Clever

I read an article about a local schoolteacher that has been painting a fire hydrant in his front yard each season for over 20 years in the east side, historic neighborhood of Kalispell. He stated that the first time he painted it was because it was an ugly orange color....then he began to get creative and started decorating the hydrant for various holidays. What a clever idea!...folks young and old drive by to see what the next design will be. Just think of how many coats of paint the poor hydrant has!

I was walking through the neighborhood taking pictures of homes and wondered if I would come across this funky folk art...and sure enough I did!!

Next door to the hydrant was this cute little home. I like how it is mostly painted white. But what I like even more is the cute little birdhouse that perches next to the home. It is an exact replica of the white abode.

I bet the bird that lives in that house is rich!

All Forward E'erbody...All Forward

So after our picnic with the doe our next adventure was White Water Rafting! I have never been and so I was a little nervous. I just knew I would fall into the roaring rapids.

Acting like full fledged tourists we split into groups of about 8 and hopped into a raft guided by Shay. He definitely liked to use the "All Forward ---All Forward" a lot. We pretty much got the hang of the commands and paddled our way down the Middle Fork of Flathead River that defines the edge of Glacier Park. We hit some rapids but they weren't as roaring as I thought they would be but definitely fun-filled. One rapid splashed me right in the face and farmer saw the whole thing. He thought it was funny..so did I. Good times. Now we didn't have a camera with us...we wouldn't have had time to take pictures anyhow. But they did have someone take our picture while going through the "BONECRUSHERRRRRR." We had a loved one come up and visit us and he was able to take the trip with us down the river.

Picnic

So where was I...

So while we had some downtime from one adventure to another we decided to go have a picnic in Glacier Park on the shore of McDonald Lake. We parked at the amphitheatre and already knew we would enjoy ourselves because nobody else was around.

I had thrown some food in a bag and made a hob knob type of lunch for the two of us. We ravaged through the meal like starved kitties. All the horseback riding had made us hungry! We then skipped rocks on the water and laid out in the sun like happy turtles chit chatting while throwing pebbles at one another. I then raised up and to my left was a deer drinking water. She was probably about 30 feet away. I whispered to farmer..."Get up! Very slowly and quietly." He was like what?? And shot up to take a look..oh goodness!

But what was funny, the deer didn't even mind us. She just sipped her water and then came over to a small tree next to us and started munching on the leaves. We just sat there in shock! She was not worried one bit.

We thought that was cool..well then she meanders towards us, stops right in front of us and takes another drink of water...hangs out for a bit and then meanders around to my right side and chews on a couple more leaves and then heads up into the brush. We were able to talk while she was doing all of this.. One of the coolest things that has happened to me in a long time. I asked Farmer if he had the camera... Of course not!! Aww dang.

He goes back to the car to get some slip on shoes and the camera. He follows her into the trees and takes a couple of pictures.

Giddy Up

Farmer went out of his way to book a fun-filled Saturday for the two of us. I will talk about what we did in different posts to keep ya'll coming back for more. Ha!

Saturday Morning we got up early enough to make it to West Glacier by 9:30. We were booked to go horseback riding in the mountains and pine trees. I rode a dark brown, almost black, horse named Morgan while Farmer rode Trigger-look-a-like Sunny (or Sunshine). It was a nice relaxing ride except for when the horses spooked and the trail leader got a little scared...we had to turn back around and go a different direction. We rode with another family so it was a small group. I had the urge to do a little galloping or some Hi-Ho Silver action..but couldn't really do that on this trip. Overall we had a very nice ride. It was about 2 hours long and we saw some beautiful sights. After our ride, we had a couple of hours to spare for lunchtime so we ventured over to the amphitheatre in Glacier Park ....which I will talk about tomorrow!

Chupacabra??

Whilst sitting at my computer all the way up here in Montana...I see a post on MSN.com and also on Yahoo about the sighting of a possible chupacabra in Hood County...Texas. Yep, Granbury is at it again..Famous for John Wilkes Booth, Jesse James, and now a Chupacabra. Chupacabra translates "goat sucker" and is very popular amongst the Mexican folk tales. I believe this animal/beast is a cross between a coyote and a dog. It has mange and lots of parasites to make him look so mystical. I also believe Coyotes kill goats (remember..that's why you have to have a donkey or a sheep dog to keep them safe while out in the pasture). So technically, coyotes could be a "goat sucker." Either way, let Granbury have it's 15 minutes of fame.

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Jewel

Most of ya'll know how much of a die-hard fan I was of Jewel's...and then she moves to Stephenville! wahahah... that was so fun for me as a kid. I found this online and thought it was pretty clever and fun for everyone involved.

Undercover Karaoke with Jewel from Jewel

Lost in Lone Pine Park

Yesterday I took a hike in Lone Pine State Park. It is only a few minutes from the casita. It was a nice, cool, and breezy day to take a hike. Farmer had taken me to Lone Pine once before but I suppose I didn't pay close enough attention to the trails.

I wanted to take a different trail and get to know the park a little bit more. I started from the top of the park and made my way down..then up..then down...then up..and down...I was getting all turned around! I was taking these smaller trails and was wondering if I would ever make it back to the top. After 2 hours of hiking I eventually did..now I know the park real well!!!

Farmer took this picture from his spot on the cliff..

...the box with the arrow is where our casita is.