In the mid-seventies I spent a few years in Bozeman, MT attending college and attempting to be a filmmaker. Eventually, I turned to television, moved north and really never went back. Until this summer.
Some of my more memorable fishing experiences involved the Gallatin River, but that was nearly 50 years ago. When you put it like that, I feel quite old.
A lot has changed in the Gallatin Valley, but the river is a constant. Headwaters in Yellowstone Park, the Gallatin flows north first meandering through alpine meadows and then rushing through a rocky canyon. It spills out onto the farmlands west of Bozeman, eventually joining the Jefferson and Madison to become the Missouri river.
This road trip was a shakedown of camper van and kit. We didn’t even have fly rods. Two days were spent camped mere feet from the river’s edge. A vantage point that offered many restful hours watching the stream flow by.
Now you have all those salad recipes, here is what we do with them … we go for a picnic. No, really.
The clear plastic cups chill quickly, don’t break, but still allow you to see what’s inside. And when empty they are are very stackable. They aren’t dishwasher safe, but they do wash easily. We’ve gotten numerous re-use out of an initial purchase.
Bruneau Dunes State Park is on the edge of the Snake River plain. It is an area created fourteen thousand years ago when Lake Missoula’s ice dam breached and the Bonneville flood reshaped the landscape of Idaho, as well as eastern Washington and Oregon … the end of the ice age.
We did get to use Tip’s new ‘swamp cooler’ jacket. I know it seems counterintuitive to put a jacket on an already hot pet, but when this is soaked with cold water evaporation brings a natural air conditioner to Tip’s back.
Compared to the rest of Oregon, we live in an area that has higher than average wildfire danger. I’m talking, evacuate your neighborhood type of fire danger.
Primarily in the spring and fall, prescribed fires are planned and implemented. These fires are supposed to reduce the severity and intensity of future wildfire. Targeted areas are usually forests surrounding communities and homes.
