Smoke, the sequel

Normally, a drive in the Bitterroot Valley features crystal-clear views of mountains, snow-capped and breathtaking many months of the year.

Breathtaking, however, has another connotation for the moment. The sun often gets clouded by a wall of smoke. Sitting in a neighbor's backyard and watching bits of ash falling around us is not a great feeling, even if the beer and wine are first rate. And occasionally, the smoke can take your breath. The Sawtooth Fire is about 7 miles west of town and not a direct threat (http://inciweb.org/incident/3227/), but it's the fires farther west in parched wilderness that often send thick smoke our way.

So we plan short getaways until rain or the snows of late fall end this annual event. We take a picnic up the notorious old logging road called Skalkaho, looking for higher altitudes and fresher air. The road is improved and widened beyond one lane in spots (still no guard rails to protect from the ravines as we get higher).  But air at Skalkaho Falls -- our destination -- is crisp and clear. The falls is expertly engineered now to run under the road. We meet a guy about our age and his 87-year-old mother from Michigan who loves to travel west each summer. They hand Alex a camera and ask him to take their picture next to the falls. I wish I had taken a picture of that scene; very sweet!

Skalkaho Falls (http://www.waterfallsmontana.com/waterfalls.aspx?id=11)

 On another day, we brave some lesser smoke to catch a last day of the Ravalli County Fair. Carny folks are closing down the rides...

Ravalli County Fair ride

...and we see them on the highway driving north, as we do so, too, to get to a less smoky Missoula for lunch and shopping.

Lunch outside, at Caffé Dolce (http://www.caffedolcemissoula.com/)

It seems only appropriate that, at The Good Food store in Missoula (very much like Whole Foods elsewhere), we find a coffee just right for this interesting and unpredictable region of the country:

Smoke Jumper coffee beans, at http://www.goodfoodstore.com/