Bats!!

I know, I've heard...a single bat can eat over 600 insects a day. And in a part of the country where blood sucking mosquitoes can run rampant that's got to be a good thing, right?  Well, if that statistic is true, over 60,000 insects a night are being consumed right here at the lodge, because we have hundreds of bats flying around our heads outside every evening. The good news is that neither Marie nor I have had a mosquito bite since we arrived at Elk Lake. 

Bats in the great outdoors don't really bother me or Marie either.  Zoe could care less. But the bats are not confined to the outdoors, unfortunately.  At least every other night we have a bat that has managed to find its way into the lodge itself.  It will fly around and around and if we are downstairs we are continuously buzz-bombed by the little beast who is probably as scared of the potential for a life altering contact as we are.

They are very small, brown and apparently can fit into a hole the size of a dime. I think I have identified the little critters from amoung the 15 species of bats that live in Montana (it's the biologist in me). They are the Little Brown Myotis whose common name is conveniently the little brown bat.  

This is one of the little buggers on the inside of a window screen in the dining room of the lodge (no guests around, fortunately). Soon after this picture was taken, we captured it and released it outside.

They have found their way into the lodge attic and rafters and can actually be observed emerging from under a log beam after the sun goes down. Jake has been battling these guys for some time.  He sprays insulating foam in spots where he thinks they are getting into the rafters and built a couple of tubes with little revolving doors so the bats can get out but not back in (in theory.). 

One of Jake's "bat traps."

He has not tried dynamite yet, but the hilarious comparison of Jake and his bats to Bill Murray and his golphers in Caddy Shack are unmistakable.

They really appear to be harmless.  They can be flying all around you and never come close to touching you. The lodge actually has bat houses on both sides of the building where the little dudes can sleep and breed.  Bats are mostly a boon to the ecosystem.

So here's the ultimate experience we have had so far with the little guys.  Last night a bat found its way into our bedroom!  Our room is very small, about ten feet square. So when there is an animal with a nine inch wingspan flying erratically around the heads of two humans and one dog, there is not much room for error.  Fortunately I was able to capture him (her?) in a towel and hustle the little dude outside. Sure did get the blood flowing, I want to tell you.

Batsky checking out the vino.

Mountain storms and other cool stuff

We have been besieged by a series of mountain storms for the past several days.  They are quite different than those that we frequently experience back home.  Usually there is a lot of very loud thunder and occasionally bolts of irredescent lightning. And it is so loud...it sounds like it is very close.  And maybe, in that we are at 6500 feet elevation, it really is closer.

Zoe doesn't like the thunder. She finds a small dark place to hide while she waits out the serenade.  For now that place is the cubbyhole of a closet in what we call our bedroom (more on our accommodations in a later blog) . Her reaction is essentially the same as it is for the weeks on both ends of the Fourth of July where people on all sides of our home in Bremerton set of thousands of dollars worth of illegal pyrotechnics. She apparently is not a fan of window rattling, chest thumping wall bending consussions.  Who is?

So far, one of the great aspects of this adventure is meeting all sorts of interesting people from all over the continent. Our current group of guests is a family of 26 people that holds a reunion every three years.  They come from all over the country, driving from New York, Minnesota, Nebraska and many other states.  Ages range from a baby to the seventies. Lots of fun.  They are having a great time and say this is the best reunion ever.  And they are loving the food. We make really REALLY good food.

Zoe gets to make new friends as well. The current group brought a seven month old Border Collie/Australian Shepard named Jethro.  Jethro is a wild child who needs a job. Zoe is a very fast runner but Jethro is an entirely different league.  Zoe will be chasing a ball at full gallop and Jethro will be literally running circles around her, seemingly trying to herd her somewhere.

I don't think Zoe likes to be herded.

Jethro on the hunt.

Did I say tell you yet that the food is really REALLY good? Last night was barbequer ribs, chicken, BBQ beans (by yours truly) , cole slaw made by Marie that people are still raving about, homemade breads and several desserts. Tonight is prime rib, salmon and several sides.  Marie made a blueberry peach crumble that looks and smells delish. Jake is a barbeque-er par excellence and Laurel is the head chef and an unbelievable baker.  Her cinnamon rolls, breads and other treats are to die for.  But she makes sure we all get a chance to cook as well.

Marie prepping something for dinner.

Ralph and Mary working in the kitchen.

