Bitterroot Valley – Quiet Walk Photography

July 23, 2023April 23, 2026

Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival – July 2023

Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival – July 2023

Bitterroot Valley Setting for Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival

Thursday July 20, 2023

Clifford and I have been camped at the Charles Waters Campground in the Bass Creek Recreation Area in the Bitterroot Valley, about halfway between Florence and Stevensville, Montana. Today is moving day and we are headed to the Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival south of Hamilton, Montana. After breakfast and dishes, we finish packing and leave Bass Creek by 10:00 a.m. We meet my sister Nancy at Stevensville and caravan to the venue.

Although many people with their campers, vans, and tents are already here, we find a spot that is fairly level and Nancy parks beside us in the shade of a big pine tree. She has fixed up the back of her pickup with a cot and beds for her two dog, Ellie and Harvey. We have lunch of cold chicken and potato salad before Nancy and I walk about with the dogs. None of the bands are playing today, but Clifford with his dulcimer, Nancy on mandolin, and I with my old fiddle play music at our campsite awhile before dinner at our RV.

We Find a Spot at Hardtimes – Cougar and Nancy’s Truck

Friday July 21

I am up early, as is Nancy with her dogs. I make coffee for the two of us, and then fruit, yogurt, and granola for a light breakfast. Nancy and I walk the dogs, which is easier than keeping them relaxed in these new surroundings. A big motorhome arrives and parks next to us, and its generator runs continuously, even though this is a non-generator section for parking. Kind of gets on all our nerves and we can’t even hear ourselves well enough to play music. Oh well, we are all here to enjoy the bands, so there is no point in letting it spoil the enjoyment of being here.

The onstage music starts in the late afternoon and we head over to the sitting area to find shade to set up our lawn chairs with a view of the bands onstage. The bands are all very good. I especially enjoy Lockwood as their fiddle player, Taylor Buckley, is SO GOOD! It is late by time the last band of the day finishes and we all head back to our rigs to go to bed.

Saturday July 22

Today is a full day of bands on stage. It is a better day for Nancy and the dogs, as Ellie is happy to just lie in the little creek that runs through the sitting area and Harley relaxes as he cuddles up on her lap. It is a hot day, and cold salted water is a beverage of choice. Clifford bought me a cute skirt and I bought myself a cool mug, not that I need more mugs, but I liked everything about it. As I chatted with the guy who sells them, it turns out he is from Great Falls, Montana, and he was probably in the Great Falls orchestra the same time I was, back in the 1980’s.

Double Bass Waits Its Turn to Go Onstage

I walk around taking photos, as it is hard for me to sit still for so long and I can enjoy the bands even when I am moseying around. I skip the last band as I am so sleepy I can’t stay awake.

Sunday July 23

Today is the wrap-up for the Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival. I make coffee for Nancy and myself before we head on over to the sitting area. There are fewer bands today, but the raffle is always fun. After the last band, I stick around to help with take down. Nancy has to head home so she and her dogs can get back to their normal routine, and Clifford is at our site playing and singing.

Clifford Plays and Sings in Cougar’s Shade

I walk about to pick up any remaining trash, but there isn’t much. People here were good about picking after themselves.

I like to help out, as we are staying here until tomorrow. It is just too late to pack up and make the drive to our next destination – Quartzflat Campground near Superior. It has been a hot few days – upper 90’s, but there is a pretty sunset this evening and we appreciate ending this adventure with spending a peaceful night here after the lively hubbub of the weekend. Many thanks to Mike and Tari Conroy, the Hardtimes organizers, and the many others who help make this such a wonderful festival.

Colorful Sunset at Close of Hardtimes Bluegrass Festival

July 20, 2023April 21, 2026

Bass Creek National Recreation Area, Montana – July 2023

Wednesday July 5, 2023

We make the decision to leave Divide Bridge Campground today because of the mosquitoes. Clifford is very sensitive to insect bites, so it is not fun for him to be outside and I am looking forward to seeing family in the Missoula area. Leaving today wasn’t the plan, so I didn’t pack anything last night, but we are getting to be quite efficient with packing and are on our way by 10:00. That is when Clifford discovers that the squishy brakes he felt yesterday are due to having no brake fluid! This is not good, but luckily the RV electric brakes still work, so with great caution, we leave the campground and head to the Pilot west of Butte to buy brake fluid. Adding brake fluid seems to take care of the problem, as we drive around the parking lot testing the brakes. After getting gas, we are on our way again.

In retrospect, we think the brake line was disconnected when the repair shop in Ely replaced the bearing and when they hooked it back up, they neglected to refill the reservoir. Very dangerous for us!

