Beauty

When one is Up North in the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes area, one is just engulfed in natural beauty. As we rode our bikes this afternoon, we stopped by the Crystal River just north of Glen Arbor. We also rode over the bridge and saw all of the boats anchored by the drop off on the Big Glen side of the bridge with folks enjoying a beautiful afternoon on the water. We also said hello to a raccoon that was attempting to cross the road and hadn't gotten the memo that raccoons are supposed to be nocturnal creatures.

As I later surveyed the gardens at our cottage, I also was reflecting on the nature of beauty. With gardening, I like to spend the winter months strategizing garden designs - we'll call this planned beauty. However, sometimes Nature has other ideas and we get unplanned beauty. The planned beauty is very gratifying - see the photos of the lovely yellow evening primrose and the flower bed. But then there's the viola (johnny jump-up) that reseeded outside of the lake stone border. This was a beautiful surprise.

Bicycling Views

You know, it is true that once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget. So I have recently taken up bike riding again after a 25 year hiatus. I've been on a couple of 5 plus mile rides which have been great and I know that one of these days, my legs are no longer going to feel like jelly. Up here in Leelanau County the main drag - M22 - has bike lanes which makes the going a lot safer. Today Mike and I rode over to Glen Arbor and enjoyed the Lake Michigan views - toward Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, directly west toward N Manitou Island and north toward the Homestead. We also stopped at the narrows bridge at Glen Lake and admired the view of Sleeping Bear from across Little Glen Lake. What a wonderful day!

June Flowers

On the first Saturday in June, Mike and I spent a few hours photographing flowers around Joliet. The peonies are in the garden of Al and Kay Ray. We then drove over to Pilcher Park. These shots are taken on the grounds and within the conservatory.

Wyoming - the rest of the trip

We spent the remainder of our time in Greybull, Wyoming at Marquerite's house.

KC and I pose outside Probst Western Wear in Beautiful Downtown Greybull. Yes, I am wearing my newly purchased cowgirl boots.

Kathy and Jerry Ewen hosted us for dinner at their home in Shell, WY. Kathy is a gifted longarm quilter who has been quilting many of my quilts for several years. Here we are with Kathy on their deck which overlooks the magnificient Big Horn Mountains.

Here's Jerry with two of his horses. This view is facing west away from the mountains. In this area, paleotologists have been finding Jurrasic dinosaur fossils for years.

Looking north east at the Big Horns.

On Sunday, McDuff (Duffy) the Westie is greeting Gordy the Great Pyrenees puppy. Duffy is full grown at around 14 pounds. Six week old Gordy will mature to 150 pounds.

Here the Yah Yahs are posing at the Hyattsville Cowboy Carnival.

Here Diane and Marquerite are putting the finishing touches on Marquerite's basement bathroom. The point of this photo was to show that indeed the towel bars are level. They're pointing to the level on top of the bar.

Every day on this trip was a 10+ day!  Thank you to Marquerite for yet another wonderful visit to one of the most beautiful parts of our country. The beauty of the land is only surpassed by the beauty of the people.

Yellowstone & Wyoming - May 26

After a night at Chico Hot Springs, we drove south to the North Gate of Yellowstone Park and drove southeast through the Lamar Valley and exited via the Northeast Gate. Normally, we drive further south to Yellowstone Lake and then exit via the Eastgate just west of Cody, but the pass to that gate was still closed due to snow.

It was a pretty windy morning, but we were able to keep our pink pirate hats in place.

I think this was a female elk that we saw near Mammoth Hot Springs within the Park.

I was pleased with the photos of the buffalo. These guys were grazing just beside the road so it was just a matter of rolling down the window and clicking.

This is the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. There were many herds of bison grazing along this valley. There were lots of calves. We also spotted a grizzly bear down along the river - very cool.

Cook City is located just outside the Northeast Gate. The visitor center has both a catchy sculpture and very clean restrooms. We drove through a couple of snow squalls. One can see the mounds of snow beside the main road.  Two days later, there was a landslide and the Northeast Gate was closed.

We drove the Chief Joseph Highway between Cook City and Cody. Very scenic. At the top of the mountain, there's an overlook. Worth stopping to rest the engine and enjoy the glorious view.

Definitely, another 10+ day!

Montana - May 25, 2011

Last week I traveled with friends to Montana, Yellowstone and Greybull, Wyoming. As always, we had a wonderful time despite the late spring weather. Dianne, KC and I flew to Billings where Marquerite met us. Here are some photos.

The firsr 2 photos show the water streaming across I-94 as we traveled westbound between Billings and Livingston. The interstate was actually closed east of Billings due to high water.

We had a delicious lunch at the Montana Rib and Chop House in Livingston. Highly recommend this restaurant if you're in the area.

View of the mountains looking south from Livingston. Even with the overcast skies, it's a glorious sight.

We spent the night at Chico Hot Springs in Pray, MT - just 30 miles north of Yellowstone Park. Soaking in the pool is fabulous and the dining is none too shabby either. This is the main building which is pretty old but quaint.

Lesson Learned

Ok - so it had been awhile since I had posted so when I went to upload photos from Montana, I learned that I was regulated to inactive status. So now I'm back home and will upload buffalo photos and the like over the next week or so. I had a great time over Memorial Day weekend in Montana and Wyoming.  Life is good.

Lesson learned?  Make sure that one's blog is active prior to going on vacation.