Summer in the Winter time

Everyone in the West is talking about the lack of winters presence with snowfall in West almost non-existant in some places. Oregon and Washington are reporting anywhere from 18 to 50 of average snowpack. Alaska is reporting around 36 percent of average. The water content of the snowpack in the Sierras, ranged from a paltry 17 to 41 percent of the average on February 26. 



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Around Missoula, the lower elevations from my guess have got to be below average. The college rag ran this graphic recently. We haven't really had any substantial snow in the valley to speak of. Let' s hope this isn't a developing trend.

I rolled the dice and opted not to get a Snowbowl pass this year (did the same last year). It's been odd not to have the coveted piece of plastic to rely on when I'm bored or feel the need to stretch my legs. But I have to say, this might be one of those years to be okay missing (at least considering the total number of deep days we've had this year). I've been lucky enough to hit 2 good deep days (12" plus). 





Tracy and I also were able to con my parents (just kidding) into watching the kids while we had a insanely refreshing vacation in the Puerto Vallarta/Sayulita area. It was everything we wanted and then some. Now we have to deal with remaining dreams of buying a house down there. Anyone have a couple hundred $k you can spare? 

We've been getting out with the kids and they've been having a blast. William is wedging to a stop and we've had 2 days at Discovery so far with NO CRYING! Not a tear shed by one of them. And another milestone was reached, Payton and Gwynn got on the chair and rode it all by themselves! Almost brought a tear to dear old Dad's eye ;-0.

 I leave you with this funny little note that semi-rad.com wrote to old man Winter. 

Dear Winter:

Hey man. How’s it going? A few of us were just talking about you. And by “just,” I mean for the past two months. Wondering what you’re up to, where you’re at, if you’re going to make it out West this year, or if we should just put the skis and stuff away until December.

I saw via a couple people’s Facebook and Instagram feeds that you’ve been spending some time and precipitation in the Northeast—that’s cool, please give those folks a high-five from us and tell them to enjoy it. I don’t want to sound entitled or anything, but it seems like you’ve kind of blown your whole wad out there this year, don’t you think?

I mean, I could be wrong, but I don’t think the people in Boston are that stoked about you dropping five feet of snow on them this month. Vermont, yes. Boston, well, that’s a lot of shoveling, and not a lot of skiing.

5 Best Places to Raise Outdoor Kids

I found Outside Online recently ran this article, putting Missoula as one of the best places to raise to outdoor kids. Right now there is no rather place I would rather be, Montana summer is in its primetime.
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New York City is a great place to raise a cultured, worldly kid. At just three years old, my Manhattan-born daughter has eaten delicacies my husband and I had never even heard of until we were in our twenties, and she has an appreciation for art exceeding that of most adults.

But when it comes to teaching kids to appreciate nature, the Big Apple falls short in a big way. Though it’s geographically close to a number of quick, fantastic getaways—kayaking in the Hudson and East rivers, climbing at the Shawangunks, hiking at Bear Mountain—it doesn’t exactly make it easy to give kids the kind of consistent exposure to the wild that will encourage them to keep going outside later in life. There’s no place to store the equipment, for one. And how often can we realistically get away from the city with one or more kids in tow?

We talked with some parents and grandparents of adventurous kids and asked them to make the case for their hometown (or the city or town they're scheming to move to). In making our picks, we looked for towns that had affordable housing, were close enough to the city to give kids exposure to museums and other cultural institutions, and, most importantly, had easy access to a variety of outdoor recreation. While this list is by no means comprehensive, these five cities are a solid bet for parents looking to give their kids an early entree to adventure.

Photo: Micah Sheldon/Flickr  

Montana's second largest city, sits at the confluence of three rivers—the Bitterroot, Clark Fork, and Blackfoot—and enjoys views of five distinct mountain ranges. Combined, these spaces make for some incomparable opportunities to immerse your kids “in a sea of wilderness even if you don’t have a car,” says writer Teresa Ponikvar, who went to college in the town. The downtown area is bike-friendly, and the Clark Fork Riverfront Trail is an ideal spot to introduce your young one to a bike; most of the trail is flat and wide. Rattlesnake National Recreation Area in the Lolo National Forest is so close to downtown that the city bus will drop you and your little one off at the park’s entrance.

Many sports and activities in Missoula are pegged to the seasons, with river rafting and fishing on one of more than 200 rivers and streams in the summer and cross-country skiing and other snow sports in the winter. For smaller kids or busier days, there are also plenty of park and rec spaces in the city proper, including McCormick Park, which offers free bike rentals in the summer and ice skating in the winter, as well as a skate park and ropes course.

