BIG SKY COUNTRY ONCE AGAIN!
Paradise Valley Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Stunning, isn't it? Just a couple of weeks ago, Jim and I flew to Bozeman, Montana, to see our son, Alec a graduate student in solar physics at Montana State University. It was my second trip to a place whose mountains surely must have inspired the lyrics, "For purple mountain majesties--" Well, not quite: it was Colorado's Pikes Peak that sparked Wellesley professor Katharine Lee Bates when she penned America The Beautiful. But what the hey? Montana's Granite Peak and Pikes Peak are part of that same range, the magnificent Rocky Mountains. While Bozeman is one of the world's premier places to study solar physics (MSU), it is also the premier place to view multiple mountain ranges--the Gallatins, Bitterroot, Tobacco Root, and the Absaroka, to name some.
Paradise Found
Alec and Kezia took Jim and me on drive through Paradise Valley. This gorgeous place was forged by tectonic plates and made habitable by the Yellowstone river. And then there were horses, too!
Quarter Horses Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Deer Haven Ranch Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Deer Haven Palomino Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
I couldn't imagine a place I'd rather be. Isn't that just how you should feel when you've entered Paradise?
A number of ranches had various livestock--horses, cattle, llamas, and flocks of sheep with one or two donkeys standing sentry duty against any lamb-loving predators.
Herd Along Road Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Palomino/Grey Quarter Horses Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Cattle Drive
We had an actual destination on this remarkable drive, Chico Hot Springs, but just before we got there we were halted in our tire tracks by this:
Moving Cattle Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
A cattle drive! Not one that goes on for miles but something like the real thing. These cattle were probably just changing pastures yet it was exciting to me. This was the first time I'd seen a border collie working cattle. The dog clearly loved his work, and was he trained! He responded like lightning to the various whistles the cowboy and cowgirl made. I jumped out of the car camera in hand:
Border
Collie and
Cattle
Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Working the cattle Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Herding through the gate Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
And there was time for a pat:
A Cowboy And His Dog Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Chico Hot Springs
Back in the car we drove the short distance to Chico. Dating back to the 1860s, its clients were primarily miners who came to soothe their aching bones. I grabbed a brochure at the front desk of the lodge. The first sentence introducing their hot springs read: "Chico Hot Springs would not be Chico Hot Springs without our natural hot springs pool." The multiple uses of the phrase "hot springs" must be for emphasis.
But now Chico hosts bathers from near and far, and from all walks of life. Many stay overnight in the lodge, conveniently located a short thirty miles from Yellowstone National Park. Of course, no one at the resort would be contemplating a trip there at the time of this writing. As this blog goes out, all national parks are closed due to the government shut-down. Congress floated a proposal that would allow state governments to open national parks within their borders if they picked up the tab. Wyoming and Montana governors said no way, so Yellowstone is as it once was, a place for creatures great and small, but not people.
To get to the hot springs pool we had to pass through the luncheon grille restaurant and the "The Cavity Cave," a shop that offers all sorts of toothsome treats. We were going to one of Kez's favorite local restaurants after our soak, so I remained strong. We changed into our bathing suits and immersed ourselves in the comforting warmth of Mother Earth's many huge hot springs. The water was 96 degrees (35.5C). Though, as a child, I did all my swimming at New York's Jones Beach, a tour of duty in Hawaii wrecked any tolerance I have for water under 76F (24C). So, this was great, but what was even greater was the neighboring smaller pool fed by a different spring. That was 106F (41C).
Hot springs have long been thought to be therapeutic but there is no scientific evidence that this is the case. Nevertheless, Chico sure made us feel better. These pools are open all year round, and I would love to soak during a snowfall. I had this pleasure once with Alec and Jim in Stowe, Vermont, but the pool was artificially heated so there was an incredibly high energy cost to seeing those great white flakes disappear into the chlorinated and tolerably warm water. A soak in Chico's springs was guilt-free--and warmer!
Chico's offering didn't stop with its hot springs. In winter you can go dog-sledding, in summer rafting or horseback riding. Before we left Kez and I took a peek at the stables. What we saw was in sharp contrast to the happy horses in their Paradise Valley pastures and the two horses working cattle:
Some of these animals were standing on gravel, pieces of which can get wedged between a horse's hoof and its show. Other horses stood on what surely had to be several months of accumulated manure. That needed to be front-loaded out of there and replaced with sand for health and comfort. A number of horses had hooves that cried out for a farrier.
