Montana in the Fall

Most people that know me, know that Autumn is Nick's and my very favorite time of year. Living in Las Vegas last year was difficult because we weren't able to experience the fall colors or the crisp weather. But that just gives us one more reason to love Montana!

Realizing that winter weather is just around the corner, Nick and I have been trying to take some scenic drives on the weekends. Last weekend we took a short trip to Lincoln, MT and explored some nice creeks along the road. Nick is convinced he's found some great spots for trout fishing (now I guess he'll just have to learn to fly fish!).

Yesterday, we decided to take advantage of a beautiful day and take a drive up to Glacier National Park. It was a wonderful, sunny, 60 degree day and it was such a great drive! Montana doesn't have lots of forests like Minnesota, but they do have lots of trees in the valleys of the mountains and I can't begin to describe how beautiful it was. Many of the mountains already have snow on their peaks. Then there are the rolling hills that are filled with range cattle and horse ranches. And in the valleys are some of the most fantastic colored trees - some with red, yellow, gold, green, brown, and orange. Oh, it was heavenly!



On our way into the park, we were surprised to find some roadblocks... Cattle! Seriously, there are no deer signs, but there are cattle signs! Many of the ranchers on the Indian reservation let their cattle roam freely, so we had to pay careful attention while coming around corners on the mountain roads. Only in Montana... One quick funny story: We decided to take our Highlander on the drive yesterday which is a hybrid vehicle. For those that have never really seen/heard/ridden in a hybrid vehicle, you should know they are EXTREMELY quiet vehicles. So as we were driving through a herd of cattle, Nick decides to stop next to this massive cow who was quite content eating the grass alongside the road. I think the cow realized he was being watched and decided to look up. But to his surprise, we were RIGHT next to him! I've never seen a cow jump so high in my entire life! He kind of stumbled, half falling and half running, down into the ditch to get away! It was hilarious!




But anyway, we continued on into the park and were a little disappointed to find that Logan's Pass was closed due to road construction. Keep in mind that I was there at the end of June as well and the pass was closed then as well due to a recent 10 inch snowfall. The Pass is typically only open about 3 months out of the year and Nick and I were really hoping to make it through there before the first snow. Oh well. At least we got into the park for free because it was National Lands Day. Lucky us! We were still able to do a little hiking and got to see some really pretty waterfalls (St. Mary's Falls and Virginia Falls).

So as you can see, we are still loving life in Montana! Oh - and we're accepting reservations for visitors, so join us anytime!