...pot roast perfection

A perfectly prepared plate of pot roast.
Mrs. Hufford post pot roast dinner.

You may recall that Mrs. Hufford retired from teaching at the end of the last school year. So, for most of the summer I would tease her that she wouldn't have anything to do this year except cook pot roast. This morning she awoke, took Laura to Middle school, and then volunteered at the elementary school, helping students make it to class on their first day after summer vacation. Once everyone was in their place she came home and cooked pot roast! When the rest of us came home from work/school we could detect the aroma of Mrs. Hufford's dinner and we knew what it was right away. It may have started as a joke but it was great and we all appreciated her...pot roast perfection.

...sockeye salmon

I just returned from a great day on the river. I went with my buddy Henry Anderson, a retired teacher, and we floated in his raft from the confluence of the Kenai and Russian Rivers to the take-out at Jim's Landing. The weather was spectacular and the river was loaded with red salmon. We also saw five bears! Unfortunately they either ran away too fast or were too far away for photos.

We caught several Dolly Varden but got blanked on the rainbow trout. We'll try for those again someday. And, as you can see, the salmon fishing was very good. It was a good day with a good friend and it was lots of fun to catch some...sockeye salmon.

...Montana deer

There are lots of deer in Montana. Lots of them. And, if you get up early and take a drive on Duck Creek Road, which winds its way up a small canyon, you are apt to see some. I did. There is a good mix of mule and whitetail deer which adds interest to each encounter. You might also spot some wild turkeys and other critters as the morning progresses. And, if your camera is fast you could get a picture of a pheasant in flight. Mine wasn't that fast. But, I did get plenty of photos of...Montana deer.

...Montana Time

(Note to readers: I just returned from a trip to Montana where I was visiting family and friends. This is the first of several entries I plan to make in efforts to report our adventures. Check back regularly for future updates)

Here is a picture of Laura taken on our way to Yellowstone. If you look closely you can see the switchbacks of Beartooth Pass where it begins down in the valley.

Here's Laura with some buffalo behind her. We saw several hundred buffalo. They were everywhere in the Lamar Valley.

We were close enough to hear these buffalo as they made groaning and grunting sounds.

Laura poses near one of the Artist's Paint Pots.

The obligatory Yellowstone National Park entrance sign photo.

We got up bright and early for our trip through Yellowstone National Park. I was looking forward to the drive over Beartooth Pass through Cooke City and into the park. The weather was sunny and warm so off we went on a grand adventure!

After stopping at the Beartooth Market in Red Lodge, Montana, for some picnic supplies we started up Beartooth Pass. We stopped at a scenic overlook and warmed up the cameras with several photos of the vista near the top of the pass. It was a beautiful drive and it took us about three hours to get to the northeast entrance of the park at Cooke City, Montana. We drove into the park through the Lamar Valley which was filled with massive herds of buffalo. We stopped several times for photos and then made our way to the summit of Dunraven Pass where we ate lunch. On our way down the pass we noticed people were frantically stopping their cars and jumping out with their cameras and binoculars. We inched through the commotion and finally saw what was causing all the excitement--a grizzly bear was foraging on the side of the hill! We were amidst one of Yellowstone's infamous bear jams! We got a good view of the bear as we slowly drove past the congestion and made our way to Canyon Village where we bought gas and cold drinks. Then we were on our way to see the Artist's Paint Pots.

At the Artist's Paint Pots Laura and I walked around the boardwalk from one steaming and blurping mud pot to the next. They were really great as they plopped mud and steam into the air. Laura took several videos of them as did other tourists. Everyone laughed and oohed when mud globules flew skyward.

We got back in the car and drove to Fisherman's Bridge. Stopping at one of the park stores we bought some more cold drinks for the drive home and then motored out the East entrance of the park toward Cody, Wyoming, then on to Billings, Montana. It was a big day which I enjoyed very much and it was all on...Montana time.