Events in my own Backyard July and August Montana and the Northwest In between my journeys I tackled lots of projects at home and with the yard: mowing, trimming, and wedding the flowerbed. I worked hard at paring down and organizing boxes and boxes of teaching materials, paperwork, photos, etc. I was filling the garbage barrel to the brim every week. I needed to empty out Nathan’s old room so Karen O’Hara could move in. She must have been sent to me by my guardian angel. While moving from a house-sitting job, the truck she was using broke down directly in front of my place. She came to me to use my restroom and the phone. We ended up becoming friends. We decided we had a win-win situation. She needed a place and I needed a house-sitter. She will be here to take care of things while I’m gone and will be great company when I am home. My friends and family know that I am an outdoor enthusiast. Summer is by far my absolute favorite season. Thus, I balance my work with recreation. I bike, run, golf, and most importantly, KAYAK. Some of the rivers I enjoyed paddling this summer were the Bitterroot, Blackfoot, Clark Fork, the Alberton Gorge of the Clark Fork, the Middle Fork of the Salmon, and the Yellowstone. The performing arts are going strong around here in the summer. Every Wednesday there is great music down in Caras Park. The format is called Out to Lunch. There are over 30 food venders. The aromas alone will lead you to the stage. The Clark Fork River flows right through downtown. Brennan’s Wave has been created for kayakers to surf. I can eat, hear good tunes, and watch some great kayakers having fun all in one spot. Missoula hosts the International Music Festival every three years, and this was the year. The choirs come from near and far, from right here in Missoula to countries far away, like Korea, India, and Australia. The singers are housed by host families. The groups really seem to enjoy their time here and certainly allowed us to enjoy their performances. Also, earlier in July, Hamilton hosted a Blue Grass Music Festival. It was held in the county fairgrounds. We sat in our lawn chairs under big shade trees and listened to some very talented musicians. The groups I heard were from Canada, Colorado, Tennessee, and Wyoming. The featured instruments were guitars, fiddles, mandolins, bass, and banjos. Kane’s River, Tennessee Gentlemen, and Front Range were the bands I got to hear. Maxine Searles asked me to play with her in the August 2nd Missoula Country Club Ladies Invitational Tournament My game was a bit erratic with few pars, but my photos of this incredibly manicured course with its spectacular flowers were winners. It proved to be a wonderful day with a wonderful friend. I visited Marci and Nathan mid-August. I wanted to take part in helping them celebrate their first anniversary. I took them out to dinner Wednesday night, golfed with Nathan at Bridger Creek GC on Thursday afternoon, and I mowed their yard while they were at work Friday so they could leave that night for Steve’s cabin at Trout Creek (the place where they spent their honeymoon). When they headed west, I went north driving along the Gallatin River on my way to Yellowstone. It was a beautiful day for some sight seeing, especially at the Norris Geyser Basin. I left the park at Gardiner because I had arranged with a raft company there to follow their rafts in my kayak on a half-day trip down an eight-mile stretch of some fun white water (mostly class 2 rapids, one class 3) on the Yellowstone River. I even pulled off a good combat roll when I needed it. I got a ride back to my car in their bus and then I drove back to Florence. What a day! Later in August, I drove over to the Washington coast to Anacortes. From there I used the ferry system to visit three of the San Juan Islands. What a treat!! The weather and scenery were both spectacular. No crowds, no traffic jams, or air pollution or skyscrapers. The islands each have their own personality, but are all fairly rural. My first stop was Orcas Island. I visited Moran State Park, driving to the top of Mt. Constitution. It afforded a great 360 degree view. It was a clear day and I could see other islands and Mt. Baker off in the distance. The park also has some small lakes, waterfalls, lush vegetation, and some campgrounds. I played nine holes of golf on the island’s only course. The San Juans are in a rain shadow and only get about 20 inches of rain yearly which explains the dry fairways. I was paired with a really nice couple who spend their summers here. As we played they gave me tidbits of information about the course as well as what to see and do on the islands. The highlight of the day was discovering ROSARIO. The 100 year old resort was built by Thomas Moran, a Seattle ship-builder as his family home and retreat. He had bought 7,000 acres on the island. He decided in his later years to turn 4,000 acres over to the state to be made into a park. The second floor is a museum. The music room on