Beartooth Backpacking Day 2

We awoke to a beautiful clear morning and I climbed to a ridge above our campsite to enjoy my breakfast in the sunshine (our camp remained in the shadow of the mountain until 9 AM). Did I mention that we brought our dog, Cookie along on this trip?

We hoped to traverse around Lonesome Peak to the opposite side. There is no trail, so we were maneuvering through rock slides, snow, crevices, and swampy run off areas. It was an adventure and a workout.

The view was spectacular. The picture above shows a view down to Abandoned Lake from partway up Lonesome Peak. We'd just climbed the rocks in the foreground.

Behind Joe, is a spectacular view of Beartooth Butte.

In this view, Pilot and Index Peaks appear in the background behind me.

This particular rock scramble was so steep I ended up scooting on my rear partway. I just couldn't keep my balance.

Several times, we crossed big snow patches. There was fresh snow over last year's snow bank.

Beartooth Backpacking Day 1

Joe and I were able to get away for a much anticipated backpacking trip into the Beartooth Wilderness area. Usually, early September is the best time for such trips. Usually, there has been a frost and the bugs are dead. At the same time, the weather is usually still fairly mild.

Not so this year! As we drove up the Beartooth Highway, we were greeted by a wintry sight.

The snow at the summit was probably 10" deep and drifted. The snowplow was out and a jeep had run off the road.

"Are we crazy?" we asked each other.

As we passed over the summit from the east, we saw that the snow had not fallen on the west side of the range. Whew!

Long Lake view - the snow and the reflection - what a lovely sight!

Departing from the Island Lake trailhead, we hiked via the trail to Beauty Lake and then left the trail at Claw Lake. We bushwhacked as far as Lonesome Lake, where we camped the first night.

We set up camp in the shadow of Lonesome Peak. I caught lots of nice pan sized Brook trout in Lonesome Lake. Fun fishing! We kept four, which we cooked for dinner. It was a very peaceful night with a half moon and lots of stars. The sky was clear and there was no wind!

Send in the Clowns

Ever since the circus, Airus has been obsessed with clowns. And not necessarily in a good way. He is scared of them. He is also compelled to study them at every opportunity. One of his favorite activities is to sit on your lap at the computer while you do a Google Image search for clowns. At the same time, if there is someone dressed as a clown at the Farmers Market - he starts protesting if you get closer than 1/2 a block!

Elizabeth and I decided he needed a clown suit and I just happened to have a kids clown suit pattern in my pattern drawer! Airus was very enthusiastic about this idea and he really enjoyed looking through my fabric drawers to find fabric for his outfit. He really fixated on a particular multi-colored stripe fabric. Alas, there was not enough available, so we went to the fabric store to pick out fabric for his clown suit. What fun that was! (be still my heart, my 2 year old grandson LOVES the fabric store!)

I had enough fabric left over to make this little jacket, as well. I didn't realize what a grown up stance he took for this picture! (hands behind his back!) This kid really is something else!

I bought a new pair of Merrells last weekend. When I wore them over to Airus' house on Thursday - his first words to me were, "Nana, you got some new shoes!"
I confirmed this, and he replied, "Are those your clown shoes, Nana?"

Hmmm. . . . . . maybe so . . . . .

Blog Neglect

Airus (2 years old) and Nana enjoy some creative time together.

Blog neglect. I am guilty. My excuse? The time of year. There has just been so much going on!

The month of August into early September is my most cherished time of year. I remember back into my teen years when I knew summer was ending and freedom was coming to an end with the impending school year. I would sit alone in the back yard watching the sunsets and trying to memorize them.

This is the best time of year for most outdoor activities in the mountain west. The weather is still warm, but usually the bugs are gone. We had planned on taking a backpacking trip this weekend, but cool weather moved in over Labor Day and has remained with us. They were calling for snow in the Beartooths last night and into today.

We have delayed our trip and the weather promises to warm up a bit early next week. Hopefully, by Monday, the sun will come out and we will get into the mountains.

Family Beartooth Trip

The kids wanted to arrange a family camping / hiking trip in the Beartooths before Michelle goes off to college in Missoula - which is 5 hours north of Billings.

It was perfect weather and nice and clear - no smoke! We camped at Island Lake, then hiked to Becker Lake the next day.

Here is our group - minus the photographer (me).

Two year old Airus really enjoyed it. He loved everything about it.
Airus was very interested in Nana's fishing.What a wonderful time and terrific memories for our family.

Artist Reception

What a thrill to arrive at the gallery Friday afternoon and discover this wonderful arrangement compliments of Phyllis - who participated in my retreat last fall. She and I have been in contact frequently since that time via emails. Thanks Phyllis!

I was very surprised that so many relatives came from far away for our reception. Additionally, one of my cousins invited a group of friends from high school and grade school. Some of these women, I had not seen in 4 decades. It was so much fun catching up with them!

My parents drove down from Coffee Creek - a three hour drive. This was the first time they had been to the gallery since it opened in May.

The wall art includes my art quilts, along with daughter Elizabeth's paintings and daughter Michelle's photographs.

The art on the floor is our standard - pottery, jewelry, glass, paper art - this is the stuff that pays the bills.

Expressionism

"Firestorm V" is part of a new show now hanging in Elements Gallery.

Last week, my mother and I drove up to Whitefish, MT for a visit with my sister, Jackie.

