Montana Max : July 2013

July 31, 2013

Ever since we moved out here my mom has wanted to see a Moose, an Elk and a Bear. Well, since my dad and I were lucky enough to see a Moose last week, my dad was feeling kinda bad since my mom was at work and missed out. So what did he do....

He took her to the Billings Zoo to see the bears!

Luckily I got to stay home...I'm kinda scared of bears...

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What do the humans do when the weather is not that great on their day off? They go out on the town...

...and my mom beats my dad at SkeeBall!

July 27, 2013

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Who rescued who?

Love it when my mom lays on the floor with me and gives me scratches :-)

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Here are more pictures from our hike yesterday...

A MOOSE!!!! We saw a mom moose with her baby moose while we were out. We didn't get very close to them since she had a baby and we didn't want to disturb her space.

And I kept A LOT of space, I was good hanging out far back...

Beautiful scenery, awesome day...and I was ready for nap time as soon as I got in the car.

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My dad has been working non-stop for the past two weeks so when he got off early today he could not wait to get down to the mountains to go hiking.

Driving to the trail-head

Start of the trail

Damage from a wildfire in 2008

Come on dad...I know the way!

Stopping for a drink

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My mom's new haircut...is my dad lucky or what!?!

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Today started off great. Mom was off work so we slept in, went for a run and then she said she had some errands to run so we went for a car ride. Then out of no where, she's all like, BATH TIME!

say what?!?!?!

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Love our family walks!

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Every time my dad sends my mom a picture like this while he's flying, my mom always thinks of the song that goes "this land is your land, this land is our land".
Yeah...we are still impressed with our scenery out here!

July 19, 2013

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I like to keep my mom company when she eats...

and maybe steal some food when she's not looking...

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Look what we found hiking the other day...

It's a Cairn, used to find your way on hiking trails. I got to it first so I'm sitting and taking a break, and so the humans would see it too. I don't know what they would do without me, probably be lost!

Cairn is a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn. Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas. The most common use in North America and Northern Europe is to mark mountain bike and hiking trails and other cross-country trail blazing, especially in mountain regions at or above the tree line.

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My dad and I drove up on the Beartooth Pass the other day to some more exploring...

We found this awesome lake, and I immediately jumped in, not remembering that the water is freezing!!!

And, once again, I forget to pace myself at 10,000 feet...

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My dad took this picture the other day...

Remember when we went here? That is this place from the air. There is the road going in, you can't see the lake because it's back behind the mountain. You can also see Froze-to-Death Plateau and Granite Peak.

Froze-to-Death Plateau: elevation of 11,755 feet. The name "Froze-to-Death" is said to derive from the experiences of the local Crow tribe of Native Americans. The area can be deadly for unprepared visitors. Its rocky, broken terrain is difficult for travelers and snow is possible at any time of the year.

The imposing conditions of the mountain and the surrounding plateau preclude nearly all wildlife with the exception of a few nesting Golden Eagles and the occasional mountain goat. Stone cairns stand throughout the area in such numbers that their value as position locators is greatly limited, and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) strongly recommends against using them for navigation. Even modern travelers frequently find themselves lost, and rescue is difficult. The USFS keeps no official records regarding the number of deaths in the area, but the risk of fatalities from accidents and exposure is recognized as high. For even the most experienced outdoor enthusiasts, Froze-to-Death Mountain and the other peaks of the Beartooth Mountain range rank among the most challenging and dangerous of all North American parkland.

Granite Peak, at an elevation of 12,807 feet (3,904 m) above sea level, is the highest natural point in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the tenth highest state high point in the nation. It lies within the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. Granite Peak is one of the most difficult U.S. state highpoint ascents, due to technical climbing, poor weather, and route finding. Granite Peak’s first ascent was made by Elers Koch, James C. Whitham and R.T. Ferguson on August 29, 1923 after several failed attempts by others. It was the last of the state highpoints to be climbed. Today, climbers typically spend two or three days ascending the peak, stopping over on the Froze-to-Death Plateau.

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Look what happened to my mom today...

That's right, the skin doctor said she needed another biopsy. Hopefully it does not turn into surgery #8, that's going to look really funny next to those other two scars!

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This is out of control, it's so hot up here and my dad keeps having to brush me...

And I'm sweating from my mouth! I miss the snow!

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Sorry guys...I've been hibernating. I didn't know it got this hot up here in Montana, yikes!

July 13, 2013

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My mom asked my dad to vacuum the other day and this is what happened...

My dad's reasoning...go to the source of the problem...

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Don't get me wrong, I love always hanging out with my mom and running errands with her. But the other day, when she went to get an oil change, there were all these strange men walking around the car. I did my best "don't mess with my mom or you will mess with me" face... I think it worked!

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My mom thinks she's so funny with the Photo Booth app... Humans!

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My mom is feeling pretty proud of herself...she made her own laundry detergent.

See my mom tries to be all healthy, using all natural stuff and eating all natural and orgainic. So we she found out how many chemicals were in laudry detergent she decided to try making her own.

This was the recipe:

1 cup of Borax

1 cup of Washing Soda

1 bar of soap graded

Voila! Just mix it all together and put it in an air-tight container...

The recipe makes 64 loads - Use 1 Tbsp for a regular load, 2 Tbsp for a really dirty load. The Borax was $5 and the washing soda was $3 and that will make 9 canisters of 64 loads. You can use whatever scent of all natural soap and the soap was $3.

Pretty cool!