Hello Boston

I'm going to estimate that it's been at least ten years since I've been to Boston, but it sometimes of late has felt like it's been ten years since I've done anything in New England. Regardless, all year-counts aside, I hopped onto a commuter train and went into the city by myself with the aim of checking out the Greco show at the MFA. Liking adventures as I do (that's the excuse i'm using?!?) I went with little information as to where the MFA exactly was. Sure, I'd been there, but it's been, like, ten years or something....

And it was such a nice morning in Boston. Great weather- the last thing I wanted to do, after riding that hour long commuter train in, was to go underground and take the T directly to the MFA. That would've been just way too simple to do. But in truth it really didn't matter, as getting lost in an unfamiliar city (with no schedule and beautiful weather) can be a great experience. So then what did I learn today? Boston has some really cool churches....

I was half lost in memories of field trips from elementary school with the sites while also taking in the very different architecture of how the city was built up. I was intrigued by the old, original base structures, then the towering newer ones- sometimes built into, next to, or even just on top. It reminded me of something i read the night before- something i'd learned in college but totally forgot....here...

Below is Buttonwood Park in New Bedford, Mass. I was glad to help walk my parents dogs with my moms there after I learned that the park was originally designed by the same person who designed Central Park. His name was Fredrick Law Olmsted. I guess money ran short and he never fully completed Buttonwood Park, but there's a lot of similarities between it and Central Park. He was also a main figure in the recent book Devil in a White City, which is a book about another city that I came to love for architecture after living there 4 years.

...And tomorrow I fly back to Montana...

The Return to New Hampshire

What was I doing here again? Entering into the situation reminded me of John Cusack, but I am no where near being a contract killer for hire- furthermore there was no reunion going on, no distinct reason I would necessarily see anyone, and after around 5 or 6 years of not returning to a place, its odd to walk into a ghost town of sorts.

But there were no random encounters, no figures of the past hiding in the corners of bars that used to be frequented- in fact most of those bars were long gone, or renamed for that matter. What I did find, along with the one lone buddy i was looking forward to seeing up there, was the skeleton of a community that once was filled with people playing the roles i witnessed now. All the names and faces had changed, but the tactics and places all remained. This was the underwritten theme of the trip. The most interesting aspect was New Hampshire itself: a kaliedescope of deciduous trees with their deceased counterparts laying at their (and our) feet. So, to be concise (finally!) i went back to the woods. This was up in White Mountains National Forest at the Flume.

The forest immediately reminded me of my youth by the onslaught of black flies. Not that it was an overkill, but do i ever remember those little annoyances. Mosquito season had yet to hit, that's when it would've been simply too much I'd imagine. Below is the ice cream soda of New Hampshire summer tourist attractions- the covered bridge, in all it's glory.

Covered bridges never did a whole lot for me, to be honest, but I can recall maps for tourists to purchase that would lead them to every single covered bridge. Hopefully such a brochure came with a checklist, because theres a lot of those things all over New Hampshire. I drove over one, walked over another, and called it good for the trip. In hindsight I wished I'd found a NH COVERED BRIDGES t-shirt, because I'd wear it and it would make me laugh at least. Or a drink koozy for that matter...

I can recall the Kangamangus Highway from when I was very little, and all the natural water slides people would slide down. Back then the road was in awful shape, and it was very "Laissez Faire" national forest rules. Presently New Hampshire requires that all who park off the highway at these recreation sites pay a 3 dollar 'recreation fee'. Such things generally are handled by people paying taxes in my experience, but it's better to have these areas clean then trashed, so if 3 dollars is what it takes for those busy summer months then so be it. I, however, planned on packing out everything i brought in, and just parked off the road away from those ridiculous 3 dollar signs.

When it was all said and done the tried and true spots still remained, albeit changed in one way or another. A good sunset with a view is truly a thing to appreciate when had at the right spots. Below is at Ellacoya State Park, and above is a less-known spot (that has an open, empty house up there if anyone wants to go check it out/evaluate the purchase like we did) ill leave mysterious.

When will I go back to the lakes region? I can't say. It will be sooner than the last odyssey i spent away from it. Aside for a few friends still in the vicinity, there's not a lot up there for me anymore. Keeping these trips a good distance apart certainly makes them more interesting when looking at change, but staying away too long can be such a shock to return to- well, its like the area/memories violently put your life in perspective to where you are currently. Sometimes it's so powerful I think people purposely never want to return again.

There are places I definetly did not go back to on purpose, but maybe I just left that out for another adventure. Another time. Maybe...

