Diamonds in the rough

Sparkle plenty! Look closely and you see "diamonds" in the crust of this super-tall mound of snow. It's in the parking lot at Chief Joseph Pass, named after the indomitable Nez Percé chief. We cross-country ski on a vast trail system there, maintained, voluntarily, by the Bitterroot Cross-Country Ski Club.

Midweek in March, after warm daytime temperatures and freezing nights, ice crusts the surface of tracks to the warming hut (see its green-metal roof in the distance?) where we've arranged with the U.S. Forest Service to stay -- as "hosts" -- for the night. The ski club grooms and set tracks on Fridays. (That's today! I should go back this weekend.)

Me, in shadow. I stop for the view but also take a new selfie.

This is the view, southeast to the Pioneer Mountains. So pristine and spectacular. And quiet, at 7,000+ feet!!!

We meet up with the Forest Service's Arlene, who's also skied in with a toboggan of supplies for a weekly day-time cleaning of the outhouse (huzzah!) and re-supply of drinking water to the cabin. She agrees to take our picture.

Cheese! From left, Shelley Phillips, Rob Lynn, Alex Shaffer and me. The four of us plan to stay overnight (there are an array of built-in beds with mattresses in a loft above the main cabin floor). Arlene suggests that we pose by the "avalanche" -- a slab of snow that recently slid off of the metal roof.
 

This is the "avalanche" as viewed from inside a covered side porch. No animals, or humans, were harmed in the shooting of this picture.

 

Next day (groggy, after a poor night's sleep for us all -- that second bottle of wine may not have helped), Alex leads the way. Our borrowed toboggan (thanks Heather and Jeff!) is loaded with pillows, covers and a mostly empty cooler and is bungee-corded to his belt. We're skiing away from the cabin and back toward the parking lot. But not before a last stop -- at the amazingly snow-topped outhouse (see below). Whee!...

Whiteout to washout!

This was only the beginning...

...of mountains of snow falling on the Bitterroots (see a mini-mountain plowed to the rear of this alley, with real mountains, behind).

Alex gets his bike out to ride into town on plowed streets and has to plow his own way through our yard.

We decide to take advantage of the extreme snow pack and go high into the mountains to cross-country ski with wonderful new neighbors from Bainbridge Island, Dave Ward and JoAnn Davis.

And who should we meet on a long, wide trail called Broadway? A rather large moose, standing his/her ground. Skiing on both ends of Broadway comes to a stop. Alex creeps forward to get some pictures. Others coming out of the woods from side trails practically run into the moose. Eventually, we all turn around and go other directions because this wonderful beast is planted, nibbling on snowy branches and, apparently, enjoying being out in the open.

Back in town a day or so later, a very fashionable Vicky Bohlig and I ignore more show and go thrift-shop hopping. She's wearing a swingy vintage fur and warmest boots.

This gives me the idea to get my Bill Cunningham on (he's the renowned New York Times street-fashion photographer). I see a girl in town (Hamilton) wearing an adorable knit skirt over her warm tights and under her down jacket. She says she shops for such things at Bob Ward & Sons Sporting Goods in Missoula. I must go.

On another day, I catch a Corvallis High School field trip to our nonprofit Ravalli County Recycling, Inc. It is very cold that day. Most kids -- to my eye -- are adorable and under-dressed.  Then, the weather starts to warm. Montana gets mentioned in a  New York Times headline. Pretty funny, except that it's going up to 52 today. Yikes!

Our side yard is turning into a lake, where there's not pure mush!

Our basement is dry, we're away from the river. But still others are warned about flooding. What a wacky winter everywhere. But here, we rarely get this kind of snow and then this rapid a melt. It's to be in the 50s going into the weekend. At least I'll be able to move my Meyer lemon tree outside for a good washing of its scale-infested leaves. Never a dull moment!

Pok Pok, Portland and other Posts West

In very iffy weather, we drove to Portland, Ore., a couple of weeks ago. We were on the look-out for a camper van, and we'd seen/talked to a dealership outside of Portland specializing in beautifully converted Sprinter vans. But we also wanted a getaway, and Portland provided friends, some gardens (even at this time of year), a nice no-frills B&B and lots and lots of great eating. The pricey camper van turned out to be a bust (but in a good way; we learned a lot and are on our way, we hope, to getting a wonderful alternative. More about that later.) First, some highlights of the trip, starting with Day One...

Mosscicles, anyone? Moss and ice co-mingle on sunny, south-facing slopes as we head west, taking Hwy. 12 over the mountains at Lolo Pass (remember Lolo, from "A River Runs Through It"?).  I read in the newspaper that Hwy. 12 is closed in sections as a result of alternating heavy snow, rain, cold and warming temperatures making for avalanche conditions. We missed that drama, thank goodness.

A magical entry into Washington State, with a dusting of heavy frost or light snow -- or both.

Trees get totally frosted.

Iced foliage galore.

We warm up in a Portland restaurant scene that is beyond fantastic. Actually, we decide that we could eat out every night of the week there and never hit the same restaurant twice, at least, not for an extended period of time. Our bed-and-breakfast (Everett Street Guesthouse) owner has plenty of foodie ideas. After our late (7 p.m.) arrival, she directs us down the street to Luce,  a tiny, welcoming Italian place with delicious homemade pastas, and very decent organic wines -- it is Portlandia, after all.

Liz, left, and Laura -- the Milner sisters -- leave their kids and hubbies at home for the night to join us for dinner at Levant, where Mediterranean experiments continue. Much of what we had was wonderful.  The Milners are daughters of Alex's best friend here in Montana, Kelsey Milner.

Alex and I love the bustling scene at Pok Pok, a top Thai restaurant with a national reputation (Pok Pok press). The Thai-barbecued chicken wings rule! We lunch another day at the Asian restaurant -- Frank's Noodle House.
The noodles are as tasty in their own pencil-thin, hand-pulled way as is Luce's house-made tagliatelle. A foodie friend from St. Louis, meanwhile, suggests we try Beast while were here, but we run out of time. We do get to Ken's Artisan Bakery for soup and sandwich. Divine.

Downtown Portland is cool, if a bit grungy. But maybe that's the point.

It certainly has some wonderful wine shops. We stock up at Vinopolis .

Oh, about that van. We look at Sprinters in Portland and, above, back in Missoula. They have Mercedes engines and when sold as tricked-out Road Treks, they are dreamy, complete with shower and toilet, and way too expensive. In Missoula, we check out empty Sprinter vans and get put in touch with a local guy who builds the internals -- cabinets, kitchenette, bed, etc. But that's not quite what we want, either.

In truth, we've always wanted a VW camper van, ever since we started coming out West together. We see a listing on Facebook ...

...for a 1990 white camper of clean, rust-free body but in need of engine and other work (pictures, above, of similar models). And boom! We realize that if we get something like this and can find the right mechanic/restorer nearby (we did! in Missoula!) we can add some of the luxuries that we came to like with the Road Trek into our own Westfalia. Long story short, we've purchased a powerful rebuilt engine from GoWesty Camper Products and it's to be delivered to our mechanic in a week. We're planning, at this point, on a new pop top, new bumpers, new brakes, new wheels and tires, a slightly raised chassis, an extended awning, new fridge, and more. A thick custom-made, cotton-and-wool futon mattress from Small Wonders Futons is to be the back seat/bed.

I will be photographing this transformation. As I like to say, stay tuned.