Here is an early morning visit to Wild Horse Island State Park with Captain Wayne J. Anderson at the helm.
You can watch this full screen and increase its resolution to 1080p HD
(the two icons in the lower right hand corner).
Wild Horse Island Loop Trail
Skeeko Bay has a trailhead for a 3 mile loop hike. From the lake, it rises gradually through an old-growth Ponderosa Pine forest …
to a hill top with a, primarily, southern view. There are remnants of the island’s earlier residents here.
An optional spur trail leaves the loop and steeply climbs to an panoramic overlook, revealing the lake north, west, and, south.
The little sailboat haven town of Dayton can be seen off in the distance.
The loop trail then gradually drops back down through another valley and another old-growth Ponderosa forest. Eventually, it rejoins the eastern shore of Skeeko Bay.
Spring On Flathead Lake
During the winter months, the lake’s level is dropped about 10 feet. This is near its pre-dam natural level. The lower water level enables better management of the rapid spring mountain melt-off. Here is a short time-lapse—filmed from the dock of good friends—of a Flathead Lake spring evening.
BTW, the two waterfowl that make brief appearances are loons.
You can watch this full screen and increase its resolution to 1080p HD
(the two icons in the lower right hand corner).
Flathead Lake
Here is a video of Flathead Lake that I made a few years ago. It shows off the lake pretty well and it may help you understand why it is so loved.
Trivia: Oprah picked up some of our Flathead Lake footage for her voice-over on a Super Soul Sunday episode about Montana native, Phil Jackson:
Plastigoop
With Christmas approaching and gifts for grandkids on my mind, I was reminded of the toys available when I was a kid. Some of them would be thought of as dangerous by today’s standards. One such toy—that I never received but was always at the top of my list—was the Thingmaker. In those days, it was basically a 400° hot plate (what could go wrong there?). In later years, I believe that Mattel replaced it with some benign light bulb heating mechanism—and even that was behind a “safety door.” Yet they still have the gall to call it a Thingmaker. Really? Please.
Regardless, I am pretty certain that price, not its inherent perils, was why I never got one. Those were the days before seat belts and bike helmets, after all, when just getting out of bed in the morning was risky. Fair enough though. Thingmakers were relatively expensive back in 1964 and my parents were not exactly flush.
If you are interested in such things as Plastigoop (or old enough to even know what it is), I have a Thingmaker story in my book, Searching for Alpha Centauri: A Boyhood Memoir, that you might enjoy. Here is an audio excerpt:
Deck Cam Sunrise: Autumn
As we enter fall, Flathead Lake tends to have more low cloud banks in the early morning. When the light breaks through, it can make for some stunning sunrise colors.