Wow, September is Right Around the Corner

Can't believe how time is flying by.  We have watched the smoke waft in and now thankfully it is mostly gone.  We had a big fire only 15 miles away that brought in a fire fighting team that set up across the road from us, but luckily we had a bunch of pouring rain that put the fire out and the team left for other sites.  The smoke in the air made for a neat sunrise.

We've been fishing like crazy, and doing fairly well, always makes it a bit more fun.

Warm enough to wet wade

Got him!

Just being out here is worth it.
Mom and her fawn moving through in the morning

We've had some awesome coffee spots, both high up on some overlooks and also right down on the river.

We replaced our sewer dump valves, it seems their life is about 5 years before they start to leak.  A fairly easy job, a little messy, and a little challenging to hold everything in place while getting the bolts in so the gaskets line up.

The new valves

One in and one to go

All done, black on the left and gray on the right

We got our replacement flag pole and quickly got our flag flying again.

I wanted to share some artwork present in the campground.  No, we don't understand it, but all this was done with spray cans of paint in no particular order that we could detect.  And it seems to be a work in progress as each day something else gets painted, a step stool, a trash can, etc. If you know what this is or means, please let me know.  No we didn't ask the artist:-)

Impressive, right?

I have been thinking about the different responses to the virus.  I read several forums and several blogs and there is a contingency of folks that have shut down all their travel plans this year due to the virus.  I have shared some of our observations as we go into different states as to how they each have responded.  Here in Montana there is a state wide mandated mask policy so if you go into a building you must wear a mask.  It actually makes it easy in my opinion.  And I would say participation is about 90%.  Montana allows dining in, which I am not ready to do personally, but it seems to be fairly distanced.  We still try to get take out a couple times a week.  But what I am getting to is all the RV parks we have seen and visited are Packed!  I have been reading where RV sales are off the charts, funny, on one hand I read people aren't traveling, but then we see all the parks full?!?  In actuality RV's are perfect social distancers, you are "quarantined" in your own rig, anyone you interact with is outside, and you usually distance anyway.  We have read where certain places and states are quite vocal in keeping outsiders and out of staters the heck out of their areas, but we haven't experienced any animosity or gotten any strange or hostile looks with our out of state plates, don't know if that would be true in all places though.  And there are lots of out of state plates here.  Also reading the paper and the news online, I read where house prices are rising everywhere, sellers markets everywhere, but unemployment is off the chart, people are hurting economically, yet buying houses everywhere ???   Just poking around here in little Ennis, property is expensive and selling like crazy, I'm sure here it is mostly retirees, but it can't be everywhere.   How does this add up?  Each person has to find their own comfort zone in this unsettled time.  We have definitely altered our normal activities, and I guess you could say saved money from not eating out constantly:-)  Just some Bill musings.

But all is good with the smoke leaving and the fish biting.

We got our view back

And even if we aren't eating out so much,
we are eating well.
Bison ribeyes, it's what's for dinner!