Spring Rain, Vibrant Foliage - East of Lincoln, Montana

Spring rainfall last night and into this morning punched up the colour vibrancy east of Lincoln, Montana, and made for a gorgeous Montana road trip day. (Now we just need those fruitful clouds to head north and tamp down Alberta’s wildfires and smoky skies, please Lord.)

Traffic Stop - Lincoln, Montana

Why I Love Montana: Reason # 392: 
Even if it's on the main highway through town, traffic still stops and people don't get their feathers ruffled. (I mean, courtesy costs you nothing, and what's an extra 5 minutes under the calming gaze of that vast Montana sky?)

Chosen Road Behind - Hwy 200 Near Lincoln, Montana

"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
- J.K. Rowling (as quoted on p. 46 of Measure What Matters by John Doerr)

Wishing you wise choices in the things that matter most. 

Storm Shelter - Along Hwy 200, Near Lincoln, Montana

"The Lord takes care of His own,

 but church trustees still  put lightning rods on the steeple."

 - Evan Esar, from 20,000 Quips & Quotes

On Discovery - Missoula, Montana

"I believe it is worthwhile trying to discover more about the world, even if this only teaches us how little we know. 
It might do us good to remember from time to time that, while differing widely in the various little bits we know, in our infinite ignorance we are all equal."

- Karl Popper (1902-1994), Quoted in Ch. 44 Heading of The Last Days Of Night by Graham Moore

View From The Edge - Near Lincoln, Montana

"Out on the edge you see 
all kinds of things you can't 
see from the centre. 
Big, undreamed-of things - the 
people on the edge see them 
first."

- Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007)

Foothill - A Ways East Of Lincoln, Montana

"Some days he climbed over the foothills of indifference to see the landscape of his life and future for what it was: mappable, traversable, achievable." - Dave Eggers, A Hologram For The King

Folded Landscape - East of Lincoln, Montana

"You could look out across that folded landscape and every sense you had told only that this was all the world there was." - from Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, p 280

Lonesome Prairie, Ulm, Montana

Driving half a day across the state highlights the diversity of Montana's beauty - from the mountains to the prairies, just like the song says of America. The rolling grasslands that begin about 20 miles east of Lincoln, Montana, always strike a pensive chord in my soul, accentuated on this particular day by the filter of smoke casting an old-world feel on the scene. You almost expect a covered wagon or Red River cart to rattle over the hill...

Scrappy Stuff of Life, Lincoln, Montana

One of the aspects I most love about walking is the never knowing what you might see.
Interesting shapes & patterns can show in unexpected places, as here, in the back of a large work truck parked in a side lot of a Montana mountain town - proof positive that good things happen when you stop for a walk on a long road trip!

Pining for Spring, Lincoln, Montana

Lincoln, Montana, is a timely stopping point when we drive north to see family in Canada. The town is basically in the middle of a mountain forest. So, on a ten-minute leg-stretching stroll, you breathe in plenty of fresh piney air, and you never know what you'll see if you're looking. Just watch our for the deer loitering in front yards.