It is a scenic drive to our next destination, and enjoyable except for oscillation east of Missoula. That is scary and we don’t know what caused it.

We arrive at the Charles Waters Campground in the Bass Creek National Recreation Area in the late afternoon, after a week of driving, only 750 miles, but it felt like a lot longer! The campground is quite full, but we find a site that we like.

Over the years this has been one of or favorite campgrounds. We left our last winter campground in Nevada a week ago, so it is with relief that we will stay put and relax for a few days.

My sister Nancy lives not far away, so she comes for music – she, Clifford, and I play some bluegrass tunes with her on the mandolin, me on fiddle, and Clifford on dulcimer before having nachos for dinner. It is great be to here!

For the next several days, I make a habit of walking the campground loop and visiting the creek in the morning before sitting at the picnic table with a good cup of French press coffee.

The usual activities and projects fill the day: Tai chi, texts to share photos with family and friends, emails, and editing for a couple of authors. I am glad to have cell service to take care of such.

Clifford spends a good amount of time with the ham radio, often adjusting the antenna to fit the location. He also plays dulcimer and sings outside as often as he can.

On Nancy’s day off, she comes out again and we hike the trail along Bass Creek, stopping for photos here and there. It is always fun to hike with a friend, especially a sister friend.

Back at camp, we finish the afternoon with nachos for a late lunch and playing bluegrass music. Nancy had brought her mandolin, I get out my fiddle, and Clifford always has his dulcimer ready to go.

Sometimes Clifford and I go for a walk around the campground or down to the creek, but his feet hurt, so our outings are fairly short. I am always on the lookout for wildflowers

A special treat one day, my daughter Katie and her boys, my grandsons, come to camp to visit. I haven’t seen them for awhile and it is wonderful to see how these boys have grown. They are such well-mannered teenagers and good-looking, too. Katie brought some snacks, so we sit and visit as the boys explore the woods.

Midway through our stay at Bass Creek, I drive the back roads to visit my other daughters near Alberton. My time visiting with these girls (now grown women) goes by quickly and soon it is time to return to Bass Creek. I am very grateful for the time we had together, campfires, morning coffee, an outing to a nice restaurant .

Clifford and I will be leaving Bass Creek soon, heading to Hamilton for the Hardimes Bluegrass Festival, so we take a day to get groceries and visit the laundromat in nearby Stevensville. This errand outing gives me the opportunity to get a couple photos of the lovely Bitterroot River that flows the length of the Bitterroot Valley until it joins the Clark Fork River near Missoula.

Bitterroot River as seen from the Bridge near Stevensville

Thursday July 20 is our last day at Bass Creek, which starts with quiet time at the picnic table, but is followed by a whirlwind of activity to get ready to leave for Hardtimes. We have appreciated our time at this campground surrounded by mountains and trees, with the creek nearby. It was great visiting with my daughters, and fun having time with Nancy for short hikes and playing music. Clifford and I have enjoyed our days here, but it is time to move onto our next adventure.

September 23, 2022December 21, 2024

As Autumn in Montana Approaches – September 2022

Wildfire Smoke at Sunrise in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana

September starts with a family reunion hosted by my sister Nancy and her husband Dick, a memorial to our Uncle Ted. Our Aunt Doris is there, as are nephews, nieces, and their families. It is really enjoyable for me to see my aunt as well as numerous cousins. My sister-in-law Sheryl kindly shared some of her photos of the family that are posted in this blog.

A few days later I head over the mountain to visit my daughter Ang for her birthday and to continue fixing up my RV to make it more homey. It’s starting to look like a sweet cozy home.

When Nancy and I went to Wallace at the end of August to visit my daughter Katie, the sky was a beautiful blue, but wildfire smoke moved in right after that and it is now exceedingly smoky from wildfires near Salmon, Idaho, Flathead Lake in Montana, and Oregon. Looking at photos taken on morning walks, it is hard to discern whether it’s mist or smoke, and unfortunately, it is smoke.

Some mornings I don’t seem to have much energy – maybe the colder temperatures, maybe the smoke, but I have been neglecting my usual morning quiet time sitting outside with inspirational reading and journal.

Happily, a few days later there is a reprieve from the smoke and the sky is once again a beautiful blue. Nancy and I walk to the Bitterroot River where I enjoy taking photos of the reflections on a slow moving side channel.

Reflection on the Bitterroot River Side Channel

Since Clifford and I will be leaving Montana soon, I take a few days to visit Ang, as we still have some editing to do on the last book of her epic fantasy series, Novels of Shannon (now Saga of Sha’ha’non). While I am there, I enjoy having coffee with Ang in the mornings, harvesting herbs, and sitting by a campfire in the evening.

