Today is April 30, 2011, 12.21 PM. It looks like we have snow for almost the whole week. It is continuously dumping snow right now. We’ll probably have more than 6” in the lowlands. Pressure coming from the south and also the cold air from Canada is causing this snowstorm.
The news says that the clearing of the roads in the Yellowstone Park will be delayed. This time there is more than 22 feet of snow in there, the highest in 15 years And snow is still coming.
But as I said I prefer the snow than the tornadoes that pass in the southern part of the country. More than 300 dead. Alabama was hit the worst.
Maybe we will have a short break late weekend. But I am hoping for good weather next week. Next Tuesday, we will be leaving.
Today, we have snow again greeting us in the morning. It is now 2:38 PM and the sun is trying hard to come out. It is about 3 degrees Centigrade. Andreas try to take advantage of the snow and went skiing early this morning. He has been going a lot these days. The skiing season is supposed to end at the end of this month.
Last weekend, we were heading to go to Kalispell MT because we had an appointment with our accountant for our tax returns. We were almost close to the Continental Divide when Ivano noticed that the car was boiling. It has been snowing since we left Bozeman. In fact we were just driving 40 miles an hour because of poor visibility. We saw that there is a truck stop about 2 miles away and so we headed this way. Ivano parked and opened the car hood and the coolant was really boiling. we cannot proceed any further. So we decided to call road assistance and a towing truck was supposed to come from Butte. After waiting for sometime, the towing truck came. He said we are his 4th client that morning. He loaded the Blazer in the truck and the three of us squeezed in the front. We told him to proceed to the Chrysler garage in Butte. Being a Sunday, the garage was closed, so we just left the car in the parking with a note. Then we ask the driver if it is possible to drop us in a place to spend the night. It looks like they are already familiar with this kind of situation. So he took us to Comfort Inn in Butte with our suitcase and ice box for the trip that we took from the car. The car was loaded because we were planning to bring some stuff in the Bigfork garage.It was still snowing when we arrived Butte. After checking in, we left and look for the Chinese restaurant that the desk pointed to us. Of course, Neither Ivano nor myself was able to sleep because we are not used to the soft bed.
Next morning, Ivano left and had early breakfast before proceeding to the garage. It was so good that the inn had a courtesy vehicle for the clients to use. I stayed an extra hour in bed before going down for breakfast. Ivano arrived before 11 and we decided to bring our stuff in the desk. Then we requested if we can be brought to the mineral museum located at the Technology College to spend our time while waiting for the car to be fixed. The Montana Tech campus overlooks the 100 year old Butte Mining District known as the Richest Hill on Earth which include 10,000 miles of mine workings that reach over a mile deep.
Ivano had a nice talk with the museum curator who talked about a place Crystal MT where he used to go looking for minerals. The museum have a nice collection including minerals coming from other countries. The collection came mostly from private donations from private individuals. Actually, the museum started this way. It exhibits over 1,300 minerals from Montana and around the world. Prize specimen includes a 27.5 troy ounce of Gold nuggets recovered south of Butte in 1989 and a 400 pounds smoky quartz crystal referred to as “ Big Daddy” unearthed just east of Butte. Montana is famous for its brilliant blue sapphires from Yogo Gulch and beautiful polished agates. The museum also has seismographs machine which record seismic activity from Montana and around the world. There is also a Museum gift shop selling mineral specimens and books relating to minerals and geology.
Scavando nella nostra videoteca, abbiamo trovato un paio di video che sicuramente vi piacera vedere. Potete vedere alcune scene girate nel famoso Yellowstone National Park, dove ci sono I famosi geyser tra cui “Old Faithful”.
All’ interno del parco, c’e’ il famoso Yellowstone River (fiume) con le sue meravigliose cascate, con un volume impressionante di acqua. Speriamo che possiate vedere e godere di questa meraviglia della natura.
Today, it was sunny in the morning but later turned grey. There was no wind though so not that cold. We decided to go Nordic skiing in Hyalite Lake since Ivano now got his skis and boots which we took from Bigfork.
Thee were many people doing ice fishing some even with tents. They dig the ice with a special tool and fish in the hole. The ice must be about 15 inches deep.
We went from one end of the lake and back. Ivano was complaining because he was the one making the track and I would follow behind.
On the way back we saw people coming down from the mountains with snowshoes and skis.
In the car Ivano had a hard time taking off his boots. He drove with the inner boots. Upon arrival, he was so hungry, he ate avocado and made some soup.
Last night before going to bed, almost midnight, the temperature was – 24 Centigrade. This morning, we have blue sky and sunny and the temperature went up to – 19 Centigrade.
Last night, I was able to call my sister in Tennessee. They said it was nice weather so they decided to rake the leaves. They are staying in an aunt’s place in MT. Juliet since the uncle died and she is alone. She told me the land is probably 15 acres with plenty of mature trees. I was trying to locate the place in Google Earth. In the evening, I called my sister in New York and finally got her. She was busy packing a Balikbayan box for pick up in the morning.
Sunday, I was able to talk with Wenric and family in Hawaii. They are all doing fine. Except the baby caught an intestinal flu and was throwing up.
Today, we went to the USPS and UPS to check some information about the cost of shipping a pair of skis to Switzerland. A cousin wrote to us that the pair of skis he wanted are all sold out already in Switzerland. He found one in a store in the US where they sell it. We just wrote an email to him. The USPS has a limit of 60 inches so no way. UPS will do it but very expensive 390 – 400 dollars. Plus he will have to pay to pay tax and customs fee there.
In the afternoon, we just walked around the block and then go to the mail box. It was so cold that I have to cover my face with the scarp. Ivano said he does not want to lose his nose.
Andreas worked half day and was here playing his game with a friend from Seattle.
Our friend’s family were going on vacation in Hawaii. Ivano called our friend and told him we will house sit and take care of their two cats and dog. Anyway, we wanted to go and look for the skis and boots in the garage. When we leave, a girl will come and take over.
So we went on Saturday for the trip. The were supposed to pick up the son and his girl friend in eastern MT. They were taking the train from North Dakota. Then they will drive to Seattle and take the plane from there the next day for Hawaii.
Most of the people in Echo Lake are out on their winter homes. During our stay, we were searching for the boots. We were not able to find Lou’s nor Ivano’s boots. But the ski’s were there in the other shed. We brought some furniture for our bedroom in Bozeman.
Every evening we would go to Kalispell and have our dinner there. We found out that the cats stayed in the master’s bedroom. The dog made a mess inside the house a couple of times. She has this habit of coming to our bedroom at 3:00 – 4:00 AM because she would like to go out in the yard. She would howl maybe because of the presence of some animals in the backyard. We saw probably a dozen of deer and a lot of wild turkeys and some of them were just in the backyard.
When we came back, Ivano found his boots down under in some boxes but Lou’s boots were nowhere to be found.
This morning it was sunny but in the afternoon, it is another grey day. Yesterday, Ivano got a compact camera because his other camera is currently being repaired. So he wanted to go out and give it a try.
We decided to go and hike to the youth camp in Hyalite. On the way, we saw 3 eagles perched on the tree. Two of them were on the same tree. The other one was farther away.
Andreas went skiing today and tonight he has the youth empowerment group.
We went to the Madison River, about 20 miles away from Bozeman, but it was windy and cold so Ivano did not catch any fish. There were few fishermen, some were fly fishing. Lou walked along the river. Here is a video. Some pictures were taken from the car and that is why they are somewhat out of focus.
