Limited Internet

It turns out Dillon Montana is not an area directly serviced by AT&T which is our cell and internet provider. And it also turns out that although we have unlimited internet usage on our AT&T account, that does not apply when we are in an area not directly serviced by AT&T. There is a limit when we're on a "partner" network and we went way, way, way over that limit within our first few days here.

After talking with AT&T they have agreed to cut us some slack and not cut off our internet service while we are here this month. They were actually quite reasonable about it and will be letting us go what I guess will probably be over 50 times our limit. In return, we have agreed to curtail our internet usage. Which means I won't be making any more blog posts until we leave Montana....another two and a half weeks from now.

I'll save all of Tom's fishing pictures and anything else interesting and post it all then.

Bird Watching

Yesterday two of these pretty yellow birds were perched in the plum tree beside our motorhome for a little while. This one was kind enough to pose for a picture. I didn't know what kind of bird they were so asked some friends on Facebook and email for some help identifying it. The consensus was it is most likely either a Bullock's Oriole or a Western Tanager. According to Rick, who has the local knowledge, there are a lot of Western Tanagers in this area, so I started leaning in that direction. But then I heard from my friend Elizabeth, who has the most bird knowlege of anyone I know, and she assures me it's a female Bullock's Oriole. I hope it comes back again. It sure is lovely.

There are also quite a few hummingbirds hanging around our campground so we put up a feeder that attaches to our window. All the better to watch them up close. If I ever get a decent picture of one, I'll post that too.

Fishing, Fishing and More Fishing

We've been in Dillon for six days now. The campground is very no-frills but it's peaceful and relaxing so that's fine with us. Tom is spending his mornings and evenings getting fly-tying lessons from Rick and his days getting fly-fishing lessons from Mickey and Rick. Not that Tom didn't already know how to fish, it's just that Mic and Rick are real experts and have been sharing a lot of valuable tips with Tom, including where to find the biggest fish. Tom has caught (and released) some whoppers already.

Fishing doesn't particularly appeal to me, so I'm enjoying quiet time alone at the motorhome each day. Keeping myself entertained with books, computer, crochet projects, the dogs etc. It's a great life.

Montana, a New State for Our Map

We left Washington this morning, heading for Dillon, Montana for a month. We stopped for the night in Missoula. Neither of us have been to Montana in our adult lives, so this is new territory for us both. And of course, it's a new state to put on our map keeping track of the states we've been in since starting this retirement adventure.

The highway followed along the Clark Fork river for much of the way and we sure enjoyed the scenery. Tomorrow we will get to Dillon where we will join our friends Mic and Rick who spend their summers fishing there every year. They are quite the expert fly-fishermen and Tom is really looking forward to learning from them.

Golf Day

Today is 2 for 1 day at the golf course here so I decided to tag along with Tom for a round. I hadn't swung a golf club in a couple months, so I didn't know what to expect. Things started out pretty good. My warm up chipping went well and the few shots I took on the driving range before heading to the first tee were more or less straight. First four or five holes I was still happy with my performance, getting an eight on a par five, which for me is really good. But then we got to the second par five hole and things started going down hill for me. I was getting tired and my shots were getting sloppier and sloppier. Finally I gave it up and decided I would just drive the golf cart and "caddie" for Tom.