Chico Appaloosa Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
I left a note about the conditions at the front desk. I later learned that the stable and its horses had been bought recently by a young couple. Perhaps they are in the process of improving conditions. I hope so.
While at the front desk I noticed Chico Hot Springs shares a zip code with a nearby town called Pray. A name like that begs to be Googled. This is what I found out. Pray (pop. 681) wasn't named so because its citizens had prayed to ward off some disaster, nor were they particularly reverent. Pray was named in the early twentieth century after Judge Nelson Pray. Why? The enterprising townsfolk knew Mr. Pray was in charge of approving new post offices. In the early 20th century people living in the vicinity wanted to cash in on the increased tourism in nearby Yellowstone. Unfortunately, a bigger, more direct road was built to the Park and Pray fell upon hard times. However, it is the continued political connections of Pray that have allowed the town to maintain its post office and zip code despite its economic decline. Additionally, I was told that Montana politicians don't want to deprive a town called Pray of its earthly communication.
Here's another little piece of news I learned about five-acre Pray. It will be auctioned off with a starting price 1.4 million dollars. The current owner Barbara Walker is weary of wearing so many hats--postmistress, mayor, landlord, garbage collector, and dog catcher. There is a general store, a small trailer park, and, of course, the post office. She's hoping to take her money and start a billiard school in Bozeman.
Off To Lunch
The Old Saloon Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Here you see Kez chatting with some Old Saloon regulars.
"You picked a very bad time to come in here." Wrestling a strand of Halloween lights was obviously taxing this lone employee's patience, not to mention his maitre d' skills. One reason Kez chose this place was the woman who usually ran it, but she was not there that day. Oh well, the hamburgers were delicious, and Kez thoughtfully punched in a Joni Mitchell tune for me on the jukebox. This large, mounted square of blue and green light coupled with its digital keyboard was so incredibly different from the jukebox my brothers and I regularly played at a general store in the town of Ronkonkoma on Long Island. My father always stopped there on our way back from swimming at either Montauk or one of the Hamptons. We got three plays for a quarter and it was pure magic to see the little metal lasso travel down the line of forty fives and select the correct one. I could even hear the sound of the vinyl record, by then out of sight, when it dropped onto the turntable. "Travelin' Man", "Telstar," and "Blue Moon" were our favorites. The jukebox in the Old Saloon--built over a hundred years ago--sported an advanced computer touchscreen a yard or more high and at least two feet across.
By the way, do you know who put the "juke" in jukebox? No one is exactly sure, but the word "juke" or "joog" itself comes from the Gullah language. So who are the Gullahs? They're descendants of African slaves who inhabit some of the coastal plains and islands of Georgia and South Carolina. And the Gullah language? It is English-based but with many African words, sentence structure, and grammar. The word "juke" in Gullah means disorderly, rowdy or wicked. That, doubtless, was the attitude of the older set when jukeboxes made their debut in the 1940's.
For your listening pleasure here is a YouTube I found of a lady from South Carolina speaking in Gullah:
If any of you understood any of this, hats off to you! And please send the translation. I could only understand the odd word.
Meanwhile, back to Montana, where deer, buffalo, and so many other creatures roam. Here's a little humor that was hanging on the wall of the Old Saloon. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what part of a poor elks's anatomy this crazy critter is:
Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
At the Old Saloon they haven't yet got word regarding gender equality for humans or horses. The following sign directs one to open the appropriate toilet door:
Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
In addition to burgers, fries, fish, and deserts, the menu also offered a "Filly Cheese Steak Sandwich." All words that begin with the letters "Ph" are Greek in origin. "F" words--and here I mean all common "F" words--are Latin in origin. Of course, they both sound the same, and of course, the Old Saloon is really referring to the Philly Steak Sandwich. At least, I hope it is, or I'm calling the Montana Humane Society.
The next entry will continue with our Montana sojourn and include a visit with a former astronaut, a beautiful bass player playing in a captivating concert, a wayward llama, and some heart-warming details I learned about the ranch, Deer Haven Ranch, that owns the lovely horses in the first six photos of this entry.
