2/02/2007


The Weather Makes A "Point" At Our Western Montana Lodge

No matter how we hold our mouths, or how many times we ask, we just can't seem to get much in the way of snow this winter. However, what we've lacked in snow, we've made up for in COLD!

It continues to be cold - day after day. Of course we get LOTS of sunshine. And, sunshine at this elevation is pretty powerful, but even a bright sunny day can still be cold if the temperature is much below zero.

For example, the week before last (Jan 18th - 25th), after a couple of weeks of extremely cold (even for here) weather, we managed to get to 35.4 degrees ABOVE zero for our highest temperature (on the 25th). But that same night we reached -8.3 below zero which was our coldest temperature for the week.

Compare that to this past week (Jan 26th - Feb 1st) where we've only reached 17.2 degrees above zero (less than half of our high for the previous week) on the 30th with a low the next night of -22.9 below. The next coldest night that week was on the 28th with a low of -20.0. That's better than 3 times farther below zero than the previous week.

So, as large sections of the rest of the country talk about cold, with temperature hovering around the freezing mark or just below - we strive to keep the pipes in the shower house unthawed and the lodge above 55 degrees.

Lest one think this is all complaint - it really isn't complaint at all. Oh, I admit, snow would be very welcome (considering our last measureable snowfall was on the 20th of January - and that only measured about 3"), and a little warmer temps wouldn't be too bad either (although with the mercury staying below 25 degrees the vast majority of the time, we've managed to hold onto most of the snow which has fallen). However, even the cold doesn't make life any less beautiful or interesting back here in the middle of nowhere.

We still have regular visits from moose. Wednesday and Thursday morning we had a bull, a cow, and a calf munching on the willows by the old barn. Thursday afternoon Craig saw a nice big bull - with impressive antlers still attached - at the end of the lake. This morning the cow and calf were down by the ranch house, pleasantly munching away.

Funny things - moose. I'd expect a cow with calf to be more aggressive toward the dogs than a bull on his own. However, bulls are definitely more touchy, more territorial, and easier to irritate. (Hum. Does this have any tie to humans? Certainly not! :-)

Cold or not - life is good at Elk Lake Resort. We continue to get regular visits from the outside world. We continue to enjoy incredible scenic vistas out our front window. We continue to experience daily wildlife sightings (Craig saw a fox a couple of mornings ago down by the boat house.) Life is good!

Lady of the Lake

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