It was absolutely beautiful with the frost on the trees and the sparkles in the air.
It feels brisk when you breathe, and it actually is fun to be outside.
(With the warm gloves and boots Kim got me.)
The dogs had a blast playing in the snow. Gator slipped when she was going after her ball and did a complete roll over. She got up more excited then ever and ready to play!
These pics are of the frost crystals growing on the frozen lake.
The car even had a frosty racing stripe.
Interesting thing was when we went 20 miles up the road (into the mountains) it was 29F,
yes 31 degrees warmer.
On the way home it was still -2F here at the lake.
We live on the east side of Great Falls and the Highwood and Little Belt Mountains surround the horizon. The sun popped up above the mountains just as we were driving to work, and Kim captured the moment at a stop sign.
The Rocky Mountains loom as we drive closer to Kim's parents. In the winter, the snow brings out all the intricate details of the crevasses and peaks. There is a field close by to Punky and Caron's that we've been running our dogs for over 20 years when we visit. We have pictures of Shetara, Ginger and Samantha in this same spot.
We were driving home when brilliant blue water caught our eye. We had to stop.
Down below the water flowing over the dam had become partially frozen making strange formations that almost looked like rennaisance sculptures. It's difficult to see in the movie, but it was spectacular.
Below is a video of Black Eagle Dam and river looking towards Giant Springs.
Ok, the campground of course was closed for winter, but we backed up to the closed gate and hiked around a bit with the dogs. Should have put their boots on, we had to cut the romp short due to ice balls in the pads of their feet. Forgot to take pics of the campground.
It did not take anytime at all for the puppies to pass out after their romp in the snow.
Bailey is on the left and Gator is on the right.
While the puppies slept we drove on up to Teton Ski area.
We admired the mountain tops along the way.
Lots of people at the ski area, so we did not stay long and headed for camp aka the folks.
Not far up the North Fork of the Teton River there is a small sign pointing across the river. If you look up at the top of the mountain you can make out the profile of a face on the mountain.
I don't remember the trees being so close to his nose.
Decided to go camping, so we went to the North Fork of the Teton River and played around.
Since the campgrounds up there are closed this time of year we parked at my parents house (and stole some electricity for the electric mattress pad and electric heater)
I admired tons of these birds all over a bush at the gas station while Suzi pumped gas.
Stopped By Eureka Res. on the way to the mountains.
We stop here all the time.
Bailey thinks it makes a great rest stop for Frisbee catching!
It was a bit windy, blowing the snow across the road.
Turned out the clouds in the mountains was also blowing snow.
(by the way the ufo above Ear Mt is just a repaired rock chip on my windshield.)
At first when I spotted this bird I thought it was an osprey, but have since found out they don't winter here.
It was the size of a large hawk or even a Bald Eagle. Maybe it is a young Bald Eagle, but it has some light markings on both the top and bottom sides of the wing? I never got to see it's head, just its back side.
I am posting a bunch of photos to better make out all the markings on the bird.
Since it stayed in one spot for so long, I thought it was attached to a string or maybe a fishing line?
Turned out it was just hovering above the dam outlet at Eureka Lake, MT.
Must have been a small rodent or something, the water is all froze over.
We woke up early and felt a need to go to the mountains. Since there is not much snow (not enough for the ski areas to be open anyway) , and a good weather forecast, we decided to check out a short trail to Memorial Falls Montana just past Neihart, MT. It is almost an hour from our house.
While no one was there we were thrilled to see we could access the parking area in our little Prius, and saw people tracks on the trail. So we went for it.
The trail was narrow and some steep spots even had a hand rail.
The rocks above us were gorgeous looming above the trail.
It was fun listening to the water rushing under the ice along the trail.
Here is a video to get the idea.
Since we were alone we let the dogs off leash for a run.
They really enjoyed it!
We came to a short icy spot. It was so warm the ice and a bit of water on it and was VERY slick!
Here is a video to see how Suzi and the dogs got past the ice.
We got our first glimpse of the water fall.
Here is a video of the falls. Gator is running on the trail in this video.
Getting closer.
When we got to the waterfall there was a small bridge crossing the creek. The trail continued on to the upper falls, but we turned around here.
another video of Memorial Falls.
Bailey in front, Gator and I took a rest on a stump before heading back down the trail.
We did not see anybody until we headed back then we ran into 2 couples on their way up.
That was a fun trail especially with so few on it today! We had come by last summer, but the parking lot was full, so we moved on and did something else. I think we had good timing!
