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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2010 CALENDARS & LOTSA LAKES

This week I worked on putting together my 2010 calendars. I have four planned and I managed to get three put together. The fourth I hope to get done next week and it will be on the pacific coast. The the photo are some of my favorites of the subject. The calendars sell for $24.89 each and are top quality.

LAKOTA SUNRISE aka KOTY BEAR .... (Click on Link)

MARVELOUS MONTANA .... (Click on Link)

THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST .... (Click on Link)

This week was my car trouble week. I hope I got that over with. First the ABS light came on in the Explorer and then Shadow got a nail in one of her shoes. I drove too far on it and ended up having to buy two new tires. Drat!

Whilst waiting for repairs Koty and I took a walk along the Tobacco River which runs nearly through town. I understand at one time it did. I couldn't resist this clever prop of a fishing pole with a fish on the line. I couldn't get the pole in. I think it's for the upcoming Salmon Fest.

EUREKA SALMON FEST

It is quite apparent Fall is on its way. The last of the flowers are on their way out.

LAST OF THE FLOWERS

For our outting this week I was going to go see what photo ops we might find at Frank Lake but I got waylaid by a sign that said Rock Lake. I hadn't ever been to Rock Lake so I decided to give it a whirl. Turns out there are three lakes up this particular road. Long, Rock and Timber.

The first lake we checked out was Rock. It apparently got its name because it has a few rocks in it.

ROCK LAKE

A few lucky folks have places on this lake. I reckon they are only summer places as you'd have a devil of a time getting in here in the winter. Sadly, people had music blaring and it kind of took the bloom off my lily.

On the public side of the lake it is pretty heavily forested and difficult to get a good view. In my never ending quest to get a nice image I decided to take off down a slope through a tangled mass of blow down. Koty was leading the way as usual on his leash attached to my belt. The forest was so thick it was pretty dark and I had my dark glasses on. I couldn't take them off or I really wouldn't be able to see. Normally, I wear Transitions but that's another story.

It wasn't long before I lost my balance and went crashing. I always seem to put my hands out to break my falls, which are frequent. I call them my bone density tests. If I had brittle bones I surely would have broken something by now. Anyway, this time, I fell on something that punctured the palm of my hand. I don't know what it was cause I I pulled the thing out so fast and tossed it I never got a good look at it. What I did see was my stuffing popping out of the hole. Not pretty. Below is the image I got for my trouble.

ROCK LAKE THE HARD WAY

A little further down the trail we found Timber Lake. This lake was named for the old timber standing in and around it. Folks around here were very original when they named these lakes.

TIMBER LAKE

The lake was fairly low but I'll bet it's pretty in the spring. We'll have to come back and see next spring. You can't see it in the photo below but there was a whitetail doe and her fawn scampering around behind this rock up near the timber line. I was so very beautiful to watch.

TIMBER LAKE

I noted a few of these bird boxes at two of the lakes. I don't know what they are for. The boxes are large as are the entry holes. I was thinking maybe owls but I don't really know.

BIRD BOX AT LONG LAKE

We never did make it to Frank Lake. It was smack dab in the middle of the day by the time we finished with the others. Soon it won't matter because the angle of the sun will be coming from so far south any time of day is interesting. We'll have to save Frank for another trek.

We did get more beautiful sunsets this week.

KOTY BEAR SUNSET

©KINSEY BARNARD

Eureka to Dillon - The Journey Begins

I must start this with a confession, the photo above was taken this past June in Alberta. I didn't take time to take any photos on the way down. For some reason I managed to burn up 8 hours without stopping for photos. This is cattle country so that's why I chose it. This one's for you Al B in Alberta.

It wasn't that there was a shortage of photo ops. I saw some fabulous things at 60 mph. The drive down along Flathead Lake was a beauty. This is a gorgeous lake. Flathead Lake. Next up was the buffalo herd at the National Bison Range. Normally, you don't see them on the south end along 93 but there they were in all their glory. I weep for their ancestors every time I see them.

The fall colors along the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers were simply stunning. We saw some fly fisherman casting in the afternoon sun. The water sparkled like diamonds. The scene looked like something straight out of "A River Runs Through it" another little welling in the eye over this one.