Clifford and I make final trips to Missoula to get the supplies we will need for our journey south for the winter. Day by day we are watching the weather. We have modified our plans to go to Wyoming as it is already too cold there. Instead, we will take a new-for-us route through eastern Nevada. One afternoon before leaving, we take time for a brief outing to the Bitterroot River for photos.

I am grateful for the time I’ve had with my kids and my siblings and their families this summer. They are all dear and special people in my life. It will be several months before I see them again, but I will be wishing them well-being at all times.

June 20, 2022May 30, 2024

Fun With Family – June 2022

In mid June, Clifford and I leave Divide Bridge Campground near Divide, Montana, where we have been camped for several days. We travel north to I 90 and then west to Missoula where highway 93 takes us south through the Bitterroot Valley to my sister Nancy‘s place. Several years ago she and her husband had horses, but the back pasture is now a beautiful big lawn bordered by trees. We are grateful for the safe trip here and this is where we will park for the time being.

After we get set up, Nancy and I walk along the road and I take photos of the wildflowers and the ponds left from rain a week ago. We hear news that the Yellowstone River in southern Montana has flooded and caused much damage, including the closing of Yellowstone Park. That is Flooding!

I am grateful for so many things: Pieces of Perfection, as I call them. A friend of ours comes out with greens and good cheese from the farmers market and then we all go out to my daughter Ang’s place. She cooks tasty pork loin steaks over a campfire and we look at the spot she thinks would work for Mountain Cougar, the used RV that Clifford purchased last fall. The spot needs cleanup and leveling, but it will be a very nice spot when all is said and done. Ang and I stay at the campfire after the others leave, have great leftover meat sandwiches, and I go to bed in Terry, the 30-year-old Terry Resort RV that used to be our RV, so it almost feels like home.

As Ang and I have coffee on her deck in the morning, I admire the raindrop covered blossoms. Such a beautiful time of year in Montana.

I do dishes while she and Rama work on the wind tunnel greenhouse until it is time for Ang and me to leave for Seeley Lake where we are meeting with my daughter Becka, who is visiting from Hawaii. The landscape is lush and very green. The rivers are high, but not flooding.

We find the Airbnb that Becka has rented for us on the edge of the town of Seeley Lake, not far from where my daughter Merri is staying with her husband at a job site.

When we walk down the road to find Merri, a little piece of perfection that the job site is so close to the Airb&b, we discover a city park nearby and despite the rainy weather, the wood pile is dry enough for us to build a bonfire and hang out as we watch a pretty sunset.

Becka, Merri, and friend Miles Enjoy the Bonfire

Although the next day is cool and rainy, my son Matt arrives and we all go to Seeley Lake so Becka and her friends can go boating and those of us on the beach build a little campfire.

Warming Wet Feet at the Bonfire on the Beach

Back at the Airbnb, we visit and play cribbage, snack on all the good food that Becka and her friends brought, and enjoy having time together out of the rain.

Journaling at the Airbnb Out of the Rain

The following morning is sunny for a change and we all go to the lake to enjoy sunshine, boating, and great views of the lake and the mountains.

Bridge Where the Clearwater River Flows into Seeley Lake

After snack time, Ang and I say goodbye to Becka and her friends before we head back over the mountain.

It sure was a fun couple of days having time to spend with several of my kids and I am very grateful for the opportunity. Although Clifford has kept himself busy while I’ve been gone, I am thinking he will be glad to have me back at Cougar.

October 27, 2021November 26, 2022

Montana to Black Rock – October 2021

Autumn colors in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana

After the trip to Wallace with my sister Nancy, the next few days are spent reorganizing Suburban and Cougar in preparation for leaving Montana. Clifford and I want to be on our way before the weather turns colder than it has been. The autumn colors are at their best in the nearby woods. Nancy and I walk to the side channel of the Bitterroot River one more time.

Thursday, October 21, Clifford and I finish packing and leave Florence a little after noon. The autumn colors along the Clark Fork River are quite striking as we head east from Missoula toward Butte.

Although we usually stop at the rest area south of Butte on I-15 or at Divide Bridge Campground, this time we push on through to the rest area at Dubois, Idaho, arriving at sunset, 284 miles, a very long day for us.

The next day is windier, so not as easy driving, and we stop at the Devil’s Creek RV park in southern Idaho around 3:00. We set up on the far end of the reservoir rather than in one of the RV sites. I have time to post photos to the RV Bunch on FB, play fiddle, and make dinner before heading to bed. A good productive day despite the hours on the road.

