A land filled with wonder.

 The amazing thing about Montana is the untouched, vast wilderness. Whether its the Bob Marshall Forest, Elkhorn Mountain Range, The Mission Mountains, or Glacier National Forest, the eye can see

the big picture, but honestly there are square miles of property that few men if any have ever stepped. And the water melting from the Glacier topped mountain create streams and rivers so clear you can see the

bottom of the entire river bed. And water that is so cold you will freeze to death if not careful. This country is wild and untamed. You can see it in the mountains as well as the people who live here. They understand dirt roads and snowdrifts. Its nothing for them to see elk, deer, bear, and even the occasional moose. 

We ended our tour across Montana at Glacier today. It was somewhat crowded, but who wouldn't want to feel the magnificence and splendor of the Rocky Mountains? We drove back south thru Missoula County and cross the legendary Blackfoot. After driving the state, I decided my dream ranch would be in Helmville. Look it up on the map! Ranchers paradise!

We ended the day back in Helena where we ate at the Wassweiler Restaurant. We celebrated

friendship, talked about the trip, and planned our day's next adventure which is floating the Missouri River and flyfishing. Tired? Yes. Filled to bream, absolutely. 

Go North They Said

Today we traveled north toward Kalispell and Whitefish. Driving thru the Flathead Indian reservation we witnessed the incredible Mission Mountains with their high, jagged tops. Then looking up at McDonald Peak which touches the bonds of the atmosphere at 9,820 feet; all I could say was, “truly amazing!"

I’ve spent a lot of time from Bozeman to Helena. I’d call it my "Montana base." It's where my friend and fellow auctioneer Dan Pat lives.

We stayed the night in Missoula as a stopover. I was originally intrigued by Missoula years ago after reading the book and watching the movie, "A River Runs Through It." It's the story of author and fly fisherman, Norman  Maclean. Maclean’s family move to this city in 1909. In 1931 Maclean married his sweetheart Jessie Burns who was from Wolf Creek Montana, a town I’ve driven thru many times on the way to Craig Montana. In the book and movie, Maclean’s character said, “I am haunted by water”. I once read a commentary about his writings that made so much sense to me. It answered the question, what was he haunted by?  He was haunted by the memories of his time on the Blackfoot River and his memories, like the waters, run deep. His life was linked to water.

 

After passing over the Mission Mountains we entered Polson, Montana, and witnessed the pure, clear waters of Flathead Lake. This lake is the evidence of the final lifespan of a great glacier centuries ago.

It is considered one of the cleanest lakes in the world for its size. Its water level is 2,892 feet above sea level. The lake covers 197 square miles. We drove along the west side of the lake continuing north.

We ended the day eating a fine meal at the Whitefish Lake Restaurant.  Afterward, we visited the south side of Whitefish Lake; a smaller but still large lake that backs up to these beautiful mountains. 

Elizabeth and I shot some pictures together near the Lake. The sun was beginning to set over the mountains and the colors on the water and horizon were amazing. Memories of not just our

time together in Montana, but 36 years of living our lives together is what "haunts" my mind (in a good way!) I realized that our "water" has run so deep. I love Montana, but I love Elizabeth more.

My heroes have always been cowboys.

 It’s 6 AM and I made it back to the front porch of the Sacajawea. It’s a comfortable 45 degrees. 

What a day we had yesterday. We started the day watching notable Montanan Curt Pate break colts. He put them in the corral and with tremendous patience haltered them and

slowly convinced them to accept a saddle and finally mounted them. In a world of instant gratification, it was a beautiful sight to watch how this process went.

 

Later, we rode a side by side over the 63 Ranch (named for its establishment in 1863). Beautiful and rocky! Mission creek cuts the ranch down the middle.

After lunch, we saddled up. I rode Hannah and Elizabeth was on Happy. Curt took us by a beautiful trout stream where you could see nice rainbows taking bugs off the topwater. We rode high on a ridge where earlier that day we saw a black bear and her cubs. On the trail, we walked over a large deposit of bear scat. Fresh with flies swarming around it. I was hoping we might see the bear up close but only saw their leftovers.

 

Married to a Texas girl, there was nothing better than to see Elizabeth back on horseback. And the background was simply magnificent. We crossed Mission Creek to make our way to the section (640 Acres) where the cattle were. Following

us were Curt’s dogs. We had the opportunity to watch the cattle dogs do their thing. Wow!

 

We hung around for supper and sat on the porch to watch it rain until we went in and shared stories. The ranch owner and his wife

treated us to two meals cooked by their chef. It was a perfect day. As the song says, "my heroes have always been cowboys." Being around Curt for 12 hours, I'll finish the song; "they still are today."

Porch time in Montana

Anyone who knows me very well knows my favorite state. Montana. Big Sky Country. The axiom is very apropos. If you drive on Montana Hwy 12 along the Elk Horn mountains you will understand very quickly how it got its name.This time, we are staying a few days at the Sacajawea Hotel & Inn. 

