range
