Smoke on the Mountain

This is the smokey haze over the mountains near Florence MT



The Bitterroot Parkway Bike Trail
We needed some exercise today and decided another bike ride would be good. No rain in the forecast so we could go a little further. I discovered that there is a bike trail from Lolo south to Hamilton along US-93 that is a 46 mile bike trail that is paved and relatively flat called the Bitterroot Parkway.  It is a nice trail and well kept but the disadvantage of this trial is it follows along beside the highway so you never get away from the sound of traffic. We rode about 20 miles by going from Lolo to Florence and back. There are mountains on both sides but the haze from the smoke made it hard to see a lot of those mountains. As we rode south the haze got a lot heavier. Like I said yesterday it has been quite the season for fires. It was a good ride but I’d love to see this area when there isn’t such a haze.



Photo from web
I mentioned yesterday a book I had read previously by Nora Roberts. Well I found it on my Kindle and decided to reread it. The book is “Chasing Fire” and is set here in Missoula and the story is about smokejumpers. It is a suspense/romance novel but guys don’t dismiss it, John who reads mainly science fiction and fantasy has read it and gives his approval. I’m enjoying the reread because now I know what the facility looks like and all their equipment, gives it a new perspective.

Tomorrow we are going to do some errands and shopping, no big plans. Saturday we have decided to go to Hamilton for Scottish-Irish Festival. We are really looking forward to this. I think it is a pretty big deal, they actually have places away from the site to park and shuttles to take you into the festival. There will be music, games like the caber toss, and dancing. Should be lots of fun. When you live with an Irishman (John) how can you pass up something like this.

Happy Trails.................................

Comments

  1. owensontheroadAugust 24, 2012 at 5:42 AM

    Have a great time at the Festival. Sounds like fun. It must be difficult riding bikes in smoke..yuk!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim and SandieAugust 24, 2012 at 10:18 AM

    The smoke was so bad here in Helena yesterday that my eyes were really bothering me. We can't see any of the mountains around us either. What a terrible year this has been. Have a great time in Hamilton tomorrow. That should be a lot of fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chuck and Anneke's RV travelsAugust 24, 2012 at 5:04 PM

    Wild fires are definitely scary. we are now watching Isaac, as its forecast route comes right over our house.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RickAugust 25, 2012 at 5:31 PM

    That was some smoky scene. Have fun at the festival. For John to read a Nora Roberts novel, his bookshelf and eReader memory must have been completely empty! I'm not sure I could ever bring myself to try that!!

    ReplyDelete

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