Sled Dog Huskies

This guy built "doggie condos" for his huskies; he takes people on dog sled rides outside Whitefish; he brings them into town whenever there is some kind of winter carnival or celebration, which is often here; he can transport about 15 dogs, each in their own little doggie condo; huskies are beautiful animals and love to pull sleds

Snowboarding

You see as many snowboarders on slopes as regular skis; mostly younger set; your ski bindings are perpendicular to board, so not something I am going to attempt; these boards will have beautiful paint jobs on them, very colorful; unlike regular skis, where it would be unusual to fall forward face first, that is much easier to do on snowboards

Going Up to Ski

Ski lift chairs going up to top of ski slopes; trees completely covered with snow, called "snow ghosts"; gets very cold going up on these lifts, hand warmers and feet warmers are good things to have; top of lifts about 6800 feet elevation, normally about 10 degrees colder than down at bottom

Cross Country Skiing Buddies

Cross country skiing (called Nordic skiing) on Whitefish Golf Courses; trails go along two courses; Nordic skiing is like hiking on skis, really aerobic exercise; only toe part of your feet are clicked into skis, heel part of feet free to move up and down as you are "striding" along trails; my German companions are Renee and Renate (Bob Lund's wife); I am tutoring Renee's son in math and algebra two nights a week; I like Alpine (downhill) skiing better than Nordic, but Nordic gives you more of an aerobic workout; skiing technique is quite different between the two styles

Yum, Yum

If it is any kind of potential food, Riley will smell it out and track it down; he found part of deer leg in woods on one of our trips; here he is enjoying his find; you would think that I never fed him!

Riley in Winter Wonderland

Riley will go exploring wherever we go; whenever I go snow shoeing most anywhere, Riley can be off leash and have a ball; if I go four miles, he will probably go about six miles; he has become mascot of RV park, everybody loves him

Snow Angel

Riley is saying "Help, my human buddy has fallen and can't get up"; I was making snow angel while snow shoeing at Stillwater Cross Country Ski Trails, just outside Whitefish; soon after this, I had Riley groomed, to shorten his fur; he was getting ice balls in his fur on these outings; after that, he was fine, has never seemed to be bothered by snow, ice or cold at all -- in fact, seems to love it all

Winter Begins in Whitefish

Snow falling on my truck and RV at my RV site; one of first things I had to do upon arriving in MT, was to get prepared to winterize my home before winter hit; my friend and good neighbor, Bob Lund, got me through it; main thing was wrapping water supply hose with heat tape and insulation, to prevent freezing; after a few frozen hoses, figured it out and was fine; getting 250 gallon propane tank delivered to me was next; my two furnaces run off propane to heat interior, so that was certainly important; I keep my interior temp at about 60 degrees and believe it or not, that is quite comfortable; use small electric heater and big blanket at night

Skiers Sign

Common sign at top of ski lifts; "unloading" involves getting ready to exit ski lift chair when you get to top of ski slope; ski tips up, ready to push away from chair at right moment, keeping your balance, getting your ski poles out of way, making sure no loose clothing gets caught in chair; perfect place for beginners, like me, to fall down and sometimes force lift operator to stop ski lift; I learned quickly, but before I did, I had one ride up where I fell out of chair right at beginning and then again at top! No damage, just little embarrasing

Snow Shoeing on Big Mountain

Tried to put little dog booties on Riley, they lasted about ten seconds, waste of time; this is my friend James (MT truck driver); snow shoeing is easier than I thought, although can be quite strenuous; we are hiking up on Big Mountain above Whitefish, where ski resort is located; we are snow shoeing on a cross country ski trail up there; snow shoers are asked to try to stay to outsides of ski trails, so as not to mess up the ski "grooves" used a lot by cross country skiers

Sasquatch Found in Whitefish

Many people have sought the elusive Yeti/Sasquatch/Bigfoot for many years; how unusual that it would finally show up right here in Whitefish RV Campground; the creature has hung around for many, many weeks, but seems to be sick, as it is losing lot of weight here recently; temps in upper 30s may be responsible

Creatures of Montana

White Tail doe eats from bird feeder, while wild turkeys gather ground food, squirrels are probably nearby; talked to people who have eaten these wild turkeys, consensus is that they are terrible

Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park

Lake McDonald, largest lake within park, is in SW part of GNP; it is more than ten miles long; famous Going to the Sun Road runs beside it; entire road (about 55 miles) is only open about four months of every year, usually closing around mid-September and not reopening until around mid-May, depending on snow and ice; great time to do some snow shoeing and hiking, hardly anyone there

White Tail Buck in RV Camp

Typical day/night scene in our campground; have seen as many as ten deer (mostly does) at one time, right across from my campsite; I have to be careful to have Riley on leash whenever deer are around, he would chase them; often, there are both deer and wild turkeys and squirrels together, seemingly not bothered by each other

Young Montana Skier

Would you believe that here in Whitefish, MT, you will see young skiers beginning as early as three years old! What could you do at three years old? I even heard one kid, who had to be less than five, yell at his skiing buddy "you ski like a two year old"; it can sure be depressing when you are passed on the slopes by three or four kids, all of whom are under five years old; they are fearless, not afraid of falling, having great fun and not too worried about their "form"; of course, when they do fall, they do not have far to go; you will see these youngsters getting trained by instructors and parents; a hula hoop might be used to corral the young skier, sometimes a rope to control them, sometimes kid will literally be skiing between feet of parents, with parents holding them up; often you will see a "worm" on their skis, which is a way of tying the front of the skis close together, so that kid is always in a somewhat "snow plow" position, which prevents them from going too fast; it is absolutely amazing, fascinating and inspiring to watch all these youngsters skiing and snow boarding