Bill thought last night’s dinner arrangement was so pretty that he requested a photo… It was pretty! - and delicious…ribs ala Bill, sweet corn, sugar snap peas and stuffed avocados by me. We both love to cook and love a variety of food. Bill is the meat man primarily and I do the sides. I’m a fresh veg - the less cooking, the better, girl. Bill has been converted from canned…

In the early morning hours for the past week, the moon has been bright in the southern sky. Karl and I usually head down the driveway for our early “perimeter patrol” about 5 a.m. He wears his lighted collor (neon blue LED strip) and I carry a flashlight but I don’t like to turn it on unless I really need it. A month past the equinox, it is still fairly dark at 5 a.m. but with the recent bright morning moonshine, the moonbeams through the trees have been plenty of light.

It was hot yesterday, topping out at just below 90. Forecast clouds kept the temp above 60 all night and this morning, the air was still and a bit heavy for Montana. That extra bit of humidity, the stillness, the crickets - summer sounds that signal a warm day and hopefully some rain. But it was the clouds around the bright, morning moon that inspired me to get the camera AND the tripod and see what I could capture. More and more frequently, I have been shooting in manual mode and feeling every more comfortable with my ability to get the exposure I’m looking for - helped by a little camera that has some great “through the viewer” meters. The first photo above was cropped and lightened a bit. The photos below are cropped but otherwise straight out of the camera.

And, of no particular relevance to the photos or looking up…all morning, I’ve had this song running through my mind:

Slow down, you move too fast
You’ve got to make the morning last
Just kickin’ down the cobble stones
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy!
(La,la,la,la,la,la, feelin’ groovy)
….
Got no deeds to do, no promises to keep
I’m dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me
Life, I love you, all is groovy!

The 59th Bridge Street Song, “Feelin’ Groovy” - Simon and Garfunkel

Hope you and yours are “feelin’ groovy” this Monday morning and that things are “looking up” in whatever you are doing.

As we’ve been driving around different places, Bill keeps saying that he wants a house on top of a mountain - with a view - and he imagines us having cocktails on a deck looking out over the valley or the lake. This has been a recurring theme - along with, which road will take us up to look…

Last weekend as we drove back from checking out the rv park where we stayed last night after watching the boat races, we spotted the house on top of the mountain overlooking Flathead Lake. There was not enough time for me to get my camera. Returning home today we were prepared….

The location is incredible and I imagine the view is stunning. I would hate to have forgotten to pick up milk on the way home and I bet the drive is interesting in the winter AND it is big enough to house several families, still - fun to dream of cocktails on that deck!

We are home, and all is unloaded, unhooked and resituated - a fun little trip that got two homebodies out and about.

Ready to roll…

Karl was going to make sure nothing rolled without him! - It didn’t..

However the trip started with a couple of glitches…we had left a message with the rv park asking how early we could check in and hadn’t heard so planned an early start with a grocery stop thinking to arrive close to noon. I woke Bill at 8:30 and we hooked up the truck, loaded the 4 wheeler and were having a last cup of coffee when the phone rang…2:00 for check in. We decided to roll anyway and hopefully a spot would be ready early or we would find somewhere to park and have lunch before check in.

10 miles down the road I remembered that Bob had no water. I left him 2 days worth of food, but he and Karl share a water bowl and I brought it for Karl. Fortunately, there was a good place to park the bus, we unhooked the truck and I went back and took care of the water situation.

We rolled into the area west of Polson past the entrance to the park shortly before noon - plenty of time to drive through town and get the groceries we wanted….a few seconds later, it seemed like not the best move as we weren’t the only people coming to see the races… Also it was Polson’s Flathead Cherry Festival.

In the end, it wasn’t as bad as it looked and we were still 1/2 an hour early for check in but we were accomodated. We were parked, plugged in, had the 4 wheeler unloaded, the grill set up, routisserie chicken for dinner started and were watching the boats by 2:00.

It turned out to be more interesting to me than I anticipated. I’m not a fan of large noisy things running in circles - but the putting in and taking out, people, pretty spot and the fact that although warm and sunny, it was not hot, hot - it was a nice afternoon and fun to see what we saw.

This morning, Karl and I walked down to the river about 6 a.m. - cool, beautiful, rosy sky as the moon prepared to set and the sun to rise.

The boats at rest - waiting for today’s final heats.

North of the park a quiet road ran up to the west - Karl and I meandered along after our visit to the river. We turned back just as the sun was rising over the mountains to the east. Beautiful start to a quiet Sunday.