As everyone knows, lighting in photography is just about everything, that along with knowing where to stand. In the fall, the sun has journeyed so far south that it looks like afternoon all day long here in Montana. The shadows that are cast bring a whole new meaning and beauty to the landscape. I would have loved to photograph it but we have miles to go before we sleep. One day, when we aren't leaving for the winter, we will come down this way just to photograph it.

We left at eight and pulled into the RV park at four. Long bloody day for this old broad. Koty and I stretched our legs for about an hour and called it a day. Since we are in travel mode I dined on Marie Callender's finest. Actually, accompanied by a goblet of Cabernet it wasn't half bad. :)

Ciao for now,
Koty & Kinsey

Eureka Quilt Show - Montana

Last weekend, in our little village, we had our annual quilt show. People from all around come with their quilts to sell and socialize. Everywhere you look there are beautiful, hand made quilts.



The Eureka Historical Village is the main display area and walking around the village is a real treat. Course, I particularly love this sort of thing because people think I'm as beautiful as the quilts and make quite a fuss over me.

But, since the quilts were really the point I'll just post some of the designs displayed. They really are works of art!


















Being an outdoor boy myself I rather fancied the outdoor themed ones but there were quilts to suit every taste. If you are ever in the neighborhood the first Saturday of August you should plan to check it out!

Bye for now!

Koty Bear

Oh, and don't forget. If you need a gift idea there are some beauties at my New Website

Houston We Have Lift Off!

It's not for nothing the favorite refrain around here is "If you don't like the weather just hold your horses and wait a few minutes". Last Wednesday it snowed all day! Now we have sunny skies and 75 degrees. It must be for real this time cuz the wildflowers are starting to bloom! But, the farmers are complaining cuz their grass ain't been growing. Looks like we are just going to skip spring altogether this year and just go for summer! BUY or just get a better look



The little critters are starting to come out in force, like this tiny chipmunk we saw on one of our hikes through the woods. BUY or just get a better look



In the little village of Eureka we have this place called the Historical Village. There all kinds of historical displays, old buildings, cabins, equipment etc. Mom has a particular fascination for this old rail car. There isn't much rail traffic anymore since the logging business has gone the way of the Dodo bird. Mostly just lumber from Canada headed south. BUY or just get a better look.


On another hike we stumbled on this little pond with a waterfall coming down into it. The water in this pond was so green it was amazing. I don't know what causes that but it sure is pretty. Oh, gotta tell you a funny story. On this particular hike mom found a big blue/green egg in the trail. She thought it might be a grouse egg. Whatever it was it was really pretty. It was cold as a stone so there wasn't going to be any birdy from that one. Anyway, mom put the thing in her breast pocket and no sooner did she do that then it started to rain. In order to protect her camera she slung it across her chest and under her arm. In doing so she smashed the egg. She's still trying to get the smell off the camera! Every time she puts the camera to her face to take a photo she gets a good whiff! LOL! BUY or just get a better look



Last but by no means least we snuck back into British Columbia and Kikomun Park. Spring was in the air here too. Lotsa of life in the lakes, there are about a half dozen of them. This photo is of a female mallard preening herself. The logs in the water were just covered with painted turtles and we saw loads ducks and ducklings. We still think this is an exceptionally nice park. If you're ever up this way and looking for a place to camp this park is a winner!

That was our week! Hope yours was a winner too!

©Kinsey Barnard

SPRING IS IN THE AIR!

Yesterday, was a beauty so we decided to take a ride over to the Koocanusa. I'm not sure if I have told you the story behind the name of the lake so for those who may have missed it.... It's kind of corny but the story is this; The Koocanusa runs about 90 miles from Montana (USA) into British Columbia (CAN). The lake is situated in the Kootenai National Forest and is fed by the Kootenai River. I think you can get the picture.

On the way out we saw a pot load of Mule Deer. This one ranch must have 150 of them lolling around. No fawns yet.

Over at the Koocanusa the reservoir has really been drained low. I thought it was low last year but it's even lower this year. So much sand has been exposed that when the wind comes up the valley looks like the Dust Bowl.

After hiking around the lake we took off just looking for whatever we could see. The first thing were some long horn cows that had just given birth and one cow just about to pop. They were really beautiful there in the pasture. At the same ranch was this horse that reminded my mom of one from her childhood. His name was Black Boy. This fella was a black boy alright!

