A Weekend in the Crazies

This past weekend was spent at Sunlight Lake in the Crazy Mountains. Ten Bozemanites and six dogs made the trek into one of the more isolated mountain ranges in the area. We left Friday evening and made a quick stop at the Bank Bar in Wilsall for some pub 'n' grub. After the last pitcher of beer was finished we headed to the trailhead to camp for the evening. Our impatient animals awoke us early the next morning. After refueling and packing our gear, we finally set off with wind at our backs and the sun in our faces. The hike was relatively short (4 miles) but the vertical gain was over 2,000 feet. Everybody's dogs were barking when we got to our final campsite for the night.

Seriously. It's an old bank.

This tent is not big enough for the three of us.

Ready to go.

Altitude sickness has set in for Molly.

Hanging out at the saddle.

It's always a good time to stop and fly a kite.

The many lakes of the Sunlight cirque.

High plains campground.

Eating in style.

That is one massive inclusion.

Tent City

Moose patiently waiting for something to fall on the ground.

Ready to go.

The trek home.

Montana/Wyoming Border Tour

Molly and I spent Wednesday and Thursday travelling around south central Montana and north central Wyoming with her aunt and uncle. We visited a wheat farm near Laurel which was also the site of the historic Battle of Canyon Creek where the Nez Perce Indians, led by Chief Joseph, narrowly missed being captured by the 7th Cavalry in the late summer of 1877. After visiting the farm, we journeyed south into the Pryor Mountains and the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area to try and find some of the wild Mustangs that roam the area. We happened upon a group of nine horses, including a foal. Next, we drove west into the Bighorn Mountains where we encountered Moose, Elk, Deer, Black Bears, and Sandhill Cranes. The Bighorn Mountains are now on my top list of sites to visit. And the geology isn't too shabby either (uplifted Precambrian rocks flanked by remnants of Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks). I would like to thank Aunt Mary and Uncle Mike for all of the weight I gained eating extremely good food this week. Thanks for everything! Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I salvaged two ten-speed bicycles from the farm to add to my collection, much to the dismay of my wife.

The expansive wheat fields north of Laurel, Montana.

Molly and Aunt Mary.

A view looking to the northeast of the ranch.

Frannies Tack Shop: The best little horse house in the west.

Molly has made a new friend.

A view of Bighorn Canyon and the Bighorn River looking to the south.

Important stratigraphic information for all of you.

The white spec is a motor boat moving through the canyon.

Difficult to see in this picture, but there are a couple of wild horses and a foal.

Attentive Horse Watchers

The Young and Old

I have had the pleasure of spending the last five and one half weeks with my youngest brother, Kenneth. He got his proverbial "sh!t" together and decided to spend the better part of his summer with his extremely old (and hopefully wise) brother in Montana. I have been away from home for two years now, and I had forgotten what it was like to have a sibling around. Needless to say I enjoyed every minute.

Predators

Another chapter in the Predator legacy will be viewed tonight at the Gallatin Valley Cinema.

Our Return to the Blogosphere

What better way to start off the month of July then with a blog from the Berndts. Our ten year old computer has been fixed and we now possess the power of digital photo translocation. I will begin by filling everyone in with the pertinent facts surrounding transgressions carried out during the month of June. Or, this is what we did for the last 30 days.

The Cooney's graciously had us over for a b-day BBQ. My brother Tim and his friend, a girl named Mallory, also flew in for this exclusive event.

We then proceeded to travel to the cabin for a quick spat of zip line shenanigans followed by the classic porch game of quarters.

Did I forget to mention that we had a Suburban? Had is the key word. We had been perusing the free car market for quite some time when this landed in our lap. A friend of ours was going to get rid of it, so we took it off of his hands. Now we need someone to take it off of our hands because the engine blew after two days of driving. Serious inquiries only.

The departure of my sibling was then equalized by the arrival of Molly's brother.

Adam and Billy spent a week basking in the glory of Big Sky Country. We visited Yellowstone National Park, travelled to the cabin, and indulged in food and beverage in the big city of Bozeman.

Checking out the Obsidian cliffs in YNP.

A bear that was black. Also known as the black bear, or Ursus Americanus.

A pair of ornithologists attentively watching a nest of hawklets.

The distinctive blue hue of the eggs of the ferocious North American Robin.






After Adam and Billy flew back to New York, I then drove to the quaint town of Rapelje, Montana for another 24 hour mountain bike race. This particular course was 14 miles long and traversed a multitude of pot-holed cow pastures. Our team consisted of 3 individuals (including myself) that pedaled from 11:00 a.m. Saturday until 11:00 a.m. Sunday. We each rode about 70 miles and didn't come in last. Although, we were still very far from first.

This week my youngest brother arrived to help me with some work. Unfortunately, a very large hail storm hit yesterday which peppered all of our cars and damaged a large portion of the city.

That used to be a cucumber plant.

No Blog For A While

Our computer is dead, so we will be unable to update the blog with any pics. Hopefully it can be fixed, but we won't know for at least another week. We are still having fun; we just can't show anybody.