17th annual Bitterroot Beer Festival

Dave and I went to the Bitterrroot Beer Festival after the Daly Mansion.

It was a wonderful summer evening. 

 The live bands were pretty good and lot's of people were dancing.  There were over 70 different beers to try.  For $20 you get a glass and 3 tickets.  For $25 you get a glass and 9 tickets.  Each ticket gives you a taste of the beer of your choice.  You can purchase more tickets, but Dave and I were good with 6 each.

 I don't particularly care for beer, but there was some mead and some hard apple cider.  I really liked the hard cider.  I think I used about 3 of my 6 tickets for cider.  After you taste the beers, you can vote on your favorite.  I did try the Flathead Cherry and the Bitterroot Huckleberry Ale.  Dave said that he liked the Kettlehouse Coldsmoke.

People listening to the band.

The Art show was across the street.  But we didn't get there in time.  They were packing things up when we got there.

We had a good time and will probably be going again next year.

Daly Days July 23rd

Dave and I went to Daly Days on Saturday.  Daly Days were in Hamilton July 22, 23.

I have wanted to see the Daly Mansion since I drove past last summer. 

Marcus Daly was one of the richest men in Montana.  He made most of his money on copper in Anaconda.

He also had houses in Butte and NY.

 This was the biggest wood stove that Dave and I had ever seen.  The kitchen in this house was several rooms.  There was a butler's pantry, the main kitchen and then there was a vegetable room where the veggies were cleaned and prepared.  They were giving tastes ot homemade ice cream.  Yum!

 There are volunteers that dress in period clothing and play the part of Daly family members or house staff.  The mansion has 3 stories.  With the guest and servant rooms on the 3rd floor.

The portrait above the fireplace in the entry is of Marcus Daly.  The fireplace was made of marble and yellow onyx.  Most of the wallpaper and carpets are original.

 One of the most interesting things about the house were all the bathrooms.  Many of the bedrooms had their own bathroom or shared a bathroom.  I think I lost count of all the bathrooms after 8.

The lamp in the dinning room was a lamp that supposedly came from the Wilma theatre in Missoula.

 

 

This is a play house that was built in 3/4 scale.  It is located southwest of the main house.  It originally included a wood stove, bathroom and kitchen including a pantry.

 The grounds had trees which Marcus Daly brought from different parts of the world.  Some did not survive the climate.  Lindon trees must have been a favorite as there were quite a few along with Maple trees.  I think I will have to pay attention to the trees in the fall to see the colors.



Sunday Hike up Bass Creek

July 10th, (My Dad's Birthday), Dave and I went for a short hike up one of the drainages near our house.

Bass Creek is a really nice hike.  Not too steep and partly shady.  Just perfect.

The creek was very full due to the snow melt.  But it was sooo clear and pretty

We saw falls along the way too.

The hike up raises in elevation of about 300 feet.  After about 1.5 miles up the trail you come to an old wooden log dam (see photo below). 

The Selway Bitterroot Wilderness is about another 1/2 mile from the dam.

There were all kinds of flowers blooming.  Since I am new to this part of the country it seems like I find new flowers everytime I go out.

I need to bring my wildflower book so that I can identify them while we are out and about.

I don't know what these are, but I am sure someone will tell me. 

I get lots of help identifying the flowers that I post on my blog. 

I can usse all the help I can get.  he he 

I wasn't going to take a picture of these.  Dave asked me why I didn't take a picture of them.

I told him because I didn't like them..lol 

But then I relented and took a picture of them.

I looked these up before, but forgot what they are called. 

(Bear Grass or Indian Basket Grass)

(False Mitrewort)

Everything was so green.  Things are just starting to dry out up.

The flowers on this plant are really interesting how they alternate with the leaves.  I took this picture from underneath.  The flowers are underneath and you almost don't notice that they are there unless you look really hard.  

The Wilderness Boundary sign.  Dave said that they used to paint them gray.

Now they are supposed to be natural wood color with the writting burned in. 

This is the wooden damn.  It looks like a log jam.  If you didn't know it was a damn you might think a beaver did it.   