The Big Picture Becomes Widescreen, with a Few Steps Back...

It's hard to know sometimes if you're keeping things in the right perspective if you don't continually check back with where you came from. All fortune cookies aside, I hadn't been back to the east in a few years. Big Sky winters and summers with working at Moonlight swept my time away in an easy, laxidasical fashion that I grew accustom to....
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park; My backyard in all sense of the term for the last few years.  The last week I spent in Montana before my trip back east I camped out most of the time, hiked when the weather was decent, and went into Yellowstone twice- mainly because my all-parks pass doesn't expire until June...

My father used to live down the street from this garden behind a church in Barnstable, Massachusetts. He took me here on a rainy day that we toured the Cape, looking at old houses we lived in together when i was growing up before elementary school. I could see the large differences in my recollections of youth, but for the most part i hadn't been back there since...who knows....

I just returned this afternoon from New York, another place i called home for 3 summers, and a place where I still have some great friends. I took it all in yesterday by myself, or at what I was looking to take in- a visit to the MOMA and the Guggenheim, and a lot of walking around observing people and architecture.

I saw some paintings that have been on my laundry list to see since art school, like Starry Night, and some Gauguin's from when he was down in the caribbean painting the native inhabitants, also some George Braque early cubism pieces I always was fond of, but some of the installation pieces were my favorite surprise....

This tow behind camper exemplified modern art because it is function streamlined. A whole new reason to appreciate and want one of those little campers....

This simulated car bomb at the Guggenheim was beautiful, but i wasnt suppose to be taking photos i guess so i ceased doing so. There was some other work i really liked there, like a pack of 99 replica wolves running up the walkway with you, rising into the air, then hitting a clear plastic wall. And some clay, chinese workers, with amazing facial expressions, bodies cracking and falling apart.

Tomorrow I return to New Hampshire, for the first time in over ten years......stay tuned....

It Can All Be That Simple...

Do Something Fun Today.

Closed Mountain

We've been closed for three weeks now and the snow continues to hit us. I heard the other day that we'd received 60 inches since closing on april 13th, and since then we've definetly gotten more. Even though on the nice days I usually see people hiking the headwaters and getting epic lines, the overall feel the town has (aside from a general sleepiness from the offseason setting in) is that we are over it, and want to be outside in some summer warmth. Yesterday I couldn't believe the amount of people taking advantage of campsites in the canyon, most all that were accessible were occupied.

Cloi is Chelsey's new chocolate lab, and is a lot bigger now than when i took that photo last week.

I've been getting out and hiking a lot lately when its been good weather, and look forward to heading back east for a couple weeks in a few days from now.

Things Keepin' Me Busy

Random images from the last few weeks up here in Big Sky...this would be my roomate Sky and his girl Lauren with myself in the background. What an embarrassing moment to capture!

That's me on the end of the lift, riding up with Chelsey and two of her friends. I don't know what hand motion I'm making, I guess I just didn't know what to do with my hands at the time....

Over at Big Sky, Justin and I return to the dead deer trees and reminsce, if only for a moment.....

I went on closing route down North Summit Snowfield with ski patrol. It was good in spots, but very rocky in between.

This is when i went on route with Ski Patrol to open up Headwaters bowl. They were chucking dynamite, and we were all freezing out butts off. Temp up there was -15 fareheit, without wind chill. This photo was taken a little before 7am.

And that's what I've been doing in a nutshell!

Once Again...No Subject

What a beautiful winter it's been so far....

no subject

Moving Across The Meadow

Who can't empathize with the pains of moving from location to location? It only mildly helps when the distance isn't too far, it's still moving regardless....You have to pack up literally everything, then theres a pile of randomness in the middle of the old room you used to frequent, you know- the stuff that's just been elusive and hiding in your room for however long. Well that piles still in my old room, and im not looking forward to cleaning that place....

...But anyways, first shot was the old place, 2nd shot is the new place. Last few weeks have been, well, challenging i guess, but not in a way i imagine people like to feel challenged. It was the uncertainty of where we were moving, costs, then the actual physical effort of moving was delayed and i literally spent last weekend just waiting for the go-ahead word, frustrating!

It seems (as it always does in hindsight) that things happen for a reason, and things like this are much better in the long run but (for lack of a more appropriate terminology) suck in the short run game. When we got booted from the last place because of the condo assosciation disliking my roomates both having dogs we thought we were screwed. Now we have an indoor hot tub room, and our dogs are welcomed there, so even though its more money a month, things seem to be going better....