Good news! Mom finally got a photo of a wood duck. Bad news! The lens she was using wasn't long enough to get a good look.

It was a beautiful spring day here in Montana and we enjoyed every minute of it! Looks like spring might be here for real this time!

©Kinsey Barnard Photography

RENDEZVOUS IN MONTANA

Every spring we have, in our village, this thing called Rendezvous. Rendezvous is the carrying on of a tradition that started back in the 19th century. Every spring trappers and traders would gather in the Tobacco Valley with the local Indian tribes to trade goods, stories and probably a little fire water.

The celebration has taken on a more modern mantle but many still dress in traditional garb and re-enact the gathering of yore. There is hatchet throwing, black powder shooting and trading. And a general fellowship kind of thing.

These days there is a parade down Dewey, which is our main street. The parade had everything from Canadian pipers to hot rods. The part I liked best was that the people in the parade had candy they tossed to the crowd. I tried my darndest to catch some. But, mom kinda cramped my style. In that area. The thing I didn't like was the shooting off of those blunderbusts. Not good for this doggie.

Also, around town was a quilt show at the fairgrounds and lots of people selling arts and crafts down at the historic village. I'd reckon there must have been double the population in town this weekend. Maybe more cuz we only have about 1,000 souls here on a regular basis.


Someone must have been smiling on us too because they had called for rain this weekend and it was a beautiful spring weekend!



If you're ever in the area around the end of April you ought to stop by to experience our Rendezvous. It's a lot of fun.




Oh, and another thing. Folks in Montana just love their dogs and we get to go nearly everywhere with our families. I highly recommend Montana for family fun when the family includes my canine brethern.

©Kinsey Barnard Photography

Eureka! I'm Home!

Well, we made it! We are home at last after five months on the road. Poor Clementine isn't here though because she can't make it up the mountain yet. Too much ice and snow still on the road.

It is so good to be home! It's so beautiful and peaceful. As you can see from the photos, some of our friends came calling as soon as they saw we were home. These pictures were taken right from the deck.

Tigger our indoor/outdoor cat was on hand to greet us. Mom had to give me a little refresher course on the part about Tigger being one of our pack and not to be eaten. I caught on pretty quick when mom showed me her whip! :)

Thanks to our good friends Susan and Gary we were able to stash Clementine at their house. Shadow was able to make it up the road cuz she has front wheel drive. She spun out some but we got there. The battery in the 4x4 was deader than a doornail so a call to AAA got that fixed fast enough. When we started up the well the feeder hose to the hot water heater sprung a leak. A call to the plumber got that fixed too. A fire in the wood stove got the house warm and toasty in no time and all is now right with the world!

Our good friends and neighbors Doug and JoanAnn looked after the place for us while we were away. They made sure Tigger had plenty to eat. From the looks of her they really did a spectacular job at that! And they made sure the house maintained a proper temperature. I know that they gave mom a lot of peace of mind. You really can't put a price on good neighbors. If you could we would be millionaires!

This morning it snowed another few inches but if the Weather Channel knows anything spring is right around the corner. Personally, I love it that there is still snow. There's a reason they call us Snow Doggies!

©Kinsey Barnard Photography

Eureka!

Well, holy moly, we finally have made it to Eureka and Verizon Broadband! I can't begin to tell you how much this will improve my quality of life! My mom, not known for her patience, finally has access to decent internet speed. She gets sooo cranky she gets without it!

Anyway, to bring you up to date: Our last night in Gold Beach was a humdinger! The wind blew so hard I thought Clementine was going to take flight. Big gusts of wind would hit the side of the RV and would literally sound like someone smacking into it. The racket, unbelieveable.

There were wind warnings all the way down to Eureka but Tuesday mom said "We're going!"But, the day did not begin without it's drama. Mom turned on her hair dryer before turning off the space heater and blew all the circuits. Then she was out in the wind and rain trying to take care of Clementine and hooking up Shadow. That made her real happy too!

But, away we went at the high speed of about thirty five miles per hour. The wind was bouncing us all over the place but after taking about 4 hours to make a 3 hour drive we made it to Eureka and boy were we happy to be here.

It's still raining and the forecast is for more of the same. Darn!

PS: The photographs are the last we took of the Oregon Coast. That one of the rocks is called Turtle Rock. Isn't that a hoot? It really does look like a turtle.

© Kinsey Barnard