The inn has been in existence for over 110 years. We enjoy our breakfast and early morning coffee on their front porch. In the summer, Montana has its warm days but cooler nights and mornings. Named for the famous Indian Lewis & Clarke used to translate with the Shoshone Indians, the history is rich at the hotel.

Located in Three Forks, Montana,  the hotel is situated near the confluence of three rivers that make up the Missouri River; Gallatin, Madison & Jefferson.

The American west is rich in Sacajawean history. In the winter of 1804-1805, famed explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark interviewed several trappers seeking interpreters for their western journey up the Missouri River planned for the spring. Knowing they would encounter the Shoshone Indians at the headwaters, they agreed to hire Toussaint Charbonneau after learning of his wife, Sacagawea, who knew the language. After the couple moved into the expedition’s fort, Sacajawea was nick-named “Janey”.  She was pregnant and gave birth to Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. The baby was given a nickname by the explorers as well “Little Pompy”

Poling and pulling against the current heading westward, history records Sacajawea rescued journal entries and records of Lewis and Clark and was honored with a river in her name on May 20, 1805. 

The hotel? It’s amazing! Located in Three Forks areas, fingerprints of the Lewis and Clark Trail are scattered all around. It is at the headwaters of the Missouri River, where Sacajawea was reunited with her brother and brokered safe passage for the explorers. Only years following American western tale, the Sacajawea Hotel was constructed in 1910.

Built by John Q. Adams, who was a purchasing agent for the Milwaukee Railroad, the hotel was built as a rest stop for passengers and train crews. The main building at the hotel is the Madison House. It has a Victorian flair with all the western feel you can imagine. 

The owners of the hotel have seen many challenging economic seasons, in fact, in 2001, the Sacajawea was boarded up. However, in 2009, the Folkvords, a third-generation Montana farming family, purchased the Hotel.

The hotel has 29 luxury guest rooms, a couple bars (yes western feeling type), a wedding venue, and the Pompey Grill.

Liz and I have stayed here many times. We enjoy the quiet 2053 populated town. We always visit the confluence of the three rivers. But probably my favorite thing is waking up at daylight and drinking my first cup of coffee on the huge porch.

I'll have to thank my Montana family Dan Pate and Leah Welsh for bringing us here on our first visit to Big Sky country.

A Land Filled with Giants

I 

Travel is my favorite past time. And when I travel, I like to get off the beaten path.  I remember flying into the capital city of Paraguay, Asuncion, and enjoying the Latin metropolitan scene but hiring a taxi driver to take Elizabeth and I across the tropical rain forest  through Caguazu over the border to Brazil in Cuidad de Este to the world’s largest water fall system, Iguazu falls. Adventure! That particular 12 hour day trip is worth a story in and of itself.

Finding places that are not overrun with people & billboards is where I believe you really find the beauty of this world. Concrete, asphalt and towers are necessary, but finding peace, tranquility and nature usually is far from these man made objects.

Soon, we will be traveling to a similar adventure; this time Americana style. My home away from home for sometime has been Montana. My close friends, Dan Pate & Leah Welsh have welcomed us into their world; Big Sky world. We will be making Helena our home for the next week or so combing  central southwest Montana and enjoying the land that was described in the memoirs of Lewis & Clark.

Dan & Leah's back deck looks out over The Elkhorn Mountains. The Elkhorn Mountains are a classic Rocky Mountain range that is comprised of approximately 300,000 acres. You literally can see only 1 house from his back yard. It surrounds the capital city of Helena, Montana City, Townsend and Winston(No tobacco fields in this Winston). It’s an incredible mixture of cowboy, mountain man and back to nature personalities. 

Soon we will be going to one of the places that I would described as being off the beaten path. It’s called Land of the Giants.  Land of the Giants is a three-mile section of the Missouri River that connects Hauser Reservoir dam to Upper Holter lake.  Only miles from Helena, and less than 30 minutes from trout city, Craig.  The river meanders through a spectacular canyon with steep walls. There are no boat ramps to allow for drift-

boat access. Fishermen are forced to access the Land of the Giants by jet boat from upper Holter lake and boat up stream to the fishing.  Here’s the great thing; this location has some of the largest rainbow and brown trout that the Big Sky state has to offer. Ponderosa pines line the river with the backdrop of colorful rock formations. Lewis and Clark were so amazed at the beauty of the rock formations that they named this area upstream “The Gates of the Mountains”. The Missouri offers and intertwined combination of activity for the sportsmen, history buff, nature lover and trout angler. The times I have been here, I have felt the glory of the moment, I have seen the never-ending day. I have celebrated the vast sky encapsulated by the canyon walls. There with my guide and fishing partner, I have been where explorers were longing for the Pacific Ocean and where few people travel today.

