Account Receivables, Montana Style

Stopped to get gas in a very small Montana town. The owner was sick and tired of some of the locals not paying up their bills. This small business owner took a novel approach to this business problem - frontier style. Couldn't resist taking a picture.

Hot Friday Night

Last week the smoke was horrible. On Friday evening I took this picture of Bonner Park in our neighborhood, and then walked to the bridge in downtown Missoula and took in the fire sunset. We were able to escape for the weekend by heading west -- out of the smoke plumes - to a friend's cabin and spending Saturday and Sunday in kayaks on the Clark Fork River.

Montana: Clear skies, fresh air?

Air Quality Status Report

Date: August 16, 2007

Stage 1 Air Alert remains in effect


As of 4pm on Thursday, August 16th, a Stage 1 Air Alert remains in effect for the Missoula Valley, and air quality is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. Air quality may fluctuate this evening, and may worsen at times overnight.

The department recommends that people with heart or lung disease, smokers, children, and the elderly limit heavy or prolonged exertion and limit time spent outdoors. Individuals with asthma should follow their asthma management plans. Anyone experiencing symptoms of heart or lung disease associated with smoke exposure should contact their health care provider.

Smoke conditions can change rapidly, and depending on wind direction and proximity to fires, other areas of the county may have very different levels of pollution; use visibility to gauge smoke levels at specific locations and times. In parts of the county that are heavily impacted by smoke, people with heart or lung conditions, such as asthma, are encouraged to stay indoors and avoid exercise.

Smoke-Plume Sunsets

The sun as seen through thick forest-fire smoke Sunday August 13 in Missoula. At sunset, the smoke-filtered light cast a strange glow on the hills as seen from Bonner Park.

Good and Bad of Missoula

Good: Saturday August 11th. After camping out under a star-filled sky next to a mountain stream and mountain biking 26 miles, I biked to my favorite brewery and peddled home with two growlers of my favorite beer. A summer night in Montana, good sore muscles, a few growlers. That's goodness.

Bad: Sunday August 12th. The smoke plumes from all the Montana forest fires settle in to our valley like a giant blanket, blocking all mountain views, creating bad air quality and eerie evening light as it obliterates the sun. I could just make out the sun for a minute and took this picture at 6:00 PM, still high in the sky.

Ten Miles In All Directions

From an Arctic ridge, if you can see ten miles in all directions, 360 degrees, how many square miles are you taking in? Pie-R-squared? 2-Pie-R? One is circumference, one is volume? Whatever it is - it's a long way. Farther than you can see in Minnesota or Montana.

Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.

Are There Bugs in the Arctic?

One of the world's great questions, alongside "do bears shit in the woods?" and "is the Pope Catholic?" Laurie, Keelin, Susan and Barb knew the world's largest hords of mosquitoes and black flies congregate in the Arctic, but they had to go there to prove it to themselves.

Arctic Ocean From Under A Canoe

Anyone who had done much portaging knows that special feeling of the first glint of blue water after a long trek with a heavy canoe loading the shoulders, and a zillion bugs up under the canoe. The bugs know that your hands have to hold onto the canoe, and so they are safe to munch on your face. So that first glint of water is a welcome sight. For us, that glint has always been a Minnesota or Canadian lake. As Laurie came up over this rise, that glint was Bathurst Inlet of the Arctic Ocean. The bad news? Many mile left to go. The good news? First view of the Arctic Ocean, from under a canoe.

Views of the Burnside River, Nunuvut

A few selected photos from Laurie's trip, showing the tundra and surrounding environment. The top picture is of the Burnside River they were on for three weeks. The lower photo is looking up the Maras River, which flows into the Burnside.

Midnight Sun

July 13, 2007, camping along the Burnside River above the arctic circle. Laurie took these at 12:30 am. The sun never got below the horizon.