Category: Montana

Trout Creek in August – Part 4

Carol Carnicom1 Comment

Sunday August 17th: I begin my day by saying good morning to the river, taking photos, trying to keep my feet dry as I step from rock to rock to get the right vantage point, but after awhile I just slosh around in the shallows, enjoying the coolness of the water on my feet and admiring the colors of the pebbles that surround me.

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Soon it is time to get ready to head to the Melaleuca class that I am going to attend in nearby Superior. I’ve been using the Melaleuca products, but want to learn more. The class proves to be interesting and informative. Anyone interested in learning more, let me know.

Back at camp, I’m missing having my cello here, but cellos are hard to take camping: too big, too delicate, too hard to hide when we are out and about. What to do? What about a smaller instrument? A violin or a viola? Perhaps I will look into a flute: they can be had quite reasonably at pawn shops. Many years ago I enjoyed playing the flute, so maybe it can come back into my life.

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Monday August 18th: I get ready for the day while Clifford drives to Superior to use the internet. When he returns, I am ready to head to Missoula. We run a couple errands including a bookstore quick-fix for Clifford at Barnes and Nobles, then on to join the Wattersons for a baseball game. I am not a baseball fan particularly, but everyone else, even the grandsons, ages 2 and 4, are great fans of the game.

Baseball-1
My grandsons, ages 2 and 4, get an autograph from a  favorite baseball player.

For me, it is fun to have time to hang out with Katie and her family. I ask Jeremy about flutes at the pawn shop where he works, and yes, indeed, there are several there. I do think I will look into this a bit more.

As we drive the 60 miles back to the campsite, Clifford and I talk about the ills of society. From a local tribal level, like women gathering to put a yurt for one of them,  (check this link for photos of women at work:  http://angelamacdonald.wordpress.com/2014/06/21/putting-up-the-yurt/ ), to affordable non-toxic infrastructure, there are so many good and constructive things that could be done in so many ways on so many levels. Why, with so many brilliant minds and a planet of resources, why is this not being done in ways that maximize opportunities and freedom for individuals without forcing conformity to political and corporate agendas? Although we can’t solve the problems, it is worth thinking about what this means for us and what part we can play in making the world a better place. We arrive at our campsite at midnight and go directly to bed.

Trout Creek in August – Part 3

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Trout Creek in August – Part 3

Friday August 15th: Dark and overcast in the morning. We make a trip to Superior to get on the internet so Clifford can continue his research. Back at camp, I pick June berries to make a topping for yogurt. Most of the berries are drying on the branches and I will pick some later to add to trail mix. Even dry they are tasty little gems.

Later in the afternoon the dark clouds finally drop their burden of moisture; I set up my table and chair under the awning to watch the rain as I continue to write in my journal.

Trout Creek space 9 043 Later I join Clifford inside and begin editing photos until the battery on the netbook runs low.

An enjoyable day here at Trout Creek until a mishap with the hammock put a damper on things. Clifford invited me to sit with him, but the ropes gave way, leaving us both with tender tailbones. I am hoping that a good night’s sleep will repair the damage. In spite of the soreness, a good dinner followed by yogurt with June berry topping is a treat at the end of the day.

Saturday August 16th: As soon as I am up, I get ready to head to Alberton to join my daughter Ang in watching the play “Briar Rose” as performed by members of this little community. We join a friend (who had done a very convincing rendition of the wicked witch in the play) for lunch before Ang and I head down to the “natural pier” as I am eager to take photos there. There is a great rock formation in the middle of the Clark Fork River that is quite scenic and deserving of the attention of a TVK (Traveling View Keeper). We walk out onto the bridge, admiring the river and the rock.