The pond formed by the damn is not very deep.  But you can see how clear the water was.  We might be coming back to go fishing on this creek.  I think it would be a great place to fish. 

It was a beautiful day in the Bitterroot's that is for sure! 

I told Dave that this was a very delightful trail and that I might be enjoying it after work occassionally.

Since it only takes about 15 minutes to get there from our house, it is very convienient.

Bobble head Night at the Osprey Baseball Game

Friday, July 8th,  Dave and I went to the Osprey Baseball game in Missoula. 
The regional office gets a bunch of seats reserved every year for Bobble head night.

We went last year and got a 1910 firefighter bobble head.  See last years post HERE
This year they had female firefighter bobble heads.
Although I am not sure what is in her hands.  Looks kinda like a golf club.  Hmmm

The Ospreys won the game against the Helena Brewers.  I think it was by one run.

We had fun.  But I think I can only handle about 1 baseball game a year.  Maybe we will go again next year for another Bobble head.

We met our friends Shari and Joe at Ironhorse Grill for dinner and then went to the game together. 

Fourth Of July Weekend Adventure!

July 1st

Dave and I decided to take a trip over a 4 day weekend.  We covered a lot of territory in those days.  We left early Friday morning and headed for Virginia City, MT.

Our first stop was Robbers Roost.  It was an old hotel near Ruby, MT.

 Nevada City, MT

This ghost town is really neat!  Most of these old buildings were moved here from neighboring ghost towns and are pretty much the way they originally were.  It cost 8.00 for adults to go in.  It was fun to look into the shops and  old buildings. 

The amount of stuff in the stores and the authenticity was pretty neat.

This old house was pretty fancy on the inside.  It had the original wall paper and carpet inside.

I really liked the old light fixtures that were in the living and parlor rooms.

This tub had a marble rim.  The feet were marble too. 

I found the facinators in Nevada City!!

Virginia City, MT

This is the view of main street looking north.

The old court house.  Virginia City was the capital of Montana for a little while.

The Telephone Company in this old log building

The old tin ceiling in this store.  Lots of merchandise.  These buildings were well stocked.  Neat stuff !

Dave and I took a stage coach tour ride.  $15.00 for adults.  We were the last ride of the day and had the coach to ourselves.

Duke and Dawn were pulling the stage.

Our tour guide/stage driver, said that at one time Virginia City had a population over 20,000 people during the height of the gold rush.

The stage ride took us out of town to the site of the first discovery of gold located in the canyon just east of town.

After the stage ride, we drove above town.  This is the view of town from the old cemetary.

Someone made a funny little plot.  Across from the Road Agent plots.

Road Agent burial plots below.

July 2nd

Yellowstone National Park- North Entrance

I love this entrance to the park

The first of 2 grizzlies that we saw

Yellowstone Falls

Down Old Tom's trail to the lower falls overlook.  YES it is a lot of steps!

The amount of water coming over the falls was incredible due to the large amount of snowpack this year.

Can't go to Yellowstone without seeing the Buff in the road.

Fishing Bridge

A little bit of water going under the bridge.

Yellowstone Lake

The crowd and Dave waiting for Old Faithful

The new visitors center at Old Faithful

The second Grizzly

July 3rd

Madison Buffalo Jump west of Bozeman 



Not much to see here.  There is an interpretive site at the top of a hill that overlooks where the Buffalo were run over the cliffs.

 Lewis and Clark Caverns

This is the view from the cave entrance

You have to hike 3/4 mile to the entrance from the visitors center.

The tour guide said that at Christmas time, they decorate this room with Xmas lights and give candle light tours.

 July 4th

Arlee, Montana 4th of July Parade and Pow Wow

 The Arlee Pow Wow had their own parade at 1100

This was the cutest little mule.  She lead the group without a halter or lead rope.

The Arlee 4th of July Parade started at noon.

And then the tractors...

Arlee Pow Wow Dancing

Kootenai and Salish tribes



This horse bag was all bead work. 

We packed a lot in these 4 days and had a great time!