Saturday, July 9, 2016

MMMMMMM Good


Jeff—Saturday

Tomorrow concludes my M-line tour along a Mykonos-Manhattan-Minneapolis-Montana-Minneapolis-Manhattan-Mykonos itinerary.  Actually, it ends the day after tomorrow, because my flight takes off on Sunday but I won’t land in Greece until Monday.  Another M. How fitting.

It’s been a two-week jaunt spanning places possessing about as different local natural beauty as respective political crises. But I shall not talk about the latter.  At least not this week.

Today is all about making nice and sharing some of the glories I found in the wilds of Montana, a state approximately as large as Germany with a total population of a million hearty souls.  It’s bordered by Canada to the north (Alberta and Saskatchewan to be precise), Idaho to the west, Wyoming to the south, and North Dakota and a smidgen of South Dakota to the east. It’s a place where romanticized concepts of an outdoor life turn very real very quickly—complete with all its dangers…with skiing that no doubt will soon turn parts of it into the new Aspen or Jackson Hole.


All I can say is, “Think green, beneath a big sky, amid mountains that rival Switzerland.”  As you may know, Big Sky is Montana’s best known nickname, though it has a newer one:  “The Last Best Place.”  From what I saw, I wouldn’t argue with either moniker.  After all, as John Steinbeck said…


But enough with Chamber of Commerce talk, permit me to share some photos taken by Barbara Zilly.  They cover Whitefish (the town), Big Mountain, Flathead Lake, Glacier National Park (including Lake McDonald and the Great Divide), and of course, the site of my nephew’s wedding at a ranch in Corum.  After all, the wedding’s what brought us there in the first place. 

The photographer at work

So thank you, Rick, for having the good sense to marry Montana lady Kinsey, as your decision introduced me to what is truly God’s country. 


But don’t take my word for it; look at these photos…as I pack for my return to the country of the gods.





Our Chariot






The wedding venue 
Add caption 


—Jeff

11 comments:

  1. Beautiful country, no doubt! I think I recognize that one stretch of rocky river. (By the way, the Dakotas are EAST of Montana. Good thing you had pilots to fly you out of there or you might have ended up in Portland...)

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    1. A good night's sleep. :) A caption contest is not a bad idea, Michael, as just about anyone will beat, "More of the wedding venue." Then again, do I want to dare risk EvKa's entry?

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  3. Jeff, I have a picture of me standing exactly where Barbara is standing. As it happens, it was also a wedding that brought me to Montana. And your itinerary was very much like ours. But also included White River. Images of Glacier National Park are burned into my heart. The splendor of it!! And those adorable red buses! And the grizzly we finally saw, luckily when we had left the hiking trail and were safely in the car! Thank you so much for bringing me back. What a lift to my spirit.

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    1. Once again we're trailing in your footsteps, AMA! Though thankfully not far enough behind to have encountered the grizzly. But as we're headed out to the farm today, there's still a chance at a black bear...or two. :)

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    1. I wouldn't bet on it...the temperature has been known to drop 100 degrees fahrenheit in 24 hours! (From 40F to -60F).

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