With critters from mink to mule deer roaming the nearby woods, Missoula gives parents plenty of opportunities to teach kids respect for wildlife. “You know how in most places if you see the neighbors all gathered on the corner, it's usually because there's been a fire or a robbery or a heart attack?” she says. “In Missoula, it's usually because there's a wild animal doing something cool.”

The average home price in Missoula is about $200,000; rentals can be had for under $700.

End of May

We've had some very nice weather this month in Western Montana and the family and I tried to get out as much as possible to enjoy it. The little one is doing well and we think we will probably keep him. The motorcycle is in full use and a new beefy knobby was installed this week. Lots of fun coming up in June and July.

Hope everyone out there is enjoying their spring as well. Here's a few pictures to enjoy. The album can be fewed here.

 

Kids in a candy shop

P-burg barn

We're entering a little heat wave in Missoula. The snowbanks have shrank to meaningless dirty humps. It's the time of year when every time you look out the window the weather is doing something different. I personally favor the snowing and sunny types of days.

The sun looks to be pushing into the 60's this weekend. Gone are the chances of having any really cold snaps. The winter has been mild as far as harsh low temperatures in the valley. In the higher elevations the winter has been good to us, Snowbowl has 66" at the base and 92" on top.

We took a trip over to Discovery the other day and had the kids slopes and the lodge for that matter to ourselves. The kids pizza'd when they should have pizza'd and all turned out well. Check out this guy french frying when he should have pizza'd., hilarious!

 If you get the chance, go to the Sweet Palace in Philipsburg, our kids kinda liked it.

Kids in the Sweet Palace, Philipsburg, MT

Powder bender

I'm here for a very tardy report on last weeks "Snowpocalypse". The weather peeps had been predicting a massive storm for a full week. I was in the camp that thoroughly believed they would only maybe get a 1/4 of the total right. But as it turned out many mountain locations received 4 feet +. The picture to the left was taken by a U of M student and volunteer patroller at Snowbowl, great pics! If you are interested in seeing more, check them out on the FB Snowbowl Ski Patrol page.

The snow in town started to fall on Tuesday and didn't let up until Thursday. Even the often snow blessed Bozangles area watched closely as they still sat with a sad sad base of 24". A friend salivated on my snow report Tuesday night and white knuckled it over from Bozeman. He timed the storm perfect and saw Snowbowl in prime conditions for 2 days. NWS Missoula reported 15.7 inches (Jan. 17-19), which marks the seventh deepest dump since records were first kept in 1893 (The record, 41.1 inches of snow over Christmas in 1996). Snowbowl totaled over 40" for the week. Bringing the base to 80" up top and 36" below.

A couple friends and I joked how it felt like we had come off a bender, a powder bender (urban dictionary defines bender as: The status of being bent for more than a day. Usually results in loss of memory, money, strange tattoos, and other things you'll have a hell of a time explaining.) I was fortunate enough to be scheduled off work and have a very understanding mother-in-law that watched the two rugrats while I choked on powder. We shrugged some responsibilities and ended up with sore legs. No sympathy wanted or needed. Just reporting the facts ma'am.
 

Huge berm after the big dump

Below is a vid I found from the week of snow, some good POV of what the conditions were like. Cheers and thanks for reading.

Missoula brothers both shoot big bull elk in New Mexico

A friend from work recently returned from New Mexico with his 2 sons and two massive bull elk. Very impressive and exciting to say the least. And then top it off, he goes down a week later and bags one too? Come on. Check out the story and photos from the Missoulian

Torrin and Quinlin Roe both bagged big bull elk this fall. That we know for sure.

Other details are not quite pinned down. Torrin is 13. Quinlin is 12. Both boys are determined to tell the story with such competitive intensity, the conversation sounds like a Wild West shootout.

"It's was a lot like regular Montana forest but with more brush," Torrin said of the New Mexico mountains where they hunted with their father, Missoula firefighter Brad Roe. "It was either flat or really, really, really thick."

"And there's a lot more elk," Quinlin said.

"There was a lot of hiking," Torrin added. "About two miles a day."

"Sometimes one mile," Quinlin said. "But some days we went in five miles."

"And the elk were bugling and eating their way around all over," Torrin said. "Sometimes they'd be 15 or 20 feet away."

