Walking Around Red Lodge MT

Red Lodge MT is a small mountain town of 2000 residents, located about an hours drive from Cody, WY.
The drive takes you past the isolated Wyoming community of Clark, and not far before Belfry MT you turn off the flat and fast highway and begin to climb.
And climb.
20 minutes later you find yourself at a place that looks down upon the tiny mountain town of Red Lodge.
You can see the river running along the entire back side of town.
You can see the entire town from one end to the other.
You can see the mountains surrounding it.
It looks like a post card..................

We had decided on this trip because I needed to get something for my business from a local resident.
A beautiful day, taking a beautiful drive up to a beautiful town.
And I could write off the entire trip................

We quickly took care of business just on the outskirts of Red Lodge, had begun our drive through town, had taken a short-lived but very exciting detour in order to catch site of Momma and Baby Moose, and finally completed our drive through town.
Parking at the far end of the tiny ski-resort town, we easily decided that we would take a walk through town before heading home.
As with so many other resort towns (including our own adopted Cody, WY) Red Lodge was incredibly busy.
Wall-to-wall traffic slowly crawling through the narrow two-lane main street.
Wall-to-wall people on foot, wandering in and out of busy tourist-related stores.
The same kinds of tourist-related stores as in Cody - art galleries, souvenir shops, ice cream parlors, antique stores, t-shirt shops and more.
Also as with Cody there were many picture taking opportunities - flowers, signs, painted walls, unique benches, carved wood and sculpted metal art work, the unusual and the unique and the beautiful and the whimsical everywhere you turned.
We wondered how Kory would make out in such a disorganized and slightly chaotic environment but she did fine.
A loved, loving, even-tempered and self-assured puppy who enjoyed the walk as much as we did.
Some of what we saw in the couple of hours that we wandered this sweet and whimsical little town...................

You are not in the mountains.  The mountains are in you...........John Muir

Moose Sighting In Red Lodge

We had not been back up to Red Lodge MT since arriving back in Wyoming (now almost a year ago), and had been talking about making a visit to this quaint little ski resort town for a while.

On a beautiful and very warm Sunday last weekend we (on the spur of the moment) decided to take a drive.

Red Lodge borders a beautiful trout river, is surrounded by mountains, is a tourist mecca both summer and winter, and contains endless picture taking possibilities both in and around town.

It was a good day for a drive............

We had just turned onto the main road in town, and I was just beginning to get the lay of the land again after having not been to Red Lodge in almost six years, when I glanced down a side street and saw them.

They were a couple of blocks away.

Slowly walking together across the back street.

I lost sight of them just as they began their slow walk together down the side walk.

Two moose - a mother and what looked like a year old or so baby.

Walking side by side and slowly meandering towards the very busy, tourist filled main street.

It all happened so fast that we had almost completely by-passed the duo before both LC and I processed what we had just seen.

Instantly we both looked around, trying to figure out the best way to get back to "our" moose.

There was traffic everywhere - both narrow lanes that cut through the down-town strip were bumper to bumper.

The sidewalks were packed with walkers and strollers and shoppers and ice-cream eaters.

Two blocks after our initial sighting LC made a quick left turn off the main road.

Driving around the block we found ourselves on the same side road where we had seen the two.............meese.

We were now stuck behind three other vehicles that were all trying to turn either right or left onto main street.

Huge momma and huge baby had effectively stopped traffic on main street by this time and were slowly strolling side-by-side across the road.

By the time we got to main street the dynamic duo were slowly wandering down one more side street.

They were headed for the river...............

LC turned left onto main, and then took a quick right - we were one block further along than the moose.

Instead of following them we were hoping to get ahead of them.

There are advantages to be associated with a retired cop.

Their cop-voodoo figures this stuff out automatically in their heads..............

They were headed for the river.

We were headed for the river.

A few minutes later we pulled the Tahoe into the shade of a tree at the city park.

Leaving puppy in the vehicle LC and I climbed out, looked around to make sure momma and baby were not close, and then excitedly walked down to the river.

Leaning against a tree LC looked down river in search of moose.

Nothing.

He looked up river in search of moose.

Nothing.

Looking around us again, we slowly wandered back towards the Tahoe, disappointed.

Likely we would not see them again.

As we reached the Tahoe LC whispered "There they are!"

Staring at us, about a football field away, were two moose.

One very large adult.

And one smaller (but still very large) baby.

We climbed back into the Tahoe and waited, excitedly whispering to each other................

A few minutes later they made their appearance.

Momma led the way.

Baby pulled up the rear.

Kory (thankfully) did not bark.

The last thing we wanted to do was disturb or alarm them..................

The moose sighting was quiet, uneventful and very sweet.

Kory never made a sound, and while LC and I watched and whispered, I quietly snapped as many pictures as I could.

They were 50 feet away from us, and wandered down to almost the exact place where LC and I had stood only a few minutes earlier.

Momma stood by the metal bench, and baby pulled up first behind her and then beside her.

