Marymoore Dog park

Bailey is enjoying being close to her favorite park.  

We try to go every other day.

There is lots to do here.

 Play fetch.

Greet new friends.

 don't let the pic fool you,

 right after this pic the other dogs owners grabbed their kid 

because the 2 dogs went on a rip chasing each other

Best of all go for a dip in the water.

Just sniffing around is always fun after getting tired with all the above mentioned.

Bear

During the move, Bear occasionally stayed over while Joe was at work.

Bailey and Bear seemed to enjoy each others company.

Snoqualmie Pass, WA

I-90 is getting a lot wider at Snoqulmie Pass

They are going to try to make it so they don't have to close it as often due to avalanche. 

The construction has been going on for years.

Was going to take a break and look at Keechelus Lake could not get past the inner-tube area.

Normal years I can get a lot further down the road than this.  

I noticed coming out here that Rogers pass over by us had no snow to speak of on the sides of the road, just a bit on the mountains around us.  Then at Lookout Pass at the MT, ID border there was the amount of snow I was expecting for that time of year.  Fourth of July pass did not really have much snow, Snoqualmie Pass in WA, by far had the most snow.  Guess they hogged all the snow and rain out here since we are having a bit of a drought in MT

On a side note 1-2 weeks before I came out to Washington, Snoqulamie Pass was having road closures for avalanche control.

Vantage, WA

We spent the night at Post Falls, ID so to avoid Spokane traffic we left REALLY early.

We stopped at the Vantage, WA overlook and took a nap.

Bailey liked it until people started stopping.

It was a beautiful day.  Looking down at the Columbia River.

I 90 bridge going across the Columbia River, 

Russel Gates Memorial Campground

We stopped by Russel Gates Memorial Campground on our way to Washington. 

 The campground is in between Lincoln, MT and Missoula, MT on US hwy 2.

Bailey who thought it was scary weird that we hit the road with out her sister Gator dog, finally seemed to be enjoying herself.  She has been to this spot many times.

Suzi's rock with a cat painted on it is still at the base of the tree.

Trip MT to WA

Ok, so we decided to sell our house in Washington.

We have been renting the house out to the college age kids for around 9 years. I like to call the house 'the frat house' though there was no fraternity, just young people. It is time to move on, we are going to clean it, fix it, and sell the house. It is located in Bellevue WA.

I am starting a new blog for the before and after shots.  The link to the before and after shots is on the the right of this page it is:

• 15527 House Renovation

I ditched Suzi and headed for WA to get started.  We figured it was better if someone was at the house during renovations.

Here are some shots from my trip over:

Saw this herd of Elk near Lincoln, MT.  

At first I miss took them for cows, but other cars were pulled over looking at them, 

so I did a double take.

As I neared Vantage I remembered how the marine layer can make it hazy.

Awww my first view of one of the majestic volcanoes. 

 I think this one is Mt Ranier.

Ok, this one is for you Suzi and any other Hawks fans:

Saw this truck near Cle Elum, WA

Also, near Moses Lake, WA  I also saw massive amounts of Sand Cranes heading north for the winter.  

Would have loved to get a shot of them, but was driving with no safe place to pull off. 

Around Ellensburg, WA  I saw 2 Great Blue Herons traveling in the same direction,

 it was a nice end to the endless Sand Cranes that I watched.

Snow Geese

The Snow Geese are back for their annual migration.

Skip

Choteau, MT

View of the big city of Choteau, MT taken from East edge of town.

Note:  the large blue building in the foreground was my dads business when he still worked.

Ear Mountain Choteau, MT

Ear mountain was looking nice with all the blue sky today.

We stopped by Eureka Lake for a swim.

Then we needed to dry off and took a romp across the dam.

art on way to Lewistown, MT

Some art that caught our eye on a drive from Great Falls to Lewistown, MT

Eagle

We travelled through a beautiful rocky canyon in Hardy.    The Missouri River winds it's way through the canyon, and we saw this Eagle perched above the river near the Hardy bridge.  He was waiting for the perfect lunch to swim by.   The feathers on his head ruffled when the breeze kicked up and he took flight, soaring over the water.   

Mountain Goat

The rocky cliffs of the Hardy Canyon make the perfect climbing spot for these gorgeous Mountain goats.  We saw this gentleman and also several others majestically looking down at the surrounding lands.  We were so excited when we saw them we stopped in the middle of the road  (note to parents: yes we were safe about it : )  We felt so fortunate to have seen them.  It really made our day. 

Great Falls Flag

We took a walk at a park we had not gone to yet on the west side along the river.   

The Missouri river was beautiful with the sun shining down on the ice.   

The snow was nice and crunchy under our feet and the dogs had a blast running.  

One thing cool about the snow is that you get to see the tracks of all the animals.  

We saw one track with 3 huge bird talons.  

We are still wondering what bird that was.   

But there were deer and rabbit tracks and lots of cool smells! (per our dogs...)

Great Falls Rabbit

Local rabbit.  He entertains the kitties, and Gator...