A random post from a random state of mind....

Most of the following images are random. They were taken with my backup digital camera that is nothing more than a very much needed hand-me-down following the demise of my camera. Though the quality of the images leaves much to be desired, I would hope that the images themselves sort of speak for themselves. I keep this camera stuffed under the seat of my truck and throw it in my pocket or pack when heading off to areas where the larger more expensive cameras are none to practical. Enjoy...

Creston Mt. I worked for a few short months in this area. This field and view were a very much needed distraction. I loved driving to and from work with this in the background. I don't so much miss the job...but I sure as heck miss the drive.

My trusty little buck-boat. Hopefully this thing will get much use in the following years. I took it out perhaps eight to ten times this summer and loved every minute of it. Can you believe that my friend Jesse and I carried that bugger, the float tube and all of our gear into a couple of back country lakes? Yeah...not going to do that again. That little beasty isn't made for off road fishing...

Burnt Lake? Fire Lake? No clue. This area is full of random hole in the ground lakes with similar names, similar looks and typically similarly great fishing.

Tooling along in the swan range, just north of Seeley Lake.

A random forest fire that interrupted a very much needed and hard earned back country hunt. Miles of hiking, hours of scouting, sweat, cold and not a single elk to be found. And then a lightening storm kicked up a fire that brought in helicopters and planes. Prudence dictated truncating the hunt and heading out. Meat is typically best found uncooked while hunting.

Wale Lake. Base camp for a short back country hike/hunt. I didn't see any whales, however the lake was teaming with small trout. We saw more Grizzly tracks than elk tracks though...so perhaps the fish are best left for the birds?

Reason # 3,622 as to why Montana is the Last Best Place

A rather stout hen Blue Grouse hiding in the open. This was a record day. 10 grouse for dinner, no elk to be seen and two separate wolf packs brought in by bugling (calling) for elk. Fun though.

A series of shots of a great Sunset near Stryker, MT

Another shortened back country hike. Therriault Lakes. Blizzard-like conditions and massive wind drove us to lower ground. Regardless, it was still a great hike. Not photographed were bighorn sheep, mule deer, moose and a few scrawny mule deer does. It snowed four inches in a little over an hour.

Lower Therriault Lake.

A few mule deer that I decided to stalk. The two young bucks above were fun to watch and provided many opportunities to "fill the freezer", however size does matter. Too small. It was still fun. I got within 35 feet before the does got nervous. This was near Eureka, MT.

And that concludes an attempt to discard of a few dozen more photos that were taking up space on my backup digital camera. Why take pictures? Give me one good reason as to why not...and I will give you a hundred as to why to...

And what better place to do it in?