They looked around, and then momma headed towards the river (in the same gap in the trees where LC had just been).

A minute later baby followed suit.

Through the trees we could see momma crossing the river, with baby behind her.

On the other side of the river was the lush flower-filled and manicured lawn of a local resident.

And that is where we lost sight of them.

Welcome to Red Lodge MT.................

Stallions On BLM Land

The days are flying by so incredibly fast right now.
My business is so quickly becoming successful that it's a little breath-taking.
I feel gratified.
Extremely gratified.
Gratified that I established a business model that seems to be working.
Gratified that the community has embraced the idea and supported this flourishing new business.
Gratified to actually grow something that started out only as an idea.
Gratified that we are finally settled enough, and in the right place to make it all happen.
I have been so busy recently that by mid afternoon I realize I haven't eaten all day.
Which is actually a good thing - I'm not fat but after being a dedicated athlete for so many years I FEEL fat.
And I am heavier than I used to be.
Losing a few pounds would be good for me.
I'm rambling but the excitement I feel over how it all seems to be falling into place feels good.
I'll try and stop rambling..................

These pictures were all taken sometime back in July when Wyoming was firmly entrenched in the hot and dry weather that is typical in the dog days of summer in the west.
We had not been out to McCullough peaks in a few months and wanted to find the wild horses.
Kory hadn't run free in a couple of days, and we hadn't wandered on BLM land in a couple of days, so it was time.
To wander.
As we pulled off the Greybull Highway about 20 miles outside of Cody, we eagerly and immediately began to scan the empty land to both our left and right - both of us in search of the herds.
By this time Kory was pacing back and forth between both open windows in back of the Tahoe, panting excitedly and occasionally barking in anticipation.
She would run free soon, and she could barely contain her puppy excitement.
Soon baby..............

10 minutes after pulling off the highway, we saw two mustangs grazing out on the plains to our right.
Immediately we began to watch for a trail to the right.
When we found one, we took it..................

We stopped in the middle of the trail and watched with quiet pleasure as a beautiful stallion slowly walked towards us.
As I snapped pictures through the windshield and we quietly and excitedly watched, this stallion added to the manure pile that was already on the trail.
I didn't know that horses did that...............

The second mustang grazed alongside the trail, occasionally lifting his head to inspect us but then quickly going back to the business of eating.
At this point in the summer the desert grasses were still lush and green.
A couple more weeks and the world would turn brown...............

When it became obvious that this alpha male was not going to get out of the way so that we could continue beyond him, LC put the Tahoe back into Drive and slowly pulled off the trail.
The mustangs have right of way.
They own this joint - we were just visitors.
Slowly LC pulled off the trail and drove through the grass and sage, giving the stallion a wide berth.
He was beautiful.
Strong and steady and majestic and beautiful.
And looking at him as we passed by, somehow I felt as though he KNEW that he was beautiful...............

A few minutes later we found one more stallion.
This one alone, also grazing on the lush grasses of BLM land.
By this time our puppy was beginning to ramp up the hysteria.
She was over it.
She needed to be released from the vehicle and was loudly beginning to announce that fact to us.
When the hysteria reached fever pitch it was impossible to ignore - dog needed out.
By-passing the white mustang, we continued slowly wandering along dry and dusty trails, now in search of a place to park the vehicle.
Kory could run.
We could sit on the tailgate of the Tahoe and share the Subway sandwich and soft drink we had brought with us.................

One lonesome antelope watching us from the safety of the top of a hill.................

We were about 25 miles from Cody and yet Carter Mountain still dominated the landscape..................

Random picture of random rock..............

And a happy puppy, finally enjoying her much needed freedom.
She is happy and healthy.
And she is spoiled.................

At this time of year I was wearing snake boots and LC was wearing snake chaps.
We did not see a rattlesnake on this trip, but throughout the spring, summer and fall locals are always watchful for (and wary of) the potential to run into a snake.
Our dog gets rattlesnake shots each spring.
If she is ever bitten by a snake (and it is always a very real possibility whenever she shoves her curious nose into a random sage bush) we will still have to immediately take Kory to a vet.
But the annual shot will buy her more time, and hopefully save her life.
A good number of dogs this past spring had to be taken to the vet for rattlesnake bites - Kory has just been very lucky so far.................

Both of us using binoculars to see far into the distance.
We spent hours on BLM land on this day and never saw another person throughout the entire trip.................

Cedar Mountain on the left and Rattlesnake Mountain on the right............

My favorite picture from the trip.................

Aside from the three stallions that we came across early in our trip, we never did find the herds of wild horses.
We saw antelope, wild flowers, fungi covered rocks that looked as though young children had drawn on them with brightly colored crayons.
We saw beautiful skies and far off mountains and wandered for hours in the empty and uncomplicated public lands that are so abundant in the west.
It was a quiet trip.
A nice trip.
They are always nice trips.................

 The immense desert, empty as a bird's wing, inspired him with promise..........Author Unknown