Drizzle and rain in the night and the misty morning provide some photo opportunities for me.

Misty morning at Devil’s Creek Reservoir

We take time to repair the rear view camera and leave Devil’s Creek about 2:00 in the afternoon.

Construction as we approach Salt Lake City slows us down, but we arrive at the Perry, Utah, Walmart about 4:00 and are happy to get a spot along the median with grass and a tree.

The next morning is Sunday, October 24. We always plan our drive through SLC on Sunday so there isn’t as much traffic. We are up early enough to do a bit more shopping and leave by 10:00, but we are disappointed that the rear view camera is still not working despite our working on it. Driving through SLC is taxing enough, but doing it without a camera makes it even worse. As we drive through Salt Lake City, we feel the wind starting to pick up.

By time we get to Beaver, 200 miles to the south on I-15, we pull off and find a place to park in a trashy dirt lot behind the Flying J. It is very windy now and we are both glad to be off the highway and parked for the night.

Monday is much too windy for travel and despite putting down the stabilizers, which we don’t usually do for an overnight stop, we are rocking and rolling in the wind all day. We bundle up against the wind and walk to nearby Denny’s for a meal. We keep busy the rest of the day with our various projects.

Working on projects on a windy day in Beaver, Utah

Our friend David calls to see if we are still in Montana. He informs us that the campground in the Virgin River Gorge where we had planned to go, which also happens to be where we met him several years ago, is closed. That is disappointing to us, but David encourages us to go to Black Rock Road and camp there near where he is set up.

When I open the door the next morning, I am surprised and delighted to see a landscape covered with snow. Trash has disappeared under white fluffiness.

As the sky clears, snow on the nearby mountains is quite scenic.

We are not traveling today, waiting for the roads over mountain passes to clear. Cell service is good here, so both Clifford and I work on our projects, mostly editing for me, and for Clifford, whatever he has going on.

By Wednesday, the 27^th, the snow is mostly gone and the highways are clear, so we leave Beaver and head south through St. George, and cross the border into Arizona.

With David’s directions, we find our way to the spot he has suggested for us on Black Rock Road. There are desert views in every direction and gently rising hills in this valley basin, sloping down to a wash and upward to nearby mesas, but not a single tree. The acres and acres of creosote are green and alive, but without trees, it feels kind of exposed and barren to me.

I appreciate the views, and how peaceful and private it is here, but coming from the mountains, trees, and rivers of Montana, Black Rock will take some getting used to for this Mountain Girl.

Late afternoon sunlight on creosote with mesas on the horizon, peaceful and private

October 8, 2021October 24, 2022

Sculpture in the Wild – October 2021

Clifford and I have enjoyed the past couple of months camped in western Montana and we will soon be making preparations for the journey to Arizona for the winter. But first, I have a couple more get togethers with family on my horizon.

An autumn sunrise in the Bitterroot Valley

The first visit is with my lovely daughter-in-law Tammy and two of her and my son Tye’s kids, Luke and Mariah. They have traveled from their home in Belgrade, Montana (near Bozeman) to see us. After breakfast together at a cafe near their motel, we go to Bass Creek, a short drive from where Clifford and I are parked at my sister Nancy’s place. A pleasant hike up the Bass Creek Trail is followed by a picnic.

Tammy, Luke, Mariah, and Carol on the trail

Tammy, Luke, and Mariah on Bass Creek Trail

It is quite interesting talking to these grandkids whom I have not seen for several years. They are smart and interesting and we have a good visit while enjoying the yummy food that Tammy brought. The next day, they make the return trip to Belgrade. It was great seeing them and I appreciate the time and effort they made to come.

A couple days later, after getting new tires on my Forester, I take the Graves Creek route over the mountain to visit Ang. It is the first time I’ve driven in a year, so it feels like quite an accomplishment!

That evening, daughters Becka, who is visiting from Hawaii, and Katie, who lives in Wallace, Idaho, arrive. Steaks are cooked on the grill over a campfire. It is great fun to see three of my four daughters all gathered around the campfire.

In the morning, the girls all come for coffee in Terry (the old RV where I stay when visiting Ang) before we head over the Swan Range and Roger’s Pass to Great Falls, as Becka needs to retrieve her “truck,” which was left there when she moved to Hawaii.

On the way, an interesting sight-seeing stop near Lincoln is a place called Sculpture in the Wild. Large somewhat odd sculptures made out of natural wood products, logs, willows, bound newspapers and so on are found scattered through the forest along a walking trail. This 26-acre sculpture garden is a vision of Rick Dunkerly, a knifemaker/ logger from Lincoln, Montana and Irish silversmith Kevin O’Dwyer. This sculpture garden features sculptors from many countries and reflects the nature of the Montana landscape and economy near Lincoln.

