Thanksgiving at Rock Creek

The long Thanksgiving weekend gave us an opportunity to explore the Rock Creek area. We stayed at the Ranch at Rock Creek, a luxurious take on the dude ranch theme. Unfortunately, the Arctic decided to visit as well, and the -18 degree temperatures left us thankful for our cold weather gear, which was put to good use. 

Although the cold weather put the kybosh on our planned horseback riding and fly fishing excursions, we kept busy climbing the nearby hills and fat biking in the valley.

And it's a good thing we stayed active, because the food was simply amazing. The 7 course Thanksgiving meal was a magnificent coma-inducing feast, and topped off with a spot-on flat white from Gareth, who hails from Johnsonville, just outside of Wellington. Small world!

The following morning, we headed back into the frost to work off a small fraction of the calories, capturing these dramatic photos along the way.

We started at Moose Lake, essentially following deer paths and fence lines through the expansive fir and lodge pole pine forests.

We then moved on to the East Fork reservoir, skiing along the shore as a flock of Clark's Nutcrackers chatted in the treetops and the lake made eerie whooshing sounds as it froze.

All in all, we have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Early Winter in Montana

Kristen finally arrived in Warm Springs from St. Paul in early November, by which time the hills had begun to accumulate snow, although there were still plenty of fair days down in the valley.

We explored the expanse of DNR land that surrounds the eponymous Warm Spring, pictured above and below.

The first of many hoar frosts at dawn, below.

We have grown quite fond of Butte, a town of real grit and hidden charms, especially in the historic Uptown area.

When the snows finally came in earnest, we were glad that we had brought our skis, snow shoes and crampons along.

Our first hike was up to Ringing Rocks, which chime when struck. We were accompanied by Milan Patel, one of the other doctors at Warm Spings.

I think the photo below is one of our favorites, as it captures the austere beauty we see from our nearby bungalow every day, looking West across the valley as the morning light hits Anaconda and Mt. Hagin.

Other late fall adventures included many runs ins with moose, including this bloke along the Rock Creek road.

We have been to Thompson Park just outside of Butte several times now, and it may have surpassed Cheyenne's Curt Gowdy as our favorite "city" park. It has over 3,000 acres of dense wilderness that acts as a snow trap, and the drive through the park along MT 2 is among the most scenic around.

The 4.5 mile Milwaukee trail includes 2 rail tunnels, a 600 foot long trestle bridge (below) and, of course, the occasional moose.

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we visited Missoula and did some climbing in the Pattee Canyon recreation area, which is covered with imposing Ponderosa pines.

We also discovered this amazing lake and relation area (below) quite literally just across the highway from us, which we will definitely revisit soon.