See you then, and thank you for reading The Windflower
Weekly --
Ainslie
Sources:
http://www.chicohotsprings.com/hot-springs
http://www.makeitmissoula.com/2012/06/missoula-news-buy-pray-montana-auction/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukebox
http://www.ultimategullah.com/culture.html
Links:
http://www.deerhavenranch.net/
http://www.alfeldstein.com/
Stunning, isn't it? Just a couple of weeks ago, Jim and I flew to Bozeman, Montana, to see our son, Alec a graduate student in solar physics at Montana State University. It was my second trip to a place whose mountains surely must have inspired the lyrics, "For purple mountain majesties--" Well, not quite: it was Colorado's Pikes Peak that sparked Wellesley professor Katharine Lee Bates when she penned America The Beautiful. But what the hey? Montana's Granite Peak and Pikes Peak are part of that same range, the magnificent Rocky Mountains. While Bozeman is one of the world's premier places to study solar physics (MSU), it is also the premier place to view multiple mountain ranges--the Gallatins, Bitterroot, Tobacco Root, and the Absaroka, to name some.
Paradise Found
Alec and Kezia took Jim and me on drive through Paradise Valley. This gorgeous place was forged by tectonic plates and made habitable by the Yellowstone river. And then there were horses, too!
Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
I couldn't imagine a place I'd rather be. Isn't that just how you should feel when you've entered Paradise?
A number of ranches had various livestock--horses, cattle, llamas, and flocks of sheep with one or two donkeys standing sentry duty against any lamb-loving predators.
Cattle Drive
We had an actual destination on this remarkable drive, Chico Hot Springs, but just before we got there we were halted in our tire tracks by this:
A cattle drive! Not one that goes on for miles but something like the real thing. These cattle were probably just changing pastures yet it was exciting to me. This was the first time I'd seen a border collie working cattle. The dog clearly loved his work, and was he trained! He responded like lightning to the various whistles the cowboy and cowgirl made. I jumped out of the car camera in hand:
And there was time for a pat:
A Cowboy And His Dog Ainslie Sheridan copyright 2013
Chico Hot Springs
Back in the car we drove the short distance to Chico. Dating back to the 1860s, its clients were primarily miners who came to soothe their aching bones. I grabbed a brochure at the front desk of the lodge. The first sentence introducing their hot springs read: "Chico Hot Springs would not be Chico Hot Springs without our natural hot springs pool." The multiple uses of the phrase "hot springs" must be for emphasis.
But now Chico hosts bathers from near and far, and from all walks of life. Many stay overnight in the lodge, conveniently located a short thirty miles from Yellowstone National Park. Of course, no one at the resort would be contemplating a trip there at the time of this writing. As this blog goes out, all national parks are closed due to the government shut-down. Congress floated a proposal that would allow state governments to open national parks within their borders if they picked up the tab. Wyoming and Montana governors said no way, so Yellowstone is as it once was, a place for creatures great and small, but not people.
To get to the hot springs pool we had to pass through the luncheon grille restaurant and the "The Cavity Cave," a shop that offers all sorts of toothsome treats. We were going to one of Kez's favorite local restaurants after our soak, so I remained strong. We changed into our bathing suits and immersed ourselves in the comforting warmth of Mother Earth's many huge hot springs. The water was 96 degrees (35.5C). Though, as a child, I did all my swimming at New York's Jones Beach, a tour of duty in Hawaii wrecked any tolerance I have for water under 76F (24C). So, this was great, but what was even greater was the neighboring smaller pool fed by a different spring. That was 106F (41C).
Hot springs have long been thought to be therapeutic but there is no scientific evidence that this is the case. Nevertheless, Chico sure made us feel better. These pools are open all year round, and I would love to soak during a snowfall. I had this pleasure once with Alec and Jim in Stowe, Vermont, but the pool was artificially heated so there was an incredibly high energy cost to seeing those great white flakes disappear into the chlorinated and tolerably warm water. A soak in Chico's springs was guilt-free--and warmer!
Chico's offering didn't stop with its hot springs. In winter you can go dog-sledding, in summer rafting or horseback riding. Before we left Kez and I took a peek at the stables. What we saw was in sharp contrast to the happy horses in their Paradise Valley pastures and the two horses working cattle:
Some of these animals were standing on gravel, pieces of which can get wedged between a horse's hoof and its show. Other horses stood on what surely had to be several months of accumulated manure. That needed to be front-loaded out of there and replaced with sand for health and comfort. A number of horses had hooves that cried out for a farrier.
I left a note about the conditions at the front desk. I later learned that the stable and its horses had been bought recently by a young couple. Perhaps they are in the process of improving conditions. I hope so.
