2017 LINCOLN, MONTANA II

THURSDAY – AUGUST 24TH

Thursday Morning we were off early so that George and Klara to do some fishing along the Blackfoot River. We ate our breakfast beside the river as the sun rose. 

BLACKFOOT RIVER MORNING

GETTING THE LINE READY

While they fished, I wandered upstream with my camera to find some thing of interest to photograph. The light was not favorable and the wildflowers were mostly gone. Nothing inspirational struck me, but I did enjoy the outing.   

GOLD BUTTONS OR TANSY

FALL IS IN THE AIR

FISHING

Afterwards we visited Ernie and Renee who are both retired USFS employees. They had invited Klara over to harvest from their extensive garden which is fenced in with a six foot fence to keep the critters from getting to the delicious greens. This evening we enjoyed fresh kale and purple beans which turned green when cooked. They were both delicious. While we were visiting, a moose cow and calf came to visit. 

MOOSE COW PLAYING HIDE AND GO SEEK?

They were fun to watch and photograph. As we were departing there was a squirrel going after berries in the tree next to our car, and not worried about our presence,

In the afternoon we walked to the Forest Service Office through the Blackfoot Pathways Sculpture In the Wild. This is a collection of sculptures by various artists from all over the world. The works are built on site in Lincoln using mostly materials found in the area. All of the art is on display and exposed to the natural elements. To learn more about it --- http://www.sculptureinthewild.com/ . 

At the Forest Service office we admired the large grizzly bear that is on display there. 

The bear when it died weighed 830 pounds and was 12 years old. It is the third largest grizzly on record in Montana. It had been tattooed and radio collared at an earlier time as it was involved in a research study. He was killed when hit by a large pickup truck while crossing State Rte. 200 in the middle of the night.

FRIDAY – AUGUST 25th

Today we hiked to Granite Butte fire tower, located along the Continental Divide. The tower is South of town. We hiked about two miles up to the tower. It was very windy at 7600 feet, but it did not clear the air. We climbed the tower and ate our lunch on the lee side of the structure. 

TO GRANITE BUTTE

LOOKING SOUTH FROM FIRE TOWER(Notice the deadwood)

THE WIND DOES BLOW HERE

While writing this I searched the internet and found a write up of some people who snowshoed to the tower and camped there overnight. The views on a clear day must be beautiful. On a cold and windy night it would be an adventure to descend the tower and walk about 100 yards to the outhouse!!

A VERY LARGE MUSHROOM

 Once we returned to Lincoln we treated ourselves to wild huckleberry milkshakes. Mmmmm Good. After dinner at the Bushwackers Steakhouse in town, we drove out to the Alice Creek Road, East of town, to look for wildlife. We did succeed in seeing a small herd of elk, but they were a very long ways away. 

SMOKY EVENING