Branch Brady's Asian Garden

Branch Brady- Walled Garden, Asian influence…from Polly K

     While Branch Brady is primarily associated with running, his passion for growing things is ever present at his home and property in Woodland Estates.

     Brady has developed his own park like environment with grassy plains, hillside vegetable gardens, rock walls, ponds, and blooming flowers. His landscape is ever changing as he works to incorporate new ideas within his realm.

     A couple of years ago, on the sight of his old vegetable garden, Brady noticed that the nearby cottonwoods had invaded the soil and he could no longer keep enough water on his plants.  He had a thought.  Why not build an enclosed garden?   

     For Brady, there’s always a method and a reason, and the longer he thought about it, his passion only deepened for a walled garden, miles away from Asia where exotic plants are placed to create areas of aesthetic pleasure as well as contemplation and meditation.

     He had no drawn plan for the project but he knew the size would be determined by the outside dimensions of the old garden.  That was easy.  Yet, he needed rocks, fencing, and shingles to begin with.

  “Most of what I do is predicated on raw materials showing up,” says Brady who likes to think that he was “green” before it was popular. He repurposes objects explaining that “trash goes to the dump, but junk can be recycled.”

     Brady’s house and gardens sit on sand dunes next to the Missouri River.  Rather nice for a beach, but a dilemma when creating a growing space.  There are no rocks or stones.

     When a neighbor across the road bought land, it had a gravel pit, with little soil and lots of sandstone. He just wanted to get the stone out of there and told Brady to take it. 

     “That allowed me to build,” says Brady, referring to the three foot high flat dry stack wall around the perimeter of the walled garden.

     Another neighbor sold his horse pasture and tore down the fencing of cedar gates.  Brady brought them home, disassembled them, and used them to enclose the wall.  One of the gates became the frame and entry door.  For the door, he added steel on the outside for strength and used the hinges from the original gates.  It is a small design that allows for lowering your head to enter the humble door,  a salvaged architectural piece.

     Having rescued shingles that he helped tear off a friend’s home, Brady looked to that stock pile to cap off the wall.  The shingles enclosed the wall, and he was ready to landscape.

     The reclaimed stone and wood made a rugged, but refined statement playing a key role in setting the atmosphere for the elements within the walled garden.

     The idea of Asian style landscaping is based on the concept of recreating a large landscape on a much smaller scale.  It becomes an outdoor sanctuary where plants play back up to beautiful garden features.

     Water Features

     Once inside the walled garden, Brady used granite boulders from Big Sandy that he carved into for a water fixture, and then, added a small bridge and water. There is energy from the silent sound of the softly moving power of the water.  The cascading stream flows out creating motion and relaxation.

     Planting

      Landscape plants surround the inside of the Asian inspired gem of a garden.  The planting is on- going, though, all have been kept in place.  There are multiple ferns with long fronds.  A dwarf Korean lilac, Miss Kim, blooms next to a Chinese porcelain barrel seat. There are three Japanese maples, two of which are red in foliage.   Contorted filberts weave their unusual way along the wall.  A tri colored Beech tree stands healthy and proud not far from a beautiful Tiger Eye Sumac. 

     “Some of the plants are not supposed to grow in our climate. I have to take them out in winter and put in the garage,” said Brady.  “Some of them I wrap with concrete screen and mulch for winter.  I bury them literally.”     

     Walkway

     Brady wanted a hard surface walkway.  Japanese and Chinese gardens always have one.  His first choice was clay tiles, but he couldn’t find them.  Then, he saw scraps of slate thrown in a dumpster on new home sight.  He asked if he could use these remnants.  He still needed something to make the field (background).  He used brick from a chimney in an old homestead that he cut into rectangles.  Within the pattern of the walkway, cherry blossoms are cut out marble floor tile from a leftover project in his house.   Brady’s son- in-law drew designs of the blossoms on concrete board and then added the flowers and leaves.  There are four cherry trees in the walkway.

