Visiting Mom and Nic - Montana

 (Again - I am avoiding politics. Well, and news in general here. Plenty of places for anger.)

Eddie and I visited my mom and Nic this past few days. We did a lot of things before that, but let's start with them. They live up in Montana. There is a house in the pictures. My mom and Nic built it. 

Not as in, "they had it built", but as in they did it themselves. They worked on it for at least 3 years. They hired a plumber and an electrician, but they did everything else. And, if you knew my mom, you would be amazed at this. statement :-).

Ed in the woods nearby on a hike

Me, on the hike

The brook (Bear Creek) along the hike.

Me and my mom and the house they built.

Nic - my mom's husband, and the shed he built.

Eddie and mom

This is their new pup, Koda, 8 months old, and she loved us.

They live in the hills and had to clear the land where the house is built. They live in the Bitterroot Valley. The Bitterroot River is where they filmed "A River Runs Through It." Which give me a chance to post an image of Brad Pitt during his dreamy phase.

A point about Fly Fishing. We drove by lots of rivers in Montana and Wyoming. In nearly all of them, there were fly fishermen, standing in the water in waders. I guess the trout are traveling back to their mating grounds, and this is the time to fish the rivers.

The Bitterroot River is home to both native and introduced trout species, including Westslope Cutthroat Trout, Bull Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, and Brook Trout. The river is a popular fishing destination known for its variety of aquatic insects and the diverse trout population, with Westslope Cutthroat being a native species that dominates the upper sections.