February 9, 2009

This is our last day in Montana -- we are traveling back tomorrow. We spend some time in Polson in the morning. Our big activity of the day is loading up Jane's "Rancher" which we are going to take to Jette Mountain. We are going to try to drive this little vehicle to the top of the mountain. When we got to Jette, we ran into Jane's farrier and his wife. They brought their horses and were going to take them through the snow up the mountain. In a conversation, I found out his wife rides dressage at the Prix St. George level, and she had her big dutch warmblood (this is Ludo's breeding) out as her trail horse.

As with any mountain, the higher you go, the more snow there is. So Jane, Delores, and I left in the Rancher, and Jane had the "peddle to the metal" as we drove up the snow covered drive. The Rancher was sliding around, and Jane was turning that steering wheel keeping us on the drive. But as we went up, so did the snow. And even in the Rancher with the chains on, there is only so much snow that can go under this little vehicle. We could tell someone else had the same idea as us, and they got stuck at just about the same place. So we only made it to about the half way point, when we had to get turned around and come back down. I'm attaching a picture Jane set me of Flathead Lake from the top of Jette Mountain in the summer -- it would have been beautiful in the winter as well.

So with our efforts thwarted, we decided to take the Rancher over to the Flathead Lake. We had fun driving around the river. It was windy and cold -- some of the little inlets of the river were frozen solid -- Delores tried throwing a big rock, and the ice didn't even budge. Then it was up a steep hill to a bluff that overlooks the river and the hills beyond. It was a good day.

Then back to the ranch.....and you guessed it. Another great meal. This time Jack cooked 3 huge slabs of baby back ribs, and Jane's friend, Kate brought all of the side dishes. It was a great meal on our last night in Montana.