     Brady constructed the walkway on a series of panels in his workshop over the winter.  It became quite an intense project with all of the cutting, fitting, and process of assembling.  He was finished and ready to lay it down last year.

     Sculpture features

     Brady built two red benches in a typical “pi” shape which give them color and a simple Asian look.

     Across from the meandering stream, the erect rock formation sculpture symbolizes Asian stylized mountains often immortalized in walled gardens.  Brady found large rocks near a friend’s cabin along Swan Lake that he cut and bolted together to copy that range of mountains.

     The whisper of water and the hidden paradise within Brady’s walled garden respond to this quiet peaceful place to reflect, contemplate, and entertain.  Brady recently surprised family and friends by hiring harpist Megan Coffin to come and play complimenting the ever present atmosphere of meditative serenity.

   

     

Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery fast, painless and effective

3 days ago

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TRIBUNE PHOTO/LARRY BECKNER

Nancy Mayernik, LPN, left, and Dr. David Boes, work to remove a cataracts from Polly Kolstad eye at the Orthopedic Center of Montana.

The signs were all there.

I was having difficulty viewing a computer screen, colors appeared dim and faded, and I faced unbearable glare while driving into the early morning sun — all resulting in frequent changes in my glasses prescription.

I had developed a cataract in my left eye, affecting the good vision I had enjoyed most of my life.

Cataracts develop when the lens behind the colored iris becomes obscured, brown or yellow. Light is scattered by the lens before it can focus on the retina, and as a result, vision becomes blurry and colors muted.

If untreated, cataracts eventually cause blindness. The good news is that corrective surgery is more advanced than ever before. The old clouded lens is replaced with an intraocular lens during the procedure, which is noninvasive, usually done without sedatives, relatively pain free and is performed in an outpatient facility.

I was scheduled to have the surgery done by Dr. David Boes, an ophthalmologist who has been practicing since 1994.

Boes operates in Great Falls and at eight facilities in towns throughout the area. He also takes time twice a year to travel with a team of technicians and nurses to Belize to do volunteer cataract surgery for a week.

Since his residency at the University of Washington in the early 1990s, Boes has seen dramatic changes in cataract surgery techniques. Originally, no intraocular lens implants were used, and patients had to rely on Coke bottle-thick hyperopic glasses.

Today, the lenses are manufactured in a variety of optical powers and are made from acrylic and silicone.

Taking the plunge

After a night of fasting, I reported to the surgery center on a recent Friday morning.

I checked in and was escorted to a presurgery area where I settled into a recliner. The nurse reclined my chair and carefully put drops in my left eye to prevent inflammation, bacterial infection and to numb the eye. She also placed an ink dot over that eye, identifying that it’s the one undergoing the procedure.

I was given booties, a hairnet and warm blankets and then waited with my eyes closed to be called for surgery.

Within 20 minutes, I was wheeled in my chair to the surgery room. My head was nudged into a stationary helmet, and a seat belt fastened across my arms and waist to keep me from moving throughout the surgery. I was totally covered with a white sheet and blanket with just a small opening for my eye.

Three bright lights were turned on and a large machine lowered from above.

Boes directed me to look up at the lights and put more numbing drops in my eye.

He had one foot on the controls of the aspirator — the machine that breaks up and vacuums the cataract particles — and the other foot on the microscope foot pedal.

Nurses and technicians assisted him.

“We take an entire team approach,” Boes said. “Every step matters.”

He made a tiny incision in the cornea and then inserted an instrument about the size of a pen tip.

A short time later, he told me we were one-third of the way done.

I was awake the whole time and had not felt a thing.

Soon I began to hear rhythmic piano-like sounds from the instrument Boes used to break the cataractous lens into little pieces with high-frequency sound waves. As the lens broke apart, the probe suctioned the pieces from the eye, and soon it was completely gone.

The sound continued for some time before Boes told me we were two-thirds of the way through.

I now know the doctor was inserting the new lens, which fits right into the groove where my original lens was. Two arms secure it in place.

