Eureka-Riverwalk

It's been raining the past couple of days and Koty got himself a severe case of cabin fever. He can't go a day without at least an hours worth of exercise. Of course, I have been kind of grateful to be able to give my ankle a break.

This afternoon, since I needed to go Eureka anyway and it wasn't raining too hard I figured I'd take the brat to the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk is a community project where they have made an asphalt path along the river which is accessible to just about anyone. In the photo below you are hard pressed to see the asphalt path for the autumn leaves that cover it.

Riverwalk Path

The path meanders along the Tobacco River. There are benches to be found periodically where one can stop and savor the beauty all around. Course, stopping and savoring isn't in Koty's job description but I can dream can't I? ;)

Tobacco River

I saw some grass along the path that I thought was kind of interesting for it's texture and color, apparently so did Koty! Koty never likes to be in photos unless I prefer that he weren't. Then I can't get him out.

Native Grass

You never know who you might run into on this path which is what makes this little path so special. It's not unusual to see moose and bear as well as lots of deer.

Whitetail and Fawn

The trail also has numerous stations with plaques where you can read about the history of the Tobacco Valley and Kootenai Country. The plaque below tells of the local Native Americans that the white man called Kootenai. This valley is truly rich in history.

Fall is my favorite season of the year and this little walk reminds me as to why. The color everywhere can be described in no other way but stunning.

Aspen & Cottonwoods

If you ever find yourself in the village of Eureka, Montana (population about 1,000 souls) I highly recommend the Riverwalk. It's just a walk, not a hike, but it is a very pleasant one even in the rain.

©Kinsey Barnard Photography

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HUNGRY HORSE & THE JEWEL BASIN

On day three we rose early and headed back to Hungry Horse. Our objective this day was Handkerchief Lake. It's about thirty miles down the west side of the reservoir. As you can see from the above photos the reservoir was looking mighty fine this fall morning. It was an awesome drive. VIEW MORE LANDSCAPES



The only folks out on the road were wood cutters and there were lots of those. You can get a wood cutting permit from the Forest Service for five dollars and for that five dollars heat your home pretty much all winter. The rules are you can only cut down dead trees but because of the fire three years ago there are dead larch everywhere. Larch, otherwise known as tamarack make great firewood as they have a high BTU and there were some really nice sized trees. Montanans are always up for passing the time of day so we stopped to chat with these guys. Mostly the conversation centered around how lousy things were in the economy.



Finally we found our way to Handkerchief Lake. As usual it was a pretty lake. It's located right off the road so the only hike involved was around the lake itself. The above photograph is just of clouds floating on the water that I thought looked pretty. I'm a regular sucker for reflections.



Whilst picking our way around the lake we came upon this group of mergansers paddling along on the other side of the lake. I was so focused (pardon the pun) on the mergansers I tripped over a log and went flying. Fortunately, the mergansers didn't reach this photogenic spot until after I had righted myself.



This last shot is of Handkerchief looking northwest into the Jewel Basin. Handkerchief is fed by Graves Creek and the creek comes out of those mountains. I really fancy this photograph as it looks almost like an oil painting.

It was a great trip to Hungry Horse and the Jewel Basin. We will certainly do it again because there is a lot we didn't see.


©Kinsey Barnard

Hungry Horse and the Jewel Basin - Day 2

Next day we got up bright and early with the mission on our minds of hiking the Clayton Creek trail to Clayton Lake in the Jewel Basin. But, our first stop was a reprise of Lion Lake. The water was like glass and, as you can see, it made for a perfect mirror. Mornings like this make a person mighty glad to be alive.



The trailhead for Clayton Lake is about 20 miles in from Hwy 2. Once we got underway on the trail we were immediately treated to a riot of fall color. The mountain ash were just drooping with berries and we thought we might see a grizzly because the picking was certainly easy. But, unfortunately, we saw very little wildlife signs on this trail. A few elk tracks and one, two or three day old, bear scat at the lake.



Above is my handy dandy bear detector Koty Bear. And, in fact, this is exactly where we saw the scat but Koty is more interested in something he sees across the way. Koty is a great hiking companion, drawing my attention to things I might not otherwise see. Of course, this is a double edged sword as he can make it a little tough to capture wildlife photos. But, it is a price I gladly pay. To see more of Koty at Hungry Horse go to Koty's Korner New Photos




The hike to Clayton Lake is mostly up hill but it's a very easy hike. The distance from the trailhead is a little less than three miles. I'd reckon for the determined the hike wouldn't take an hour but for dawdlers like us it took and hour and a half as we have to investigate and admire everything along the way.

Mother Nature did a cleansing operation in the area about three years ago. You can see the bare trees on the mountain in the distance. It's just amazing how quickly things have come back. And, how beautiful it still is in it's own special way. Clayton Lake is a little Jewel and one of the things we so love about Montana is we mostly have these fabulous places to ourselves, especially in the off season. You can hike around the lake using either the west trail or the east trail. We chose the eastern trail.



We stayed at the lake for a couple of hours exploring and having a little lunch. On the way back down we were treated to this view of the Flathead Range and the Great Bear Wilderness. You can't see it but this view is looking east across Hungry Horse Reservoir. You can see on the left the dead trees that didn't survive the fire. More Mountain Landscapes



And, lo and behold what did we see on the way down but another human being! This fellow was a local and he was using this trail to get in shape for hunting season. Looked to us as though he had a way to go. ;)



And, so, we bid adieu to the beautiful Clayton Trail. Another day in paradise under our belts.

Be sure and check out KOTY BEAR'S 2009 CALENDER

©Kinsey Barnard

Nothing So Regal As The Eagle & Loon Lake

It's that time of year again; when the fishing is easy at least for the bears and the eagles. It's salmon spawning time. Bald eagles are a pretty common sight around these parts but I never cease to be in awe of them. This guy was looking for kocanee salmon, on which to dine, along the Tobacco River near Eureka Montana. BIRDS OF PREY



We almost missed the kocanee altogether. Koty wanted a drink so we jumped down the bank to the water. I was just standing there, off in my dream world, when I noticed these red/orange string like things under the water. At first I thought it was some plant life anchored to the bottom flowing backward with the current. But, as I kept looking I soon realized what I was really seeing were kocanee salmon spawning. And, just think, these are the types of things we get to experience when we go to town to run errands!



A little later in the week we decided to try and find Loon Lake. We are always trying to find new places. Our search took us first into the little town of Fortine. Passing through I happened to see this "Montana Planter" on a porch and thought it looked kinda cool and very Montana. We love to photograph some of the fun stuff one sees along the road. AMERICANA



It's kinda tricky finding stuff once you get off the paved roads and on to the Forest Services roads. These roads are single lane, dirt tracks and mostly don't have much in the way of signs. You can easily find yourself off on some logging road and never even know it. Which is exactly what happened to us. Though we were on the wrong road one thing we did discover. Things are beginning to change and Fall is in the air. FORESTS & TREES



We finally figured out that we were on the wrong road, back tracked and found Loon Lake. We didn't see or hear any loons but it was a very pretty little lake and well worth the trip. It's amazing, all the gems secreted out in these forests. We never tire of searching for them. For us, it's like finding treasure. LOONS



The lake sported it's own little island and, although I am a color fanatic, I wanted this shot in black and white. I couldn't say why. Now that I see it, I still like it in back and white and I still couldn't say why. :) BLACK & WHITE

That was our week. Hope yours was a great one too!

©Kinsey Barnard