Fishing /n Stuff

June 14 & 15

On the 14^th you couldn’t find a cloud in the sky. Temps in the 70’s. On the 15^th some clouds returned, but no rain. Again, temps in the 70’s. Gary went fishing. Caught rainbow trout that were about 18”. It was a bit like the ‘combat’ salmon fishing on the Kenai in Alaska. The only fishable river so everyone is there. Guided float boats & waders shared the river. Everyone is mannerly & all goes well. Gary had a great time. I needed to catch up on the laundry & household chores, so that’s what I did. A walk around this very nice campground and a break for some reading completed my day.




		The lilacs are just starting to bloom in the campground. Blooming later than usual, they smell divine.




			Nothing like looking out your window & see a guy driving Patton’s jeep with a 50 caliber gun mounted on the side and what I thought was a fishing pole on the other side. I really didn’t think much of it with all the hunter/fisherman guys you see around here. It turned out this fella is the owner’s son who makes quite a good living creating WWII replica weapons & other paraphernalia. Still, a bit startling!

This is Miso Pretty. 1 lb.-10 oz. chihuahua with the sweetest temperment I’ve ever seen with this breed. She is very curious & likes to meet people. She is a full-grown one year old & her owners have no idea why she didn’t get a bit bigger than this. She is wearing a sweater for a ferret. She also has a raincoat for a ferret. Her ‘momma’ cuts the toes off thick socks & makes 2 leg holes & crochets the cut edge for her other wardrobe. She wears a kitten collar.

Gary & I left the campground on an evening walk. I spotted these most gorgeous pintos at the end of a side street where open land began. A resident of the side street told us they had just been brought there today from Nevada where the horse owners live until they come to their Montana summer home. The resident also told us that these people love their horses very much after I was exclaiming over their extraordinary shiny coats & healthy demeanor.


	Very curious & friendly, these horses walked briskly to take the grass Gary held out for them. It was the same grass they were already grazing on. I am not comfortable around animals I don’t know that are 10X my size, so I just took the pics from the other side of the fence.


	These horses’ coats just gleamed in the sunshine. They have extraordinary care. We think one of them was expecting.


	Aaaah, Gary got to fish the Beaverhead River today. That is his pole on the left of the picture.


	Other anglers line the river in closer proximity than normal. Only 2 miles of this river has clear water immediately downstream from Clark Canyon Dam. So any fisherperson in the area comes here.


	This river isn’t jumping its banks. A rare sight! Peaceful scenery on a rare warm afternoon.

June 16

Today is very cold. 60* is to be the high. Clouds all around, but no rain. Went to see the Beaverhead County Museum. They have been affected by the rainy spring & are just now getting their buildings painted. The fumes were wafting to the inside of the historical indoor museum so we didn’t linger as long as we’d have liked. Met two charming ladies who volunteer their time there. Many interesting anecdotes were shared with us. The displays are as neat as a pin & represent donations of all sorts of things belonging to the folks of Dillon. They have an amazing collection of beautifully displayed ducks & birds of the area. There is also a diorama of the Lewis & Clark Expedition at Dillon. However the lights were out & we couldn’t find the switch to turn them on. The volunteers are in a building far from this display. That was disappointing. There are outdoor displays as well which we did not investigate as it was cold & breezy & everything seemed to be things we’ve seen before. Gary & I then drove to the art museum at the University. A permanent display was somewhat interesting, including 2 original Charles Russell pencil drawings used in a magazine story in 1902 and some beautiful portrait photos of the local Native-Americans. There were also some incredibly sensitive photos of a Japanese Interment camp in California. Just 4 photos & they told the story. Great work. A local doctor’s safari hunting results (wild game trophy collection) were donated to the University in 1981 and comprise 2 rooms of the art museum. Not seen anything quite like it in an art museum before. Beautiful taxidermy (is that a contradiction in terms?) & careful care to display it properly makes this quite an exhibit of many, many animal trophies. Some from Africa, some from either Canada or Alaska & some from the lower 48.. It is something to think one man could shoot all those animals. See pics below.


	Sparky’s Garage is a very popular local eatery. We tried it out one evening. Our menu choices were OK. Could be other menu items are more tasty here. The decor was very cute. Below left: The waiter is folding the napkins, er, the shop rags for place settings. They really get you in the mood.


	The museum is a block looong enterprise. This is the inside museum. Then there is the outside museum of period buildings from the early Dillon days. Next in line is the train depot building, very pretty, but covered with scaffolding as they do their spring painting-late due to weather issues. A good stop to get a feel for Dillon.

Good grief, I’m sure glad I don’t have to carry that around! This camera & its operator, an Asian woman committed to her community, was kept busy recording the important events & the people of Dillon from 1937 until her death in 1987. A beloved member of the community, she unstintingly contributed time, money & resources to issues of children, education, church & politics. In 1985, she was voted ‘Outstanding Woman of the Year’ for her honesty, integrity, and dependability. A lovely story of a woman loved by young & old alike. *Aki Saito* 1917-1987


	This is an envelope sealer. There have been times I could have used one of these! Lots of interesting stuff at the museum.

The train depot ticket window. Everything has been well-cared for in the old train depot. This building contains an extensive exhibit of local birds in their natural settings. All done by one man; from mounting the birds to creating the setting for each pair. Magnificent. No pics as the reflection off the glass cases caused my poor camera to flap its zoom lens & shut down. So, you can come here & see this wonder for yourself.


	This is the waiting room for the station. All the wood has been highly polished & the windows spotless. In the foreground is a high-backed bench for seating. The water fountain is original. It no longer functions & has rocks in the basin. Cute way to let people know before they try to use it.


		The University of Montana-Western Art Museum.

	See story above to explain these beautiful creatures & how they ended up at University of Montana Western Art Museum. Some of the display is a bit different than I’ve seen. In the picture below, note the polar bear ‘walking’ out of the wall. And note the pelts on the floor.


	The huge buffalo head seems to shelter the red fox head & tail.


	Mounted at a height he would be at in nature, the rhino seemed so real. The doctor probably was on a number of safaris in the 1960’s. Just guessing.


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