Zoe

Our biggest concern has been how would Zoe respond to all these changes? Long drives, hotel rooms, a new dog (hopefully) friend, new sleeping arrangements, etc.  and then when we get here we learn that Zoe must stay outside during the day, roaming unsupervised over many acres of land.  She can only come into the lodge when she is with us going upstairs to our bedroom where she sleeps. We try to check in with her often but sometimes it is so busy that she is alone for long periods.

The first day she would spend time whining outside the doors or an open screen window where she could hear our voices.  She snuck into the lodge several times - we have learned she is quite skilled at using her nose to accomplish this.  Although she is learning her boundaries, this morning she came sauntering into a packed, action-filled kitchen only to be met by a  cacophonous chorus of "Zoe, get out." She'll learn. This is, after all, only day two.

Jake and Laurel have a dog as well, Canella a 12 year old boxer/pit blend. She is real sweet and is usually found lying in the shade with a tennis ball in her mouth.  Marie and I brought 3 tubes of tennis balls because we knew that we would need them with Zoe, who will chase a ball all day, and Canella who perpetually has a ball in ber mouth, much reminiscent of WC Fields and his ever present stogie. I don't think we brought enough.

Canella in her typical pose.

Zoe and Canella playing fetch.

So, Zoe seems happy.  She is learning new skills and will continue to become well socialized as it is apparently common  for visitors to bring their dogs as well. She is getting continually loved on by the guests that are here and gets many back scratches a day as well as lots of suckers to throw a ball for her.

First day in paradise

Friday, Aug. 1. 11:39 am

Second day of travel went much better than the first for Zoe.  Last night in her first hotel she settled down after about an hour of barking at everyone who walked down the hallway outside our room. I bet room 211 was real popular for a while... Then in the morning we gave her the Benadryl early so she had a much easier travel day.  Better living through chemistry.  Stopped in Butte for a few last minute things.  What a pit - in oh so many ways.

Pulled into Elk Lake around 4:00 to a resounding welcome from Jake and Laurel.  Met Ralph and Mary who are the other workers at the lodge.  They are a couple in their 50s who have traveled the world care taking at resorts and private residences.  They are quite the characters and I am sure more than one posting will be dedicated to them. 

Within the past 48 hours people have seen bears, elk, deer and a MOOSE! within sight of the lodge.

So when we woke up this morning, this was the portrait provided by the lake.

Wow. Is it beautiful here. The lodge has a dining room, a large kitchen, loving room, bar area ('with a pool table) and upstairs is where the employees live. It will definitely take some getting used to, as quarters are small and a little cramped.  I have already banged my head twice in the slanting ceiling in our bedroom.  More on that later.

A view of the lodge and one of the cabins.

Looks like we will be spending much of our time in the kitchen as food prep and dish washing are needing constant attention. Need to go now as it is time to start prepping for lunch.  The resort is full, totally bought out for a retreat/vacation by a company in Virginia.

5 weeks is a long time

Tuesday eve.
'Ever think about how much stuff you use in 5 weeks? How much deodorant? How much toothpaste? I tend to overthink and over-research things so this is a bit of Scott purgatory. We were told to bring a week's worth of clothes.  Do shorts last for 3 days or 4?  Makes a difference in how many you take.  And t-shirts.
If it's 85 every day do you wear 1 or 2 each day? Overthinking, again, right?

Anyway, decisions were made and we are packed up for tomorrow early am takeoff.

Halfway packed. The guitar and Zoe's life vest are the only non-negotiable essentials.

Wednesday eve.

Well, we got off early and hopped on the 6:20 ferry.  Needed to stop at several rest stops for Zoe (and for Marie and me, if the truth be known). Zoe has never been on a long trip like this, so we really didn't know what to expect. She was very restless until we finally decided to give her some Benadryl.  I know, I know...drugging our dog.  But she was much calmer and happier after the drugs kicked in.

Had to stop at the Couer d'Alene Costco to buy a bag of dog food and some Balsimic vinegar for Laurel.  Cramming a 40 pound bag of dog food into an already stuffed trunk was quite a trick.

We are writing this entry from our hotel in Wallace Idaho.  Always wanted to stay a night in Wallace.  In college at WSU in the early 70s, Wallace was every college boy's dream.  Town has changed a lot since then and it's quite a tourist town now.  Lots of cool history especially mining and, of course brothels.

Marie enjoying a well deserved Margarita in Wallace.

Here's a little Wallace oddity. We have seen at least 20 people or groups of people traveling around in street legal 4runners they call side by sides.  Very cool. I want one.

