This isn't the best picture in the west but it's all I've got. Well not quite... There wasn't anyone around, and it was strange to feel comfortable on one side of the fence, but not really the other. If I climbed over the fence I'd have this guilt trip about it, like what the heck am I doing on this side of the fence?!..
I watched this guy sail his dinghy on the Flathead River in Montana from a bridge. It was some of the most radical dinghy sailing I've ever seen. The wind was strong as was the current and the pictures make it look easy, but this guy is a true master, and his sailing was a beautiful thing to watch.
Here are a few pictures from the 2009 Loreen Miller Cancer Patient Care bike ride. It was raining in the morning when I got up and that was a welcome change in the weather. The clouds lasted all morning and without them it would have been a hot ride. I rode the 50 mile ride as I thought it might be really hot to try and ride farther, plus I haven't been cycling as much as usual. I really suffered on the first climb but later in the day I started to feel stronger and stronger and at the end of the ride I felt as good if not better than I did at the start. So that's encouraging.
This guy had the most interesting jersey. Skull and bones.
I rode with these two ladies on and off. Wendy and Shelley, if I got their names right. They both do triathlon and were very fit. I ejoyed their company and did my best to keep up with Wendy on the climbs. I've noticed more and more tri people, especially women doing the bike rides lately and I think that's great. Of course in triathlon you aren't supposed to draft, so there's a whole culture of non-drafting out there as a result. I was taking turns pulling with another woman earlier and she commented that it had been a long time since she had drafted and how much fun it was. It's one of the things I really enjoy about group cycling as there's nothing like the thrill of being in a long train of riders going fast. Of course I always like to sit on if possible, like I'm doing here :)
At the end of the ride they had the best food I've ever had at a bike ride. Also they had the Angus Scott bagpipe band and I always like to hear them as they can put together some cool combinations. There were a couple of young dancers that I enjoyed as well. All in all it was a geat ride as usual.
I went to my first Pow Wow last weekend. The drums called me in after years of listening to them from a distance. I really enjoyed it. There was some great dancing and native costumes. A lot of it is dance competition which I didn't really expect. There were groups of drummers around an open pavillion that took turns drumming and singing. Drumming seems to be a male dominated thing. 
They say that there are two things a man can love, a woman and a boat. I have a boat... And now my Hobie 16 gets new sails.
I know,..the old sails looked cool with the rainbow colors, but the new sails will rock, and the boat wil be faster.
This is Rainbow Lake AKA Dog Lake by the locals, just inside the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana. It's known for its rainbows and also for its dogs, although I've never actually seen a dog here, but I'm sure at one time there were many dogs, or at least one dog...
My mom told me that my Dad knew the people who lived next to this. I suspect they owned this barn back when as it's the only place around. He used to come here and hunt pheasants. I have his old shotgun. This old barn has been photographed a lot. I sometimes see people out taking pictures of it. It was 90 degrees today here. That isn't too bad but this is a hot old dusty old place. Cold in the winter. Hot in the summer.
Here's a picture of the Flathead River. I drive along it on my way to Flathead Lake. The water comes from the Glacier Park area through Flathead Lake and then it merges with the Clark Fork River a few miles from here and goes on into Idaho. You can't tell in this picture but it usually has a turquoise color.
One time last year I pulled over on this road, Montana secondary Highway 382, got out and was taking pictures like I did today. Not a car in sight for miles. I didn't pull all the way off of the road because my car is kind of low to the ground. I didn't want to get high centered, and I didn't want to start the grass on fire with my hot exhaust pipe.
I've been sitting here trying to reach the mosquito bites on my back. I got them last weekend painting. I've counted four of them... I've seen them in the mirror. On my way home in the car they started to itch, and I was thinking, "I need an implement to scratch them with, what do I have in the car that would work?." I was rubbing against the seat back. That just wasn't enough. Then it came to me.. I have my paint scraper right behind the seat within reach! It worked perfect and hit the spots. It was exactly the right size and shape. I couldn't have found a better thing to scratch my mosquito bites with, and I didn't even have to pull the car over. They could market these as paint scrapers, that also work as back scratchers.. Or back scratchers that also work as paint scrapers.. I thought as I drove.
I couldn't resist just wandering around in the forest for a while today way up in the mountains of western Montana. It was cool but not cold with the sun making its way in through the trees. The air had that sweet intoxicating mountain smell that might just be one of the best things about summer. There weren't any anoying bugs. It was just beautiful in the woods. I could have wandered around in the forest for hours.
This is what the sky looked like on my way back from Wild Horse Island as night closed in on Flathead Lake. I didn't see any wild horses on the island, but I did see several big mule deer bucks in the velvet. They were too far away to get a picture.