As you can tell, I’m excited about the Land of the Giants. Catching Rainbows, and having a reunion with my Montana Family! This time I will be taking both my kids, my son-in-law  and my parents. I’m anxious to see if this place causes a contagious spirit internally among my daughter and son-in-law as It did me the first time I looked up and saw the Big Sky.

My Montana friendship made over the years has also been a big part of the magnetic draw to this area. Dan is not just a good ole cowboy (His middle name “Tex”, seriously) he’s a second generation auctioneer whose love of the industry drives him as it does me.

So, my advice to you? Get off the beaten path. Visit those places that are less commercialized. Experience America! Hit the water, hike a path, let God’s nature fill your senses. Find a friendship that makes the landscape have even more dimensions. 

As Muir once said "The Mountains are calling and I must go."

Poetry Inspired by Montana

I have fallen for the water

I have fallen for the collective gathering of spring fed waters that cascade down the rocky valleys and mountainous terrains. Water that trickles over the rocks formed by time and river bottoms that remind you of God's hand holding the water, if for a moment.

Capturing the second that the dandelion pod make land on the silky trickling  river, and watching the mountain escaping her river bank to created the clouded horizon; and the only sovereignty that God allows is that of the bald eagle or the condor. Yet beneath the water only to rise for its food is the rainbow with its animated colors. And though God himself gives man the occasion to capture the power and the glory of this beauty, if not for a moment, for a lifetime in his heart.

Yes, like the waters that fall, I too have fallen for the river, the never ending river of God's glory.

T. Kyle Swicegood

A Gift of a Rainbow

 The Gift of a Rainbow

Norman Maclean ended his beautiful novella with these words "The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of those rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters.”

As I spent my second week in Montana this summer, something in me continued to hear the mysterious words "haunted by water".

So it was in August of 2015, I took my son to the great waters of the Missouri and the bending rocky and conifer laden banks of the Blackfoot River where Maclean experienced a youth that inspired him to write "A River Runs Through It".  Being August, we knew that the days would heat up so we rose early to get on the river as the fish were longing for their rising tricos (a common name given to Tricorythodes mayflies, which hatch most abundantly in August on trout rivers) and other winged dry flies. We met up with our guide, Taylor Todd with Cross Currents Fly Shop in the sleepy town of Ovando, Montana. With its perfect scenic blend of old and new, we rested our vehicle in this town of approximately 50 people. Lying in the Blackfoot Valley, Ovando sits just off of Montana Hwy 200 between Helena and Missoula.

Our Guide, Taylor Todd and Lewis and his first Rainbow

When Todd picked us up, I could see the anticipation in the eyes of Lewis, my son.  While he is an experienced outdoors man, he had never felt the excitement of a rainbow trout tugging on his line. I knew we were in for an experience.

The day yielded a modest catch. Although modest, each of the fish were beautiful. One of the things that cause fly fisherman to be so avid about the sport is the powerful fight that these amazing aquatic creatures exhibit, but its also the rainbow of colors that warm water fish just can't compare to. We spent 6 hours on the river and enjoyed the beauty that we knew was divinely created.  I knew however, that modest as our catch was, we were on our way to the Mighty Mo (Missouri) the next day! I was confident we were just mending our line on this day for what would be a great catch coming up.

A luminous smile

On our second day of fishing, we positioned ourselves in the boat, Lewis in front, and me in the rear. It was no time and I heard Lewis' drag on his reel screaming. His rod was bend over like an upside down crescent moon. I was so excited that I reeled my line in to just watch; and it was beautiful to watch. As Lewis began to fight the fish, he gathered enough time to look back at me desiring approval for his technique. Taylor had already shown Lewis how to bring in the big ones. Catching a trout is a fine line between hogging
the fish and giving too much slack. Dancing on the water, the fish was doing everything it could to get off. But Lewis, after about five minutes, managed to bring in the boat an 18" trout. His smile was luminous. As I sat there on the back of the boat an watched the son I was given communing with the waters and enjoying the gift of a rainbow; I knew He would never be the same. For a moment, I relived my first catch in the cold waters.

While Maclean was haunted by the waters, I knew that Lewis from this point on would be haunted by the most wonderful sport in the world.....Fly Fishing. The gift that Montana brought was beautiful mountains, fast flowing rivers, loads of elk, mule deer, mountain goats, eagles and a five minute battle with a rainbow.

The Elk at sunset.

Good times are one of the hardest things to leave behind. On this trip, everyday was a new chapter in what seemed to be our own book of life in the middle of Big Sky country! On the same waters that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark mapped the northwest territory, we traversed the turns and straight stretches on the canyon sided banks. I can only imagine what their thoughts were.  
I would say that the waters brought us closer together. But like the waters, we too had to drift on to another place. But for just a few small moments in our life, we were one with the river, one with the fish, and one with each other; together like only a father and son could be. I love Montana, but even more, I love my son and the common bond that we share with God's beautiful creation.

A father son double!!  Near Craig, Montana along the banks of the Missouri River.