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a taste of winter in western montana. october 2020.

10/22/2020

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One of our little pine trees covered in fresh snow.








​We got a little taste of winter at our house last night. They say more snow is headed our way tomorrow night, along with colder temps hitting just a touch below zero this weekend. Brrr! That's fall in Montana! ;)
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The aspens didn't finish losing their leaves before our first snow.
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The new snow changed the landscape of our walking path overnight.
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The beauty of morning light.
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Whatever weather comes our way, I love our mountains!
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St. Mary's Peak.
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Little St. Joe.
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Bass Creek Crags.

​​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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fresh snow on bass creek crags. october 2020.

10/15/2020

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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.

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trail training on chaffin butte. wind, clouds, + sun.

9/27/2020

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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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The Bitterroot Mountains on the west side of the valley are my usual hiking grounds.
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Clouds or sunshine today? How about both? :)
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The Bitterroot Mountain Range stretches a long ways. This is only part of it.
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Taking in the beautiful mountain view on our way up.
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Overlooking a portion of the Bitterroot Valley with an amazing backdrop.
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The wind intensified on top as we watched the rain clouds come our way. I love the feel of it all!
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The east side has a different landscape than the west side. Great for open views and sunshine.
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Fresh snow on St. Mary's Peak and the surrounding Bitterroot Mountains. Winter is coming.
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I love coming back out through the sagebrush at the base of Chaffin Butte. It makes a nice, easy finish to a steep hike.
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I hope you enjoyed coming along. See you next time "Out Here." :)
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early snow on the mountain. september 2020.

9/8/2020

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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!! :)

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color in the sky and a dusting of snow.

9/7/2020

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​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!

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today's little discovery...

9/7/2020

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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!

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lessons in life serve a purpose.

8/8/2020

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​Our lessons in life aren't usually something we are very excited to receive, but they are given to us for a purpose. The following message by Seth Godin sums it up quite well. :)

"Don’t waste the lesson. Things rarely turn out precisely the way we hoped. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, we can figure out why. If we find the lesson and learn from it, it might be even more valuable than if we’d simply gotten lucky." --Seth Godin

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immature great gray owls in western montana.

8/3/2020

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Three immature great gray owls hanging out on the fence together. What a sight!

​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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So serious!
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Looking sleepy!
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This one flew over to our side of the road, so we ended up with owls sitting on fences on both sides.
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Just hanging out looking magnificent.
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Immature or adult? Not sure, as it isn't as fuzzy as the others. Looks to me like a mama keeping her eye on the young ones.
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This owlet stayed up in the tree where it's safer. Being extra fuzzy, this little one looks like the baby of the family.
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A little blurry, but I enjoyed watching this one pop its head up and down while calling to the others.
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The dignified one.
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The scruffy one.
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The motion in low light made this owl taking off appear to be stuck to the post with his feet. Look at those talons!

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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cool crazy contrasting clouds.

7/31/2020

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A little glimpse of what I saw in the sky when I left work tonight. :)

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I love the layering of these contrasting clouds. Such beauty in the sky tonight!
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Pictures in the clouds. I see a man taking a nap. Do you see it, too?
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Battle of the clouds!
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evening trail run up kootenai. july 2020.

7/29/2020

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Photo credit: Jamie Weiss.
We got out for an evening trail run up Kootenai after supper last night. ​We mixed it up with a little bit of hiking, too. In combination, it was a good 2-hour workout. :)
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Photo credit: Jamie Weiss.
We enjoyed the creek for just a bit while stopping to filter water. 

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​It's soooo relaxing by the water! :)

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​The creek is noticeably slower this time of year, but still captivating as always. :)

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    Hi! I'm Nikki Weiss, and I'd like to invite you to follow along with me "Out Here".

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