I spent a little money for the bare essentials to get my turntables spinning in stereo again, and have them set up in our large living room. If those trees moved out of the way you would see the peak, but who knows with that photo. Honestly, I woke up this morning and went upstairs to make coffee, and the bluebird day that it was inspired me to finally take some photos. Clearly these werent planned shots- this shot is hazy because the shot before was from the hot tub room, and my lens got foggy....so more photos to come i guess....eventually

Another promising development for us up here in Big Sky is the incurring seasonal shift. Off-season is only, uhm, 2 weeks away? wow...so stuff will become even slower as far as people in the area, but thats also when we start getting some snow finally, and we've all been ready for awhile for that. Above was from a couple weeks ago- i believe it was the first snow id seen this fall (summer to some still!) and since then we've had dustings on the peaks around here almost every morning. It
melts by noon, but its still lovely to see white caps with green forests below.

I also turn 27 in a couple weeks here, which kinda just makes me feel old more than anything....

The Flipside

Flip the coin on a situation and you'll be in for a surprise- no matter what theres always another side to consider that you might've known about, but never took seriously. When those things creep up and kick you in the back when you aren't looking, that, my friends, comes at quite a surprise....

In what has been turning into a reoccurring theme, I took a solo hike in the Big Sky vicinity two days ago. Actually, to call this a vicinity hike is a somewhat understatement- for this is the zenith of Big Sky, the highest point around and taking a paramount identity over any other mountain in the Gallatin Range. Lone Mountain is the 11,133 foot mountain that makes up Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin. After living here for some time and never having climbed it in the summer (ive rode the tram up the top and snowboarded down countless times down most of the routes) my time had come.

The climb up was quiet, pensive. The top photo was roughly half way before the last major climb to the summit. I ran into a few folks on the ridge hike to that point, discussing random Lone Mountain trivia, and me being able to flex the knowledge that I saw from the video recording of the guys who built the tram over 10 years ago (they had to climb to work most days up the same way i went). That above shot is below from the bowl when i was hiking down later. The ridgeline to the left of the peak is the way i came up.

The peak, unsurprisingly, held similar views to those of the winter times. Regardless, it was summer, and without the snow different areas were a little more discernible. The amount of loose shale rock was pretty unsurprising also.

But the below shot is sweet- that is the Lost Lake backcountry area that ive rode and shot photos of in previous years. Seeing that beautiful green lake down there was very cool- i wanted to hike down there, but i knew my route out would be 3 times as long as it would be if i just went down and back to my car.

Good hike, took the scenic route back to my car. Next day my legs were trembling at times for no reason other than the workout from the day before. In other news I may be going on more solo hikes in the future than i thought.....til then

Cliff Lake Canoe Camping

Fresh for 2007 is camping with a canoe at cliff lake. Anyone who may have looked at last summers photos on here can recognize cliff lake- i mean it looks like a lagoon in the sun, so taking a canoe only made too much sense. Above is how we got it done: all the gear in the canoe, all the food in the tube getting dragged behind tha boat.

That was the crew of us our first trip out there (minus my girl who took the picture.) It was a good night, great warm weather with a full moon that night.

That's Rob and I on the way back in the morning, paddling all the gear back to the car. This trip was the first one we took out to Cliff to canoe camp. We took it relatively easy as far as where we camped, but the second time wasn't quite the case- we kinda went for it....

There's an island, about 3 miles back into Cliff lake, which is small, but has one decent camp site for a tent. We camped right on the rocky beach and had a fire there, which was more than excellent the first night out there.

That's me, really soaking it all in....at least while I could. The second night out there we were caught in an aggressive windstorm that whipped all through dinner time, into the evening, and still wouldn't let up in the morning. We got virtually no sleep that evening. My tent kept collapsing from the wind blowing the poles out of their sockets. Every hour i was running out of the tent to fix it, then jumping back in, into my bag, just for a little sleep. By morning (proally 7am) we both wanted to just get outta there. The paddle back was ferocious though- wind blowing hard in the opposite direction.

On our way out to the island, without even a clue as to thinking if i should've brought more rope....oh yeah we tied that tent down with all the rope we had, the thing looked like a tent stuck in a cats cradle. Wish i had photos of that- for comedic purposes, not wistful ones- thats for sure....

Overall it was an excellent time, but damn if it wasn't taxing on us at points! Beautiful site though, and decent weather still made it a good time, despite setbacks on the last evening. I think i got my canoeing fix for awhile.....