that floor not only has a Steinway grand piano, but also a 1200-pipes pipe organ. Since he couldn’t play, he had both the piano and organ engineered where they could be played using rollers. Today in the summer, Chris Peacock gives free concerts five evenings a week and plays both instruments himself and also gives a slide show as he shares anecdotes about the history of this family and the house where they spent so many years. I stayed in a delightful B&B called the Blue Heron. Only a block away was a quaint restaurant with a view of the bay and the marina. Early the next morning I caught a ferry to San Juan Island. At Friday Harbor I left my car and joined up with Sea Quest. I had arranged to go on a two day sea kayaking trip. There were twelve of us plus the two guides. We departed from Small Pox Beach and returned the next afternoon to Roche Harbor. While out, we paddled about 10 to 12 miles each day. Yes, we did see a pod of Orcas swimming and leaping . That came only about thirty minutes after our trip started! We also saw seals, various water birds, and even a small herd of deer grazing on the grassy hillside of an island. We camped on a private beach. That night I experienced something amazing – BIO-LUMINESCENCE. Every disturbance we made in the water with our paddles or hands created what looked like tiny diamonds rising to the surface. We stayed out enjoying this phenomenon for at least an hour . I stayed in the Hillside B&B on my return to Friday Harbor. It had a great room, great view, and great breakfast the next morning. The owners were so gracious. They made me feel like an invited guest, not a paying one. I caught a ferry for Lopez Island late that morning. It was a fairly short ride. I got settled in my motel room around 1:00 and headed out on a five hour bike ride. The countryside was very pastoral. I was never very far from a view of the ocean. My two stops were at SharK Reef and Agate Beach. Both were well worth visiting. I finished up the day with dinner at the Bay Café. It had been highly recommended by the couple I golfed with on Orcas. The seafood pasta entrée was indeed excellent. So was the sunset! 
Early the next morning I played nine holes of golf on a course just a couple of miles from where I was staying. It was right next to a private airstrip and on one tee box a sign said to not hit your drive if a plane was taxiing or taking off. I had to chuckle. That was a first. I finished up by 9:30. (I had the course to myself. Ladies Day would start at 9:30 so I had to be off the course by then.) I drove to the ferry and headed back to Anacortes, and from there, drove to Seattle. Jeff was expecting me. We took a bike ride to Union Lake to watch the sail boats; then rode through the U of W campus. The next morning I helped him work on his personal statement. Jeff got us a tee time at Jackson Park Golf Course far 18 holes. Not only did we have a great time playing golf, we got to eat ripe black berries that were growing along the edges of the fairways. We even spotted a coyote loping around on a couple of fairways. That was a first for me. He actually appeared to feel the place was his home and we were the visitors.
We hustled home, cleaned up, and headed for Safeco Stadium to see the Mariners play the Yankees that night. It was the second game in a three game series. The Yankees happen to win this one. We sat up behind first base line with a fabulous view of the Seattle skyline. Another full and memorable day.
The next morning after breakfast, I packed up and drove to Spokane. I wanted to visit my friends Bev and Roger Ruhl. The morning after I arrived we all headed out for the Hiawatha Bike Trail up on the Montana-Idaho border. We bought our permits at Lookout Pass Ski Area. We rode 15 miles downhill through tunnels (one almost two miles long) and over trestles. Bev’s daughter, her husband, and two boys were with us and we all had a great time doing the thirty mile round trip. All of us had helmets on and wore flashlights either on our helmets or taped to our handlebars. When we got back to our cars, I had to bid them farewell and head for home. The day was perfect weather-wise for biking and the scenery was also perfect. This was my third time to ride this trail; that is how much I enjoy doing it.
My friend, Monika Franzen, really wanted to kayak the Blackfoot River. So we put in at Johnsrud Park and got out at Angevine on Labor Day. We were both pleasantly surprised to find NO ONE there at the time we put in. We basically had the river to ourselves and thoroughly enjoyed the solitude. We had finally gotten together for an adventure! We kept missing each other all summer. She and her husband would have to head back to Chicago in September. I, however, still have almost 12 months of freedom because of the leave of absence Florence School granted me. So come mid-September I will "be back on the road again" heading for Colorado and points south.
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