Trout Creek - 9 - 2 001 Trout Creek - 9 - 2 002Trout Creek - 9 - 2 008Trout Creek - 9 - 2 012We linger awhile, then head to her place on Ed’s Creek about 7 miles out of Alberton, as I want to give my grandson Oden a cello lesson. After the lesson, which goes very well,  Ang and I visit awhile over a cup of coffee before I head back to Trout Creek. It was a fun day, pleasantly coming to a close as I sit at my vantage point at the top of the path looking down to the creek before darkness tells me to go inside.

Trout Creek in August – Part 2

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Trout Creek in August – Part 2

Wednesday August 13th: Our plan is to join Katie and family for an outing to a baseball game this evening. Clifford has an important call to make at a designated time, and we have errands to run, so we leave camp as soon as we can. It is a weird day where almost nothing goes as scheduled, except for Clifford’s phone call while I visit with Mom. A heavy thunderstorm changes our plans for the evening; no baseball game for us. Just as well, as I am feeling beyond exhausted as we drive back out to the campground. The thunder-storm left twigs, small branches, and old dead trees strewn about, as well as dampening everything inside the Pony around all the windows, which had been left open. It has been hot and dry since early July. How were we to know that today was the day that the pattern would change. Luckily we have dry sleeping bags in the Blazer; other than the pillows being a bit damp, we have dry sleeping accommodations.

Thursday August 14th: It is raining and pleasantly cool. After awhile the clouds part a bit, allowing sunshine to come and go throughout the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. I do a walkabout to take photos of droplets

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before I set up a chair and table where I can look down the path to the creek.

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I just sit, allowing myself to be nurtured by nature: a still pool of water,

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trees and shrubs in many shades of green with leaves, needles, and fronds only gently stirring as little breeze fairies move among them,

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the creek with its musical sounds, the sunshine coming and going,

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birds chirping. I just sit and take it in. I write in my journal and then walk down to the creek to take more photos

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Another walkabout browsing for June berries, more nurturing by nature.

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Later, lying in the hammock, the thought crosses my mind that this is the way to have my body laid to rest rather than burial or cremation. No fear or pain this way. In the quiet of the moment I think sadly of my youngest son. What really happened to him I’ll probably never know – a burden of this life.

The afternoon brings a big thunderstorm. We stand under the awning relishing the power of nature and all the goodness of the rain, gathering several quarts of water as it runs off the awning to supplement our water supply.

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So healing to be here all day.

Trout Creek in August – Part 1

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Trout Creek in August – Part 1
We are mid-way in our triple move. Sorting, packing, cleaning, moving, unpacking, more sorting, more cleaning. It seems endless. It actually started over a year ago when we decided to move to from New Mexico to Idaho. Now the moves are local, which makes it less of a big deal in some ways, but the physical and mental overload is similar. The store, Rocky Mountain Organics, is closed and everything has been moved and the space cleaned – so we are pretty much done with that one. The Carnicom Institute has been packed up and moved across town, the old space cleaned, but the unpacking has yet to begin. Hundreds of books need to find their way to shelves again and all the lab equipment and gear needs to be set up and made functional – so we are only halfway through this one. The other move involves leaving the cute house we have lived in for almost a year and moving two doors down and to an upstairs apartment that has needed lots of love and attention for a long time. We are mostly moved out of the other house, but not entirely. Moving the rest of our stuff and getting the place ready for either renters or hopefully a buyer still has to take place. And making our new digs work for us is part of the challenge. I am exhausted by the moving, as is Clifford along with all his concerns for the institute. So – we are taking a week off to camp by a creek and allow ourselves time to rest and be nourished by nature.

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Trout Creek

Tuesday August 12th: While Clifford takes care of necessary phone calls, emails, and posts in regard to the institute, I pack for the outing and get the house (the one we are moving out of) and the apartment ready for us to be gone for a week. It is late in the afternoon by time we are ready to go. Our destination is Trout Creek Campground outside Superior. Upon arrival we are very happy to find a site with a view of the creek available.

We get the Pony set up and soon Clifford is ready to try out his new deal: a hammock.

Clifford in His New Hammock
Clifford in His New Hammock

A simple dinner, clean up, and off to bed – it is already 11:00 p.m.