Throughout the six- to 10-minute surgery, Boes continued to place numbing drops in my eye. I felt the wetness rolling down my face, but no pain.

Before I knew it, Boes had finished, and I was unhooded. My eye was taped shut and fitted with a patch that must remain there for two hours. I was wheeled back to the recovery room and offered beverages and a snack.

After I was given followup instructions and several eye drops to put in my eyes for up to one month, my daughter picked me up and drove me home.

Drastic improvement

After two hours, I took off the patch as directed. Amazingly, my vision already had improved greatly, although I saw halos over the lights in the bedroom. (Boes later explained that is because the eye is still dilated.)

I reported back to Boes that afternoon for a follow-up appointment. The exam showed that the surgery was successful, and he instructed me to wear a patch over the eye for four nights.

That evening I attended a concert. I was able to see the stage without glasses, but the red and blue spotlights had aureoles over them. I felt like I was at a circus with halos dancing above the lights.

The next morning, I could hardly wait to take the night patch off.

Seeing is believing.

The halos were gone, and I could almost read the newspaper without glasses.

Before another day passed, my eyesight continued to improve. Newsprint now was very much in focus, and at a later eye check, my left eye measured 20/20.

My sight has been improved beyond belief.

Discovering the Flathead River

Discovering the Flathead River – travel story from Polly Kolstad

 

     Today, there are still discoveries to be made underscored by a theme.

     There we were, nineteen objective outlanders, prepared by historian Fred Laroque, for the footprint of the Flathead River, which previous to this day, was a flowing water way that simply emptied into Flathead Lake.

     Yet, as we launched the Labatt Blue Heron, a comfortable pontoon vessel, out of the Eagle Bend marina, we became Montana explorers on an expedition.

     Vangelis heralding music of 1492, the Conquest of Paradise, rose from our captain, Bob Livesay’s sound bites, as we began our twenty-five mile journey along the Flathead River.  A river that twists and turns like spun taffy looking for an anchor.

     Our first impression: we were floating along the pristine waters of a paradise lost, and found.

     When the histories of Montana were written, it was determined that a terminal glacier thousands of years ago dumped and carved out Flathead Lake.

     Much later, the Salish, Kootenai, and Pondera Indians lived and camped on the west shore of the lake and followed the resources that were available to them. Later, Jesuit fathers, and French Canadian fur trappers settled in the area.  White encampments followed having discovered this fertile valley. 

     The logging business ensued propelled by “really tough guys wearing hob nail boots,” according to Laroque. 

     They were also known as “river pigs” that maneuvered felled timbers across the lake.  Commerce began.  The early freight shipments were hauled by wagons and boats, the latter of which found their way up the Flathead River to settlements like Lees Landing (Holt) and Demersville (Foys Bend).

    Most of this cultural landscape has been lost, but we were out to find what still existed.

    A few miles up the river, in deep water (60 feet), we came upon the remnants of an old pier still nodding in the boat driven waves.  This was where the long ago ferry boat, Helena, docked, and a bridge beckoned travelers.  

Nearby, is an old building, what’s left of the general store at Holt.  Across the way, a decaying roof, still holds up parts of the dance hall, the remains of which are not far from Kehoe’s Agate Shop.  Kehoe’s, a family owned business, has kept tabs on the history of  the area.  If Leslie, a Kehoe descendent and historian, is not working in the shop, a sign on the door tells the fabled demise of the old town.

     Meandering along the calm emerald waters, Mother Nature interrupted our floating sanctuary.

     Just off to the left, blue heron nests loom high in lofty branches of river side trees.  The rookery boasts twelve nests with a few of the magnificent birds hovering restlessly. Our cameras capture nature’s wild beauty and then, we push on for more adventure.

     Casting concentrated looks up cat tailed sloughs and unknown streams, we spy flora and fauna that arouse biological and botanical queries.  Now and then, a quizzical doe and fawn appear in the fields.  We are a boatful of curious sailors on  a singular voyage.  Only an occasional