Reading the history of Sculptures in the Wild

Tree trunks become giant legs inscribed with a language I cannot read

After admiring the sculptures and reading the kiosks along the trail, we head on to Sun River to see my son Matt and his two kids, Orion and Aurora. These grandkids are so grownup now!

Becka has rented an air B&B for us in Great Falls, a cute little house in the old residential section of Great Falls. After we settle in a bit, we all go to dinner in Black Eagle, a part of Great Falls that considers itself separate from Great Falls proper. At dinner, as I look at this gathering, I realize that they are all blood-related to me except for Matt’s ex who is still very much part of the family.

September 30, 2021October 4, 2022

Autumn on the Horizon – September 2021

After two great weeks camping at Bass Creek Recreation Area in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana, Clifford and I move to my sister Nancy’s back yard, once a horse pasture, now a great lawn surrounded by trees. Not only is it a pleasant place to stay, we have electricity not dependent upon solar panels, a rarity for us.

Sitting in the morning sunshine with our hot coffee, Nancy and I begin looking through the photos albums that were once Mom’s. These albums go back many years, including photos from our childhood. It is fun and interesting to see these photos before passing the albums onto our sister Lillian.

My Siblings: Left to right: Rollie, Eddie Nancy, Lillian, Diana

The morning light is delightful as I walkabout for photos, and sometimes Nancy and I walk through the woods down to a side channel of the Bitterroot River.

Cattails along the road showing autumn colors

Walking to the side channel of the Bitterroot River

Reflections on the side channel of the Bitterroot River

For my daughter’s Ang’s birthday, we have a small family get-together at the Lumberjack for lunch and then we play music on the deck. It is really quite a fun afternoon for all of us.

Music at the Lumberjack: Bebose, Ang, and Carol

Clifford plays his dulcimer at the Lumberjack

Our days are filled with projects. Clifford is reviewing some of his research papers, while I work on edits for a couple of authors, do Qigong, especially appreciating the benefits of the Healthy Heart Routine, and write in my journals.

In mid-September there are a few smoky days, but not nearly as bad as what Montana was experiencing earlier in the summer.

When the weather cools, misty mornings provide photo opportunities.

One Sunday, Nancy and I go visit Ang and grandson Oden.

It is delightful to have dinner cooked over a campfire with the ambiance of the mountains and trees all around us.

Carol and Nancy surrounded by mountains and trees

Nancy and I also admire oil paintings that Ang has completed in recent months.

Near the end of September, I spend several days with Ang, staying in Terry, the old RV that Clifford and I bought after we got caught in a blizzard in our pop-up a couple of years ago. While I am here, Ang and I enjoy the warmth of the wood stove as we work steadily on the edits for her epic fantasy series, The Novels of Shannon.

Soon it is time for me to head back down the mountain.

October is just around the corner and other family get-togethers are in the works before Clifford and I head to Arizona for the winter.

August 31, 2021August 23, 2022

Bass Creek to Carlton Creek – August 2021

Bass Creek

Two weeks of camping at the Charles Waters Campground, tucked into the foot of the Bitterroot Range, south of Missoula, Montana, is a delight to me. We are surrounded by mountains and trees, and Bass Creek is nearby. My idea of a great camping place, for sure, and Clifford likes it here, also.

Walks at sunrise are a favorite activity for me, especially on the morning when mist hangs low in the nearby drainage. I also find delight in taking my journal and a cup of delicious organic French Press coffee out to the edge of the meadow to sit with the beauty and the silence before other campers begin their noisy day.

One of our first days here, my daughter Ang, quite the handyman, comes with supplies and tools to fix the damage to the underside of the RV caused by the tire blow-out when we were still back in Idaho on our way here. The steel belts of a blown tire cut deeply into the underside of an RV, as anyone who has experienced such an unfortunate event knows. We are glad for her skill and promptness in repairing this for us! Another day, Ang and another daughter, Merri, come for a picnic lunch. It is great to see them after such a long time, since covid prevented travel to Montana in 2020.

Daughters Ang and Merri come for a picnic

My sister Nancy comes several times and we hike Bass Creek Trail, a great hiking trail that somewhat parallels the creek tumbling down the drainage.

There are subtle signs of autumn as August and our two-week camping limit come to a close.

Fortunately, Nancy has a big back yard, once a horse pasture, but now a great big lawn area surrounded by trees, where we will be setting up for awhile. I will miss the creek, but Nancy’s place will be pleasant for us.