Day 14: Malta, MT
Distance: Last day in Malta
Weather: 50 Degrees, Partly Cloudy
Elevation: 2300 feet
Today I taught a second quilting class on Embellished Modular Quilting. It was a small, but terrific group of ladies ~ each of whom had a unique approach to creating a themed quilt top while determining a cohesive color scheme. Below are photos of the ladies and their work.
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| Elizabeth, Barb, and Margaret display their yet-to-be embellished quilt tops |
Here are some closeups of their quilt tops with some of their embellishments being auditioned.
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| Elizabeth is playing with musical figures and expression |
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| Barb has a cowboy-themed quilt top that she plans on displaying in her booth at book signings |
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| Margaret had fun playing with Lorelei Ladies and bold primary colors |
I was especially delighted to meet Barb, a well-known local and international author of Romance Intrigue, who has published over 80 novels, and lots of novelettes, short stories and omnibuses following her retirement from journalism.
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| Surprise . . . Barb is also known as the Western Romance Intrigue author B.J. Daniels! |
Tomorrow I'll be departing for Kalispell, Whitefish, and Glacier National Park. Be sure to tune in to Page C for further updates on my trip. Be seeing you on the other side of the mountain.
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Day 13: Malta, MT
Distance: Still in Malta
Weather: Warmed up to 43 degrees, crisp, cold, but no rain, snow, or wind
After the storms of the past couple of days, there was concern that the Milk River was going to overflow a local riverside motel. Turns out that their guest showers, campground and picnic areas were impacted as the water edged over the banks. The Milk River was given its odd moniker by Lewis & Clark; coming upon the river during their journey west they stated the river looked like coffee loaded with milk, ergo, the Milk River.
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| Notice the flooded buildings and relocated picnic equipment |
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| Milk River overflowing its banks |
Today my friend, Elizabeth and her daughter, Jenny, and I went to Ray J's for lunch. I enjoyed some really great pulled pork, fries, and baked beans. Yum. Elizabeth and Jenny liked their lunch as well.
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| Elizabeth: Intrepid Global Traveler, Quilter, Gardener, Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma |
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| Jenny: Rancher, Co-Op Coordinator, Pianist, Quilter, Wife, Mom, Grandma |
Following lunch, Elizabeth and I headed to the local historical museum, which houses historical artifacts, Native American relics, dinosaur bones and fossils. Outside the museum are a number of modeled dinosaurs. Below are photos of some of the exhibits.
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| Getting friendly with the local brontosaurus |
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| The entrance |
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| Brontosaurus with photos of Kid Curry, Butch Cassidy etal in the background |
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| A portion of a crazy Quilt done by local Montanans in 1916 |
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| Animal skulls and skins |
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| Remember Duz Detergent by Proctor and Gamble? A remnant of my 1950s childhood. |
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| My uncle used to use a calculator just like this. Imagine carrying this in your pocket. |
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| Some historic hardware |
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| An old time cash register |
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| Heading out |
Later this evening I taught a quilt class at the local quilt shop. We had a great time and everyone completed a fabric postcard. Tomorrow I'll be teaching two different quilt classes at the same time - imagine that.
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Days 9 thru 12: Malta, MT
Distance: 0
Highways: None
Weather: Range from 22 degrees to 38 degrees, rain, snow, wind, freaking cold
Highest Altitude: 2300 feet
Sorry for the radio silence, but there has been nothing much to report. The weather took a sudden turn for the worst with heavy rain, snow showers, strong wind, and totally freaking cold temperatures. Elizabeth and I, along with Jenny, have been enjoying relaxing and working on knitting, crocheting, and quilting projects, along with some creative cooking.
We did attend a concert featuring John Roberts Y Pan Blanco band. John is from Malta and has put together quite a group of highly talented musicians in a band that plays an interesting World Music sound that mixes Soul, Funk, Salsa, Latin, Cuban, and African sounds in a unique way.
I also did a trunk show of my quilts for the local quilt guild. I will be teaching a quilting class on Day 11 and 12 of this trip and promise some pictures from these events.
The weather forecast is for better weather on Day 13 (Sunday, 10/9) for which I am grateful as I need to drive to Glacier National Park near Kalispell, MT.
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Day 8: Malta & Saco, MT
Distance: 50 miles around town and surrounding areasHighways: 2
Weather: 66 degrees, overcast, chilly
Highest Altitude: 2300 feet
I am happily visiting with my friend, Elizabeth Stickley for the next 7 days (with a side trip to her daughter Jenny and son-in-law Greg's cattle ranch for 2 days). I know Elizabeth, Jenny, & Greg from a quilting cruise we took to Alaska in 2012; we became good friends and have met up at quilt shows since then.
Today Elizabeth drove me to see some local landmarks and a terrific spa. Check out the sights!
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| The Sacred Sleeping Buffalo Rock Story (Cree) |
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| The Sleeping Buffalo Rock |
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| Offerings for a safe passage are left at the sacred rock, including cigarettes, money, water, food, and scarves & ties |
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| The Story of the Crees |
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| Nelson Reservoir, part of the Milk River Project, which stores water for irrigation |
Next, I was treated to some spa time at the Sleeping Buffalo Hot Springs and Resort. Water from an artesian well that is 3200 feet below the surface rises to the top at 108 degrees. Originally, the hot springs was an outdoor bathing facility which attracted cowboys, locals, and those seeking cures for various ailments, including polio. Today the outdoor bathing is no more; instead the inside facility is exceptionally well done with a sauna, cold tub, hot tub, and large swimming/soaking Hot Springs Pool full of minerals in the water: sulfate, calcium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, bicarbonate, potassium, silica, and flouride. A link to the website is provided in the link list. Below are a two pictures of the large pool; the water is a murky pale green.
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| The Hot Springs Pool. Notice the cold pool in the top corner. |
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| The other end of the Hot Springs Pool with lounges. |
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| A view of the wetlands |
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| Probably a sandpiper |
The evening ended by going to see "Sully" starring Tom Hanks, the movie about Captain Sullenberger and the Miracle on the Hudson. Directed by Clint Eastwood, it is worth a viewing.
To put in perspective how small the town of Malta is, note that they have one small movie theatre that shows one movie per week. Each evening they open the theatre and wait to see if at least 5 people show up to buy tickets before they will show the movie that night. Definitely small.
To put in perspective how small the town of Malta is, note that they have one small movie theatre that shows one movie per week. Each evening they open the theatre and wait to see if at least 5 people show up to buy tickets before they will show the movie that night. Definitely small.
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Day 7: Hardin, MT to Malta, MT
Distance: 250 Miles, Driving Time: 3.5 hours
Highways: 90, 94, 87, 212, 191
Weather: 75 degrees (Hardin) to 85 degrees (Malta)
Highest Altitude: 2900 to 2300 feet
This was primarily a driving day through rambling ranches with cattle and horses, farms with crops of wheat, hay, barley, corn, and oats. The speed limit was 80 MPH again! I zoomed northeast for 250 miles and found nothing to photograph that I haven't already posted that is of a similar terrain.