"The first elk we shot at was in the 340 class," Quinlin said. "We walked right on top of the herd."

Take out all the punctuation and most of the spaces between words, and you get the sense of excitement the Roe boys brought back from New Mexico. Mixed in all that jumble of detail is one more significant point - they both brought back big bragging rights over dad.

"Both boys have beaten my record," Brad said. "I told them these might be the biggest bulls you shoot in your whole life."

After hunting for 25 years, Brad Roe said he wanted to help his boys get a sense of hunting's bigger possibilities. He contacted his friend, Robert Hannaman, a tag consultant with Corvallis-based Magnum Hunt Club. The business helps hunters find tags and guides in 12 states around the nation.

They applied for the New Mexico hunt last April, braving roughly 1-in-700 odds of getting drawn. Both boys landed bull tags for the region's youth hunt, which takes place during the elk rutting season.

"I wanted the father-son thing, but not with 3 million other hunters," Brad said. "I don't know how many times I've been on elk and had someone else shoot them out from under me."

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So the family arranged for a week out of school and drove south. They arrived two days before the youth season began, which they spent scouting the territory.

"They got to experience elk bugles all around them, cows calling," Brad said. "These things are yelling their heads off, fighting everywhere."

Rifle hunting during the rut can almost be too much of a good thing. The boys had at least one possible shot on each of the four days they hunted, and sometimes had to dodge as herds rushed to and fro.

In the end, each bagged a 6-by-6 bull. Torin's antlers tentatively measure 335 7/8s points on the Boone and Crockett trophy scale. Quinlin's could be 373 5/8s points. The racks have to cure some more before final measurements are taken. The world record for typical American elk is 442 5/8s points.

The experience exposed a few new facets of the boys' personalities, mother Adina Roe said. Torrin appears to focus on his time outdoors with his dad. Quinlin is the hunting enthusiast, getting into the details of stalking and equipment.

"And I think Brad learned both boys were willing to work hard and not complain," Adina said. "That really moved him."

She was also an advocate for Montana kids attending a hunter safety course, even if they don't want to hunt.

"I love the fact they learn how to handle weapons and be safe around them," she said. "When you live in Montana, that doesn't hurt. And it's a life skill to be able to navigate in the woods and survive in the outdoors. People pay a lot to get sent in the woods and learn those skills. It's physically active. I kind of feel they left as boys and came back semi-men."

As for dad? We'll have to wait for an update. He drew a New Mexico elk tag for this week.

Fishing or playing with Nightcrawlers?

We're marking off lots of 'firsts' this summer with the girls, including fishing for the first time. Spin fishing in a local pond wouldn't be complete with a a trip to Wal-Mart. We stopped in and grabbed a container of Canadian Nightcrawlers, a few bobbers, handful of hooks and a case of BudLight - just kidding. Next stop, Silver's Lagoon. Fishing held their attention for oh about 2 minutes, then they wanted to swim, then explore the bushes and more importantly play with every worm in the bucket.

Amazing how a little girl can boldly grab a spiny perch and hold it like she's done it before. Then the next minute dig into the tub and shove a worm in her sister's face. Absolutely great.

Here sissy want a worm?

I like worms!

T and I also got away for a night of camping all by ourselves. We headed west out of town and checked out the Fish Creek area. Along the way we checked out Montana's Largest Pine - a Ponderosa 350-year-old, 200-foot-tall, what a beast (see below).

The two photos below were captured from the North Hills area, check out the rainbow emanating from Mt. Sentinel.

Rock skiing

Dedicated? Yes

Sane? I don't think so

Rad? Yes.

Take 2 minutes out of the day and watch how one can actually shred on rocks. Right around 45 seconds is really interesting as he dislodges a boulder on the way down.

Keep Missoula Beered

In a recent national competition by BeerCity USA, Missoula finished fifth, ahead of Denver, Boulder, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Milwaukee and many more--and tops in the Rocky Mountain West by far.

Snowbowl pass pick up

Lack of snow continues to be the general weather theme lately. We seemed to have a few shots that got everyone thinking the beginning of the white was near, but alas it has waned. The ebb and flow on the snowline has been painful. I'm ready for it to drop to the valley floor and settle in for the winter. Looks like we might be waiting a bit according to NWS:

LONG RANGE FORECAST MODELS ARE PROJECTING A CHANGE IN THE OVERALL WEATHER PATTERN DURING THE EARLY TO MIDDLE PORTION OF NEXT WEEK. ...................EFFECTIVELY OPEN UP NORTHWESTERLY FLOW OVER MONTANA AND IDAHO...RESULTING IN AN INCREASING CHANCE FOR SNOW DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF DECEMBER.

