Polebridge is the kind of place I would worry about telling people if anyone actually read this website. A little “town” just ouside the western edge of Glacier National Park. Polebridge is off the grid, the Mercantile there sells some extremely delicious baked good, (think cheesy jalapeno bread and huckleberry bearclaws). Other than that there’s grass, kids, happy tourists, a sand volleyball court, cabins, a bar, and dogs.

My friend Lorrie suggested going there instead of visiting the eastern part again. After stopping for coffee and baked goods we went to the Bowman Lake Campground and did a nice 12-mile loop to Quartz Lake. After being caught in an evening thunderstorm the mosquitoes were basically unbearable. I’d never seen anything like it. The time of year was perfect for the little buggers, warm enough and wet enough.

Before there was Glacier there was Missoula, Montana.

“Sunshowers that I’m aiming at you, cause I’m watching you my baby”

Thanks for visiting Val. I am lucky to have a friend like you.

Picture overload probably. I wasn’t seeing me having a lot of time to post these in the next week so I thought making this post would be a good study break. The costumes these people had were really incredible. The clothes are totally handmade as well, with really intricate bead work that doesn’t show up in the tiny pictures I’m posting on here.

The last picture is of Luke and a Native American Studies student Michael Sweeney as they were leading their congratulatory procession. It was really heartwarming to watch as people come up to shake hands and give hugs and then get in line.

So I was at the Montana State University American Indian Council Pow Wow for a couple hours yesterday. My friend Luke was honored for his service to the Native American community at the school. Congratulations Luke!

Pow Wows are especially unique events for someone like myself who hasn’t been exposed to a lot of Native American culture. I took a lot of pictures and here are a few. I’ll put up more later but right now I have to study for the final I have tomorrow.

Monday afternoon and my classes for the semester will be finished. It has been a warm weekend in Bozeman as well, which I am grateful for.

Over the weekend I went with the MSU Ultimate team down to Pocatello Idaho to play in the end of season tournament for the Big Sky Section.

It is a nice drive and only having to travel 4 hours is basically nothing. We didn’t win the most games but we had fun doing it. It must have been 70 degrees on Saturday which was the warmest weather I’ve been in around here in about 6 months.

There was more to my trip to Missoula last weekend than just Obama. It was actually Hilary’s birthday on Friday. Happy Birthday Hil! Now she has joined me in the 28 years young club. It is fun to have a friend from North Carolina living so close. 2 and a half hours away is basically next-door in Montana terms. If everyone I knew lived out here I’d probably never think twice about moving back east.

I met her posse, a nice, down to earth group of folks, and we went out and experienced some of the Missoula scene. Good times. I don’t go to bars in Bozeman much these days, and If I’m not in bed by midnight I probably turn into a pumpkin.

The two city shots were from a short hike Hil and I did on Sunday, which offered some good views of Missoula and the surrounding area. Even with the clouds (basically a given in these parts recently) the weather was decently warm and it wasn’t snowing and we weren’t walking in snow, all of which I was thankful for.

On a warmer note, the high is supposed to be 67 in a couple of days, and since it has been snowing basically everyday for the past week that will be a nice change.

One last thing, I’ve been making the pictures a little bigger these day, if they are too big let me know.

As of tomorrow at noon it will officially be Spring Break for us Montana State folks. Kez and I are driving down the the Grand Canyon and plan on stopping by Bryce Canyon NP as well (I’ve never actually been there.)

We have had a bunch of snow up here and I’ve been enjoying it, but it’ll be nice to get to somewhere a little warmer and less snowy.

To tide you over until next week here are some random picture I’m pulling out from the vault. Except for the picture of the pine needles which I took today.

Due to overwhelming demand I bring more captures from last weekend. Awesome sweetness. (Robin I owe you one)

These pictures were all taken in and around Gardiner. That little town really grew on me. Usually we just pass right through it and it was fun to be able to hang out for a little while. It doesn’t hurt to be with such a swell group of folks too.

Luke, Kez, Hilary, her friend Stephanie and myself went down to Yellowstone by way of the northwest entrance in Gardiner, Montana. Here are some pictures of Gardiner. It is a nice little town, especially in the winter when it isn’t overrun with tourists.

When we rode up into town that elk was just hanging out in someone’s yard. They said that they will tag elk only if they are troublemakers. So I thought keeping my distance was a smart idea.

Yesterday, to kick off the 3 day weekend, Kez, myself and our friends Elizabeth and Kelly drove to Dillon Montana, a bustling little city about 60 miles south. It is a really nice drive and these pictures do it absolutely no justice. It was a nice sunny day which I feel like have been in short supply recently.

I just found out Microsoft Live has a nice map of the area here. If you hit the magnifying glass in the upper left to zoom in about 4 times the map looks really awesome. There are a lot of farms in that area.

The entire trip to Seattle from Bozeman consists of driving 5 minutes to I-90, staying on that interstate for 10 hours or so, and then exiting in downtown Seattle. About 200 miles west of Bozeman lies the great city of Missoula where my friend Hilary just moved to.

My traveling companion Luke and I stopped for a little while and visited Hilary and Missoula’s fairly vibrant downtown. It was a good stop, unfortunately we had to carry on before the snow overtook us.

Yesterday some folks got together and took a tour of the Lewis and Clark Caverns organized by the ever-vigilant Luke Shorty. It was the first time I’ve been in a cave in a long time and a really excellent experience.
It was the last day the caverns were opened for the season and as an added bonus the 2nd half of the tour was conducted by candlelight. They were nice enough to provide cookies and hot chocolate in the visitor center and before we left our multi-talented tour guide was nice enough to sing us a few Christmas carols as well.