A man’s fly box is a sacred thing.  There is much time and money invested in them.  They contain flies that have caught fish of legend waiting for another moment to drift down a foam lined seam once again.   Continue reading →

Upon arrival back to the Swamp Donkey we realized that the radiator was critically low on water.  Luckily we found three bottles of water under the seat and that was enough to get us back to the cabin.  The sun was hanging low in the sky and the wind was beginning to settle.  Everything was coming together for a miraculous sunset on the lake.  I set up my tripod on the waters edge and got a few shots of the group of us. The sun’s light was perfect.

Doug, Schatzi and I.

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I don’t know about everybody else out there but, for me personally, I think riding in a bad ass Jeep through thick autumn vegetation “Rocks”!  There wasn’t another place I wanted to be or another thing I would had rather been doing that fine day.  I was in the Swenor’s old hunting ground with the Swenors and I was completely at peace.

The Swamp Donkey.

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We arrived at the cabin on the lake and met Doug’s brothers.  There was a good feeling in the air but I had only one thing on my mind.  Doug volunteered to go back with me.  Schatzi volunteered too.  After retaking the shot I wanted, Doug drove and took a different route back.

Beautiful day.

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Before I start on 28 September 2011 I want to mention how good it was to see Doug and Karen at their house in Ishpeming.  I had seen pictures and heard about how nice it was up there but I finally got to see it in person.  The morning started off set in with fog.  We had a nice breakfast and then the sun started breaking through around 0900.  Doug and Karen had errands that morning and then we were to meet around noon and head for the hunting cabin.  Schatzi and I set out to get pictures.  It was truly peak for the fall colors.

Lake Michigamme as the fog was lifting.

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I was excited to cross the Minnesota border as the sun was still low in the sky.  I was in potato country and they were harvesting.  I passed an old threshing machine on the side of the road that had the Flag flying proudly atop it.  I had to get a shot of that so I turned around and pulled into a crossing lane in the median.  I tried to open my door and get the shot off of my left foot while trying to keep Schatzi in the truck with my right.  Bottom line I didn’t get the shot I wanted.   Continue reading →

I ended up leaving Shelby by 9:30.  My goal was to put myself in a position to get to Ishpeming, Michigan the next day.  So I was looking at another five to six hours to get out of Montana and push as far through North Dakota as I could.  This was my regret because North Dakota is a beautiful state.  Bottom line was it was Monday and I had to be in Virginia for an art show on Saturday.  And I would have at least liked to have one day to get my stuff in order before that. Continue reading →

I passed through East Glacier Park and the country started to open up.  The mountains of Glacier National Park were in my rear-view mirror and I had the golden plains of eastern Montana ahead of me.  Here is one last parting shot of Glacier from the east.

East Glacier heading east on Highway 2.

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I got a late start out of Whitefish that morning but I only had to get to Shelby.  It was a beautiful day and a scenic drive so I took my time and got some nice photographs.  There was an old barn next to a hayfield just outside Whitefish and that was my first stop. I enjoy rustic barns, hayfields and mountains if you haven’t noticed.  I had had my eye on that spot all week and I finally had the time to shoot it.

This barn is just outside of Whitefish after you make the turn east on Highway 2.

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