Blogs from Big Sky, Montana, United States, North America - page 2

Well, where to start since our last blog in Boston?? We headed to Los Angeles and spent a couple of nights in Venice Beach where the weather was so warm we were able to get our summer clothes out again and enjoy the last of the sunshine before we headed across the country to visit a friend in (not so) sunny Montana. Getting to Montana was an adventure in itself... first we headed to Las Vegas to pick up our rental car. We only spent one night in Vegas so we have not yet experienced the Vegas night life - that is coming up when we return the rental car on 9th December. Once we had the car we headed off from Vegas, not really sure where we were going but pretty sure that we were ... read more

Well we're away! A spritely 3 am start and it's all good. Nothing forgotten yet.... we'll see. The lovely ( wll lovely for January Calgary ) weather has made the roads BEAUTIFUL! 110km/h safe and sound. And Bruce will stay nice and clean after his spruce up for the big trip. Feeling a little anxious now we are finally away. So many questions...Have we made all the necessary arrangements? Have we got enough money? Is Bruce ready? I guess only time will tell... Missing my old and new friends already. I guess this is a test run for the big goodbyes in May. So we've made it safe and sound to Rapid City. Passing through Montana. Wow talk about diverse! Snow capped mountains on the right and plains as far as the eye can see on ... read more

While everyone back home is enjoying the sunshine and warmth of an Australian summer Fiona and I are enduring the hardships of a vicious Florida winter. Surprisingly it does actually get cold here, but unlike most of the US it doesn't snow. Neither Fiona or I had tried Skiing or Snowboarding before so we thought we should head north for the winter and get a taste of some serious snow. Some of the guys who had been here previously had visited a place called 'Big Mountain' in just south of the Canadian border in Montana and said it was great so decided it was the place to go. We spoke to a couple of friends over here and soon there was 10 of us booked in and ready to go. We chose an absolute pearler of ... read more

Next stop was with more gracious and hospitable relatives in the small farming community of Glentana, North East of Ford Peck Indian Reservation. This whole area is grain country, and according to an article in the Great Falls Tribune on 4th August, the quality of wheat grown here is ideal for making “big, fluffy buns” as used in McDonald’s Big Macs. Glentana has a permanent population of only 12 residents, but has its own church and post office. This used to be a thriving little community, but like many similar settlements in this area it has declined in recent years, as individual homesteaders are no longer able to compete with the big land owners. There are several derelict buildings, including an impressive old school house and a few deserted homesteads, complete with old, rusting farm machinery. ... read more

me and echo have spent most of the last two weeks jumping from mountain to mountain. camping at elevations ranging from 5500' to 8800'. the temperature swings have been extreme going from the mid 90's to low 40's. i've been told that for every 1000' rise in elevation the temperature drops 3.5 degrees but i'm not sure about that. some time at the old montana prison built in 1871, a couple museums and at the bannack ghost town which was the original capitol of montana back in the 1800's. i'll probally be heading into idaho soon and stay in the higher elevations to try and beat the heat. see ya later... read more