On the other hand good news for pass holders. Here's the message from the Snowbowl website: IF WE DO NOT OPEN ON THE WEEKEND AFTER THANKSGIVING (NOV 28-30) we will be at these shops to distribute passes and take photos.

DATE LOCATION HOURS
November 28 , 2008 Friday Gull Ski 1pm-6pm
November 29, 2008, Saturday Bob Wards 1pm-6pm
November 30, 2008, Sunday The Trail Head 1pm-6pm

A few shots from years past just to remember that it will come

27 miles of pure fun

Well, okay it wasn't necessarily all fun but most of it was. Two buddies and I left the Rattlesnake trailhead at 10am on Saturday morning. Oh yeah, this was after I got a flat without even leaving the parking lot. How you might wonder? I'm not really sure but I think I might have reefed on the valve stem too hard while trying to pump up my rear tire.

The first section of this trail can be an ass kicker (for my candyass legs anyway). There are a feww really steep sections that just don't agree with my legs yet, so I ended up walking a bit. Finally, we gained the ridge and I caught up with K and J. The trail follows the ridge all the way up towards our destination. With many steep and rough sections, only a true animal could ride. We defintely had to push quite a few sections, but that was okay because it gave us time to stop and browse on the huckleberries.

Once you get to this point (at about 7 miles) you've gained about 3500 vertical feet. We took a long lunch, lounging in the bear grass and soaking up the rays. From there on, the grunt is lessened a bit and you have about 4 miles left to the top.

The views up top were unbelievable. We could see the Missions, the Bob, the Bitterroots and a lot in between. I would say you could easily see could easily see 50 miles in any direction, spectacular. After a few pics we dropped in on what would be a 16 mile downhill or 2.5 hours of fun. The trail off the top is very rough but totally rideable for 2-3 miles. The turn that takes you back down towards the Rattlesnake is one that you'll have to keep your eye out for, there's no sign so bring your map and good map skillz yo. This downhill is great, busting down though a jungle like rain forest (for Montana anyway), some buffed out section and some very rooty/rocky sections. And finally getting to the Rattlesnake dirt road, you have 8 miles of fast-get-back-to-the-car-to-have-a-beer-riding. Man that beer never tasted so good. A total of 8.5 hours and 27 miles later we kicked off our shoes and called it fun.

If you like beer, drink this, I mean read this

I've always wondered what the deal was with breweries in Montana having to close by 8pm. There is something just not right about that. At eight o'clock you are really just getting started. There is some legislation on the block right now that could affect how you do your drinking down at your local brewstop. In summary MT government is trying to make it that patrons will have to FINISH their beer by 8:00. Currently, the only lame ass law is that is can't be sold after 8:00pm.

So anyway if you want to do your part, read this Newwest article and send comments:

Here’s your chance to support your local brewer. Contact DOR and not only ask the agency to leave the current law as is, but consider supporting legislation to allow taprooms to stay open and sell beer until 10 pm.

To support your local brewer, give your comments to Cleo Anderson, Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 5805, Helena, MT 59604. Email: canderson@mt.gov. Phone. 406-444-5828 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              406-444-5828      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. The hearing record on this rule change stays open until August 15.

Also, feel free to sign an online petition on grizzlygrowler.com, a terrific website put up by Timothy Alex Akimoff. He already has 465 names on his petition, and you can add yours by clicking here.

This one's for you.

Mt. Sentinel burns in Missoula

*Images from www.newwest.net
Last Wednesday I was hanging out at home when a friend called and asked if I was on the fire. "What fire?" I asked as I ran out side to see what he was talking about. Holy crap! Fire was racing up the side of the "M" with grey smoke pouring off the top of Sentinel.

Turns out, 2 boys (7 and 8 years old) were playing with a lighter burning phone books at the base of the hill. I would have put money on it that it was a firework, but unfortunately not. Those two little boys are going to be a lot of trouble w/ their parents.

I was still on light duty with the old knee, I sat a watched the action from town. I kept a watchful eye in between batters at McCormick Field as I kept score and drank a beer.

The fire ended up being about 360 acres and mostly burned grass and brush. Although the fire got into the timber, fuel moistures were still high enough that all the trees escaped unscathed.

Here's a great video that Firewater Films put together of the action