​We woke up to 5+ inches of snow at our house today. Spring in Montana. :)

​​It was a bit crisp out there this October morning, but snow has a way of adding a special touch of beauty to our views. Since we don't get to choose our weather, we take what we get and enjoy it for what it is. :)
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​The gate on the way up to Little St. Joe Trailhead (aka Bass Creek Overlook) is closing today as it does every year, so I was hoping to get in one last hike up there this week. But the weather just didn't allow it. Jamie and I were planning to go even with the rain and snow and cold, but the extreme wind held us back for safety reasons. Steady winds in the 40's and gusts in the 60's is just not a good combination with so many standing dead trees around.

​So we took a drive up to the trailhead to get a glimpse of the Bass Creek Crags with fresh snow before the gate shuts us out again. You can still walk the road and then hike the trail, but it adds quite a bit of mileage to the trip. So my next planned trip up Little Joe will be next year after the gate reopens. 

It was getting dark and quite windy when we got up to our view of the crags. The snowy crags against the dark stormy sky was awesome, and the fresh snow made them look extra big and close in person, like we could almost reach out and touch them.

What do you do on a Saturday after work when you only have a short bit of time before supper? You quickly change clothes, throw your pack together, and head out for a quick training session with an intense uphill hike to see how quickly you can get to the top of Chaffin Butte.

​It felt glorious to hustle up and shave quite a bit of time off of our previous hikes up there. A half hour to the top, five minutes to take in the views and a few pics, and then a quick eighteen minute jog back down to supper waiting in the slow cooker. :)

​Trail training is fabulous, and so are the views!! :)
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I hope you enjoyed coming along. See you next time "Out Here." :)
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We did indeed hit our low of 29'F this morning as the weather forecast predicted. It's a little brisk, but not bad. And we got a bit more snow on St. Mary's Peak this morning as well. This is a zoomed in view of the fire lookout tower from our house. Bet the guy manning it right now has an awesome view today!! :)

​A bit of beautiful color in the sky over the mountains tonight.
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​The crags are in the clouds with a dusting of snow in early September. The cold has moved in today. Expecting to hit a low of about 29'F in the valley by morning. Brrr!

It was definitely a windy fall day for my walk/run this morning! I discovered this little home in the trees, wavering in the wind but holding strong. It fared much better than the aspen tree that snapped in half and fell across our path today!

​After taking photos of the adult great gray owl with the deer that I shared in a previous post, we went down the road and discovered several immature great gray owls. They hung out on the fences on both sides of the road and in the nearby trees while looking around and calling to each other. We were able to watch and photograph quite a bit.
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The great gray owl is the largest owl in the world, and known as the "phantom of the north". How amazing to see five of them together and another one just up the road!!
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Hope you enjoyed the pics; leave me a comment. See you in another post soon. :)
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A little glimpse of what I saw in the sky when I left work tonight. :)