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What to do, what to do

So how to plan for a month of solitude in the wilds of Montana? Sadly, I have had to do a lot of thinking about how not to be bored, as that would not be much of an adventure, would it? At home I have tons of tools, projects not to mention the boob tube, to while away the hours.  Marie is taking a slew of books, although there are probably a slew of them there waiting for her left by previous tenants who took a slew of them themselves...  Plus she will be doing a lot of cooking, so she surely won't be getting bored.

Definitely need a guitar, but not the Martin or any of my good guitars.  I already ruined one guitar around the oil' campfire, back in the days of John Denver and P, P and M.  So I ordered a baby Taylor which is smaller than a regular guitar and that's a good thing.  Do you know how much stuff you think you need for a month away from home?

Here is the baby Taylor next to a full grown Taylor.

And then it hit me.  What does everybody do in Montana.  They fish.  They fly fish!  Hell, I am not that much of a fisherguy.  Done a little Salmon fishing, some trolling for trout, but I am not very good.  I have always wanted to learn to fly fish.  My daughter Maia went on her first fly fishing adventure last May and now she is tying her own flies.  That's pretty cool.  Has to be the ultimate accomplishment to catch a beautiful trout on a fly you,tied yourself. "A river runs through it" was a pretty good movie. I am not sure this rises to the bucket list level of accomplishment, but it's at least a life skill I would like to have.  So that's it.  Fly fishing.

I tend to over research stuff.  I have been known to spend hours reading reviews and searching for the best price for something as mundane as an IPad stylus.  Do you have any idea how many YouTube videos there are on learning to fly fish? Thousands.  Millions.  And I have watched a boatload. How to cast.  What flies to use. Big streams, little streams, lakes, ocean.  The 20 knots you need to learn. And then there's the equipment.  7.5 to 9 foot poles. Line weights, floating versus sinking lines, leader sizes ( both length and weight). Hell, who measures the weight of a leader?  Then there's backing and tippets.  Well, you get the idea.

And how much of this stuff do I have to buy, just to fish for a couple of hours a day?  And then you don't even get to keep the fish!

Here's a key to life I am going to share.  As guys get old(er) they accumulate stuff (I am using the nice word here). Lots of stuff. I put the word out that I was going to learn to fly fish and I was inundated with a plethora of paraphernalia related to the noble sport.  Here's a photo of the vest, tackle and over 1000 flies I now have in my possession.

Some of the beautiful flies

Lots o' stuff

On Saturday I will go in to the local sports store to find out what I have and what I still need.  The expert in fly fishing only works on Saturday.  Not a bad job.  He is probably out fishing the rest of the week.  Many thanks to my fly fishing friends, as I am sure my list of stuff to buy went down measurably.

Introduction to the adventure

I have one last board meeting with Kitsap Humane Society before we start to get serious about getting ready to leave for a month in Montana.  As board president it's pretty much a professional preparation for this meeting which seems like a fitting send off to head out for the remote wilderness in Montana. Great contrast in worlds.

So why this Montana trip? It goes back several years when our friends, Laurel and Jake DeLong decided to give up the city life (or as city as Kitsap County is), rent out their house and travel the country living out of their camper for a year.  Along the way they learned about the world of caretaking, where you could earn a living by taking care of very cool properties owned by other people.

They ended up care taking an old silver mine ghost town in Idaho for the winter and a fly fishing resort in Montana for the summer. You can read about their adventures at Laurel's "Eating up the road" blog.

So after several years of care taking the opportunity presented itself to purchase the Montana resort...and they did a few months ago.

A couple of weeks after the deal closed, we called the Delongs at their new resort ( at least new to them) to ask how things were going, did they need anything, etc. After a few minutes, Laurel said that some of their employees were leaving in August and they needed more help for the month and, I am sure because she knows Marie is gifted at cookery, asked if we wanted to come and work at the resort for the month.  I am sure that I was an afterthought but I am not a bad cooker (sic) and a pretty good handyman, so I think I can make myself useful.  Maybe I will be cleaning bathrooms, but that would be okay too.

So here's the deal.  The work will be no more that 20 hours per week, We will stay in the lodge, eat with the staff (of course, we ARE the staff), get Sundays and Mondays off and we can take Zoe, our 75 lb, 6 feet long rescue dog who the head geneticist from the company where we sent her DNA test insists is at least half traditional Chinese Shar Pei - not the wrinkly face kind. And we thought she was a lab when we adopted her... Jake and Laurel have a very cool dog, Cannella who is already friends with Zoe.

Tomorrow we start getting ready. One week to go.