Connected again

No blog posts for a while as we were in a communications desert - no email, no cellphones. But what we lacked in technology, nature more than made up for in so many ways.

 

This is where we have spent the last few days. Elizabeth's house on the coast north of San Francisco is simply breathtaking and was ours for a short time as we chilled with our great friend Mary.

 

We loved the wildlife, quite literally on our doorstep in some cases, in others just around the corner, over the edge so to say.

 

We walked, talked and tried to fly kites in the brisk sea breeze.

We began the Mobius knitting project, though I decided to call a halt after a few inches and wait for a larger needle. Mary's is going well though, in spite of a few wobbles early on.

We drove out to Mendocino, then via long and tortuous road with many a winding curve, leading to nausea as well as to Healdsburg and the wine country. But mostly we simply enjoyed being in the most magnificent house in stunning surroundings.

No cellphone? No internet? No matter!!

Happened to be passing, so we dropped in

Way back in the Compuserve days, when several of us were chatting via the Bernina forum, I "met" Sue Yannone of Sue's Sewing Palace, Helena MT. Actually I really did get to meet her at a Knitting and Stitching Show when she very kindly brought me a whole heap of resources for my 1630 machine which were unavailable in the UK. Since then, I have regarded Sue as my Bernina Guru and though, of late, I haven't been using my machine much, the occasional email has kept her in my thoughts.

So, when we found ourselves in Helena today, of course, we had to drop in. Sadly Sue wasn't there, but Carol telephoned her and we enjoyed a chat, which was great. I even offered her a transfer to Gloucestershire, but for some reason, she prefers Montana ;-)

Her store is indeed a palace with a huge stock of machines, notions and fabric. Not only that, but there's a service depot and the most amazing classroom. Sue, perhaps it's as well you're not a little nearer, for I fear I'd spend so long there, you'd never get rid of me!

We spent most of the morning at the Montana Capitol building, where once again, we were surprised at the unrestricted access we had, never mind the fact that no-one asked to look inside our bags or ask any other security questions. We found a grand interior with an interesting collection of paintings and stained glass, though sadly, the guide's commentary did not take into account our lack of Montana local history! Never mind - we enjoyed the tour and the subsequent tour of Helena itself.

Upon our return to Bozeman, however, I needed to get a pair of shoes repaired and whilst they were being done we browsed the main street where we'd been yesterday. Sure enough, the Yarn and Fiber company were open and able to supply a skein of Mountain Colours yarn for the next pair of socks. But also, next door, we found Reproduction Fabrics where Margo Krager, the owner, was on hand to share her enthusiasm for vintage fabrics. Not only that, but she told us of her longing to visit Manchester to visit mills and other remnants of the cotton industry. My own meagre knowledge was put to shame by her comprehensive textile history and I promised to share some details I have at home upon our return.

She also recommended "The Secret Life of Textiles" of which I had no previous knowledge, but clearly I should investigate further.

Her collection of vintage reproduction fabrics, shelved in chronological order was fascinating. We especially liked her range of indigo prints, formerly UK sourced but now made in South Africa. Due to weight restrictions I had to limit myself to a couple of small bags of samples, but there were many very tempting goodies on those shelves, I can tell you.

So, on to pick up my newly heeled sandals from the cobbler - but no ordinary cobbler this, for we are in cowboy country and the boots for sale in here were rather out of the ordinary. My little white Italian sandals looked a bit forlorn amongst the Western cowboy boots and leather chaps and saddles! But my, did they do a great job!

Bozeman

When we were planning our trip, we sought the advice of good friends, the Valentine sisters, regarding somewhere to stay in Montana. Maggie suggested Bozeman, where she had lived and worked as a Professor at the University of Montana some years ago. Her advice was based on the fact that any university town is likely to offer more in the way of creative vibes and sure enough, Bozeman is an interesting place, growing fast with an upbeat and positive atmosphere.

Perhaps a Sunday morning wasn't the best time to explore. But hey, we had a good potter around and enjoyed peering in shop windows and dropping into the occasional gallery.

The Altitude Gallery was very interesting indeed and we could have easily come away with several pictures for our wall, had it not been for the fact that my luggage has already got a "Heavy" label on it! We especially liked the work of Jane Smithers and found photographs by Dennis Kirkland fascinating.

Just around the corner was a knitting shop. I normally like to highlight the individual shops I visit, because I have googled a placename myself on several occasions and brought up the name of a local store mentioned in a blog somewhere which has fitted the bill exactly. Today, however, I left empty handed and we'll simply move right along, saying no more. I'm hoping to visit The Yarn Shop and Fiber Place tomorrow, where hopefully I'll find some Mountain Colors yarn - a Montana product.

After a great coffee at the Leaf and Bean cafe we hit the road again and pootled to Livingston, site of a railway museum we'd read about. Great place, interesting and set in a fascinating building designed by the same architect as Grand Central Station in New York City, such was the importance of the railway in the early days of Yellowstone.

On the way home, this chap strolled along by the car, fine fellow that he is. We also enjoyed a short stop by this statue of John Shields, a member of the Lewis and Clark team of explorers. What a beautiful setting for a fitting memorial.

 
Supper was an "interesting" pizza at the MacKenzie River Pizza Company which was very good indeed, although we drew the line at mandarin oranges and stuck with pretty conventional toppings!

Yogi was on holiday, however

In some ways, the best wildlife viewing of the day was upon opening the curtains this morning. A moose was browsing along the hedgerow and fortunately I grabbed my camera just as a passing motorist scared it off. Poor thing was quite overcome and darted here and there before disappearing into the brush nearby. But today, we were headed for Yellowstone and another new state for our collection - Wyoming.

The wildlife viewing was good in the National Park too - we saw plenty of bison, deer, elk, a bald eagle and several smaller critters. But it was the landscape which impressed us most, the variety and the immensity of it all.

Of course, we headed for the familiar first, and it showed up right on time. At about 10.45, Old Faithful began to bubble and spit a bit, and then at 10.56 exactly it shot a plume of water into the air, satisfying the hundreds of people sitting in rows waiting for the show. Though it was impressive, it wasn't really the highlight of our day - that was to come later. (We found video podcasts for the park features here)

We made our way to the West Thumb thermal area and loved the colourful pools there. We picnicked in the sulphurous air and chatted to a couple from Boulder, Colorado.

Highlight of the day, without doubt, however, was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. A complete surprise to us, the canyon was not only huge, but gloriously photogenic with the turquoise river contrasting beautifully with the red ochre cliffs and olive green trees. My photographs don't really do it justice - those in my head are the best ones, as always.

We finished our day with a beer and supper at the Montana Ale Works. And very good it was too!

Geography lesson

Today's flights from Chicago to Billings MT, via Denver, were a great opportunity to see the landscape of this vast country.

Leaving Chicago, we could see the mall, IKEA and countless other attractions of nearby Schaumburg.

 

Before long, the landscape opened out into fields,

 

which changed shape and format as we flew West,

 

approaching Denver, the mile-high city, with the Rockies on the horizon.

 

Onward in a smaller plane to Billings, over snow mountains and then

 

finally coming to land on a bluff above the city. You can see the ridge in the photograph and the airport is on the top of it:

 

Montana is quite a contrast to Chicago!

We are now in Bozeman and plan a visit to Yellowstone tomorrow. Yes, Edward, we will take good care of our picnic baskets!!