Cabin City

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Camping at Cabin City – June 29 – July 2, 2014
Clifford left on Friday to set up camp at Cabin City, luckily getting the spot we had had before that we liked, even though there were a lot of other campers here. He came ahead of me as he wanted to set up and participate in the ham radio field day on Saturday. He had a good time in spite of the rain and learned a lot about field day. There may be some interesting correlations with the chemtrail spraying and the ham radio signal quality and strength which would also apply to such things are HAARP frequencies, electromagnetic communications and weather control.

Since I’m still working at the store (Rocky Mountain Organics in Wallace, Idaho) I was not able to join him until Sunday evening. When I arrived, he had just gotten a campfire going – very nice, as the evenings do cool off and it had been rainy here much of the time since he arrived. Just as we got ready to have dinner, it started to rain again, but luckily it was short-lived and we were able to revive the campfire and enjoy heading out again.  As the sun reached low to the horizon, the color through the overcast moisture-laden air created an unusual but lovely ambient color.

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Ambient Evening Color

Monday was a gorgeous day… a wonderful sky with no chemtrails to mar the deep blue. An afternoon hike cross-country from our camp was sweet with the many blooming wild flowers: trillium, daisies, thistle, bluebells, buttercups, honeysuckle and others that I don’t their names.

Thistle Head
Thistle Head

Clifford even picked a little bouquet of daisies for me which brightened our picnic table for the duration of our stay.

Daisy Bouquet
Daisy Bouquet

In the evening I played my cello outside, to the delight of the neighboring campers whose little daughter was learning to play the cello. As the sun went down, cool air moved in and another campfire warmed our evening.

Campfire
Campfire

Tuesday proved to be another gorgeous day.

Gorgeous Blue Sly Day
Gorgeous Blue Sky Day

We drove up the road and parked at the trailhead along Rock Creek, which might be more aptly called Brush Creek. Even though our entire hike was along the creek, we seldom saw it due to the dense brush. As we hiked, we saw signs of wildlife: elk and deer tracks in the muddy spots on the trail and recent bear scat and many overturned rocks, a bear diligently foraging for ants. I sang a little bear song and when the thimbleberry became especially dense, Clifford got out his harmonica and played a few tunes. I have never seen so much thimbleberry; it was thick and tall, frequently as tall as me, obscurring the trail. Hard hiking for me, but at least the trail was relatively level.

Thimbleberry
Thimbleberry

I especially enjoyed the many wildflowers. In addition to the variety seen yesterday, there was also brilliant red Indian paint brush, honey suckle, delphinium just beginning to bloom, and many others.

Indian Paint Brush
Indian Paint Brush

Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle

Once we were satisfactorily hot and sweaty from hiking, we found a shady spot under a big old douglas fir where we found seat-size needle-covered rocks and a respite from the brush and thimbleberry. We enjoyed a little snack of an apple and a tortilla while we rested in the shade. The mountains behind us and across the creek from us are steep and often rock-faced. Clifford talked about some of the experiences of surveyors in these type of conditions, both his experiences as a surveyor and the experiences of others, especially in the 1800’s when the idea from the “powers-that-be” in the east ordered the surveying of the west in preparation for the settling of the land, having no idea that some of this land could not be settled. Some very hardy brave souls had taken on the task of surveying and one has to wonder how many of them were injured or died in the process.

The Trail Along Rock Creek
The Trail Along Rock Creek

Ice and food is running a bit low, as we had not originally planned to stay until Wednesday, but we come up with a good meal none-the-less and enjoy the evening by the campfire.

Wednesday morning – I make a little campfire, not so much because it is chilly out, but because I enjoy the comfy ambiance of it while I drink a cup of tea and write in my journal. Today we will have to pack up and head home to obligations, but we are grateful for the time we have spent here being in the outdoors and for the time to read, write, think, study, and meditate. And take photos, of course!