Thanks Joe and Betty for all the good times we have shared. We look forward to many more.
In the slideshow, you will see some of their passions…take a look. They know how to have fun all year-round! The fishing photos are ours, the rest are courtesy of Joe.
For full screen slideshow, click View Album, then choose “Slideshow.”
Friday I went to my friends retirement hoorah held at the the Blacksmith Brewing Company. What a great surprise! It is in an old-time Stevensville Blacksmith Shop with it’s history and charm in tact – and the beer is fantastic! In honor of my friend’s retirement from a fire postion with the Forest Service, I had a Pulaski Porter for $3 a pint. The flavor was deep and rich; a smooth, dark taste. It seemed almost silky as I sipped it, yum. Currently they have five choices –Brickhouse Blonde, Twisted Paddle Pale Ale, Burnt Fork Amber, Cutthroat IPA, and of course the Pulaski Porter. No seasonals are planned at this point.
Click here
for an article from NewWest.com about the brewery. It talks about the founders, brewmaster, the building and history, and more…good article!Blacksmith Brewing
Open Sun. – Fri. 3-8pm and Sat 12-8pm
114 Main St. Stevensville, MT * 406 777-0680
I am waiting for Tim Akimoff of the Missoulian and Grizzly Growler to do a story on this brewery. Tim….where are you? I assure you, this brewery is much more than a “rumor.” It is here to stay!
I am sharing photos of the Bitterroot valley, river and mountains in December. View the slide show or click on it to view the web album.
We had rain, then snow, then FREEZING COLD, then rain, more snow…a very unusual early winter. There is a lot of moisture, much beauty, and I need to mention the avalanche danger again. We will all be eager to get out to ski the backcountry. Please check the avalanche site for western Montana before you go. Be safe.
I revisited a great site today. We have had new snow, now it is warming up. I wondered what information I could find about our Bitterroot snowpack. As I have said before, for fly fishing, snowpack is a huge indicator of what to expect in our upcoming season. We also want to recreate and be safe. See below and click on the hotlinks for more information.
Happy Holidays! This is Steve Karkanen at the West Central Montana Avalanche Center with the avalanche advisory for December 29th, 2008.
Please read the above link if you plan on skiing in western Montana. Danger is HIGH.
Remember the adage, be careful what you ask for? Well, we’re getting what we’ve been asking for. The problem is that it’s coming in a way that our current basal snowpack layers cannot support….….The good news is that the new snow has been coming in gradually with a slow warm up. The weak layer near the rain crust is gaining strength over time and is adjusting quite well to each storm that slowly adds weight to it. The bad news is the cold temperatures we’ve experienced the past 2 weeks has allowed the weak granular sugary snow around the crust to persist so when we receive a storm that drops a lot of weight (several inches of snow or any amount of rain) it won’t be able to adjust fast enough to be safe. The really bad news is that the forecast is calling for a warm up with significant snowfall and wind perhaps even rain at some mountain locations this weekend.
To learn more, visit http://www.missoulaavalanche.org/events/ for classes and films showing in the Missoula area. BE SAFE!!!
Jack and I have been cross country skiing almost every day. Here is a slideshow from yesterday.
If you are going out for a back country ski, tell people where you are going and when you expect to be back. Visit this link for Weather Forecast and Avalanche Outlook in the Missoula and Bitterroot area.
Like clockwork Pinegrass performs every Tuesday night at the Top Hat Lounge – click for map, located at 134 W. Front St. in Missoula. Through the end of this month, the band begins its performances at 10:30 p.m.; beginning on the first Tuesday of January, the band will begin its performances at 9 p.m. Admission is free.
Top Hat phone – (406) 728-9865