We added a couple of other activities to our agenda, since we were in that part of the state. My mother wanted to get Flathead cherries and so we drove down to Bigfork, where we also stopped in at ARTfusion - a fun little gallery that shows my work. It was a nice opportunity to meet the new owner and have a brief chat.

We were discussing some of the various artists and she said something that has really impacted my feeling about my work. She stated that she thought my work was "Expressionist". At the time, I didn't know exactly what that meant, but when I got home, I googled the term and did some research.

By golly, I think she is right! On one level, it seems so silly to have to define my art, but on the other, it is extremely validating and reassuring. Ever since I have left my career as a School Psychologist, I have felt somewhat disoriented about my identity. It has been a remarkable part of the journey to realize how important it is in our culture (and internally) to have some sort of terms with which to identify what it is that you do. . . .

I have been going through a lot of shifts in the self identity area lately. Suddenly becoming middle aged, a grandmother, self employed, a landlord, and a small business owner (none of these things in my life plan!) , have somehow been harder as I have felt somewhat adrift without an official "career" that I could talk about in sound bites.

Lately, I have looked at other quilt artists work with a jealous eye - wishing that I could work in a more interesting style . . . It has been hard for me to accept the fact that my work is not really abstract. Nor is it realistic. It seems that I always have to include some sort of figures, images from nature or symbolism . . . but beyond that - my visual imagery and techniques cover a broad range. I know I should not have to justify what I am compelled to do, but somehow it seems to be necessary at this point in my life.

How wonderfully refreshing and uplifting to discover that I do indeed have a consistent style when it is put into the context of Expressionism. This has done so much for my self esteem and confidence. Thank you, Kathy!

T Lake Beartooth Mountain Day Hike

Joe and I have committed to getting into the mountains once a week while the Beartooth Highway is fully open. We have been delayed quite a bit this year by the weather. Such a late spring and so much snow still remaining! This was our first drive to the top for 2008.

Spectacular - as always. Pictures just don't do it justice since the view is panoramic. If you look carefully - in the center of the picture above, you can see a road. That is the bumpy gravel road leading to the Glacier Lake trailhead - where we went on our last hike. It is possible to catch a good view of Glacier lake from the top of the pass.

Today, our trail began at Beartooth Lake, which is right next to the highway. The regular trail was sure to be submerged in a raging river / swamp so we opted to bushwhack through the forest and meadow on the opposite side of the lake. This area was also swampy, and swarming with mosquitoes. But the wildflowers were incredible!

I've been trying to identify this flower using my flower book, which is challenging. Apparently wildflowers hybridize and have different features in different locations. I am guessing this might be a Bog Rein Orchid. Joe on the trail with Beartooth Lake behind him.

Lupine were everywhere.

We sat on a rock with this incredible view to eat our lunch. That's Claw Lake below with Horseshoe Lake to the left. The mountain in the background is Lonesome Peak.

Snow is still melting everywhere and so there is a lot of water flowing everywhere. Lonesome Lake feeds into T Lake, which discharges into Horseshoe which discharges to Claw. All of these lakes are named for their shape. Yes, T Lake is shaped like a T, etc.We headed back down the trail at about 4, and all was well until the final mile of bushwhacking along the swampy edge of Beartooth Lake. The mosquitoes were out in force - swarming around us, and the going was slow on account of the terrain.

A final shot of Beartooth Lake as we returned to our car.

I don't think I have ever been happier to get to the end of a hike. Hot, sweaty, tired, and itchy. My feet were killing me, I had a headache, and indigestion. But the scenery and solitude was worth it all for sure - we probably went 7 miles and never saw another human being.

Post Card

Next week, we will be hanging new work on all the walls in Elements Gallery. The show will feature work from myself as well as my two daughters. We are pretty excited about this opportunity. Michelle is a photographer. Elizabeth paints, and I work with fabric.

I spent many hours messing around designing a postcard that looked suitable. I hope this prints out OK. I am still really on the learning curve when it comes to graphic design and layout and learning to use Photoshop 7. Yikes!

Glacier Lake Dayhike - Beartooth Mts

We had a chance to get into the mountains on Wednesday, so we headed for one of the few trails we knew was open.

The Glacier Lake trailhead is at the end of a 9 mile gravel road that passes through a deep river valley. The scenery is spectacular here. Especially enhanced by the beautiful display of wildflowers.We have been hiking to Glacier Lake for 8 years. This is the latest we have ever gone, and the first time we had ever encountered snow on the trail.

There was even some ice still floating on the surface of the lake.

This is also the first time we've failed to catch a fish. Not even a nibble. The folks we met on the trail reported the same.

This is the view back down the valley at the trailhead.

Black Lines

I've drizzled some black lines onto this piece. Next - I'll layer it and machine stitch with contrasting thread.

And for Judy, yes, the resist is Elmers brand blue glue.
On my bottle, it says, "Washable School Glue No Run Gel".

For washout - just follow the directions on the bottle - presoak for 10 minutes in cold water prior to regular washing. This works perfectly with my dye process because I am soaking in cold water to remove the thickened dye.

I am washing out two other pieces right now.

White Lines

I've been compelled to take up the Elmers glue gel again. This time, my subject has gone a bit more abstract. Previously, I painted with fabric paints, but this time I used thickened MX dye. I love the way the colors have blended (as well as the way they have not blended in other areas). Two other pieces are soaking in a tub so I can remove the alginate and glue gel that is still stuck after two washings.

I can hardly wait to start stitching on this with pearl cotton - and it screams for buttons, too.

Wildflowers at Home