While at the front desk I noticed Chico Hot Springs shares a zip code with a nearby town called Pray. A name like that begs to be Googled. This is what I found out. Pray (pop. 681) wasn't named so because its citizens had prayed to ward off some disaster, nor were they particularly reverent. Pray was named in the early twentieth century after Judge Nelson Pray. Why? The enterprising townsfolk knew Mr. Pray was in charge of approving new post offices. In the early 20th century people living in the vicinity wanted to cash in on the increased tourism in nearby Yellowstone. Unfortunately, a bigger, more direct road was built to the Park and Pray fell upon hard times. However, it is the continued political connections of Pray that have allowed the town to maintain its post office and zip code despite its economic decline. Additionally, I was told that Montana politicians don't want to deprive a town called Pray of its earthly communication.
Here's another little piece of news I learned about five-acre Pray. It will be auctioned off with a starting price 1.4 million dollars. The current owner Barbara Walker is weary of wearing so many hats--postmistress, mayor, landlord, garbage collector, and dog catcher. There is a general store, a small trailer park, and, of course, the post office. She's hoping to take her money and start a billiard school in Bozeman.
Off To Lunch
Here you see Kez chatting with some Old Saloon regulars.
"You picked a very bad time to come in here." Wrestling a strand of Halloween lights was obviously taxing this lone employee's patience, not to mention his maitre d' skills. One reason Kez chose this place was the woman who usually ran it, but she was not there that day. Oh well, the hamburgers were delicious, and Kez thoughtfully punched in a Joni Mitchell tune for me on the jukebox. This large, mounted square of blue and green light coupled with its digital keyboard was so incredibly different from the jukebox my brothers and I regularly played at a general store in the town of Ronkonkoma on Long Island. My father always stopped there on our way back from swimming at either Montauk or one of the Hamptons. We got three plays for a quarter and it was pure magic to see the little metal lasso travel down the line of forty fives and select the correct one. I could even hear the sound of the vinyl record, by then out of sight, when it dropped onto the turntable. "Travelin' Man", "Telstar," and "Blue Moon" were our favorites. The jukebox in the Old Saloon--built over a hundred years ago--sported an advanced computer touchscreen a yard or more high and at least two feet across.
By the way, do you know who put the "juke" in jukebox? No one is exactly sure, but the word "juke" or "joog" itself comes from the Gullah language. So who are the Gullahs? They're descendants of African slaves who inhabit some of the coastal plains and islands of Georgia and South Carolina. And the Gullah language? It is English-based but with many African words, sentence structure, and grammar. The word "juke" in Gullah means disorderly, rowdy or wicked. That, doubtless, was the attitude of the older set when jukeboxes made their debut in the 1940's.
For your listening pleasure here is a YouTube I found of a lady from South Carolina speaking in Gullah:
If any of you understood any of this, hats off to you! And please send the translation. I could only understand the odd word.
Meanwhile, back to Montana, where deer, buffalo, and so many other creatures roam. Here's a little humor that was hanging on the wall of the Old Saloon. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what part of a poor elks's anatomy this crazy critter is:
At the Old Saloon they haven't yet got word regarding gender equality for humans or horses. The following sign directs one to open the appropriate toilet door:
In addition to burgers, fries, fish, and deserts, the menu also offered a "Filly Cheese Steak Sandwich." All words that begin with the letters "Ph" are Greek in origin. "F" words--and here I mean all common "F" words--are Latin in origin. Of course, they both sound the same, and of course, the Old Saloon is really referring to the Philly Steak Sandwich. At least, I hope it is, or I'm calling the Montana Humane Society.
The next entry will continue with our Montana sojourn and include a visit with a former astronaut, a beautiful bass player playing in a captivating concert, a wayward llama, and some heart-warming details I learned about the ranch, Deer Haven Ranch, that owns the lovely horses in the first six photos of this entry.
See you then, and thank you for reading The Windflower
Weekly --
Ainslie
Sources:
http://www.chicohotsprings.com/hot-springs
http://www.makeitmissoula.com/2012/06/missoula-news-buy-pray-montana-auction/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jukebox
http://www.ultimategullah.com/culture.html
Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Trophies-An-Equestrian-Romance-ebook/dp/B00998J2B2
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-kaleidoscope-pony-ainslie-sheridan/1114272809?ean=2940015948592
http://www.allhorsestuff.com/
http://www.facebook.com/YonkersShelterhttp://www.saveyourassrescue.org/foradoptio//www.rubysvoiceequine.com/index.asp http://www.deerhavenranch.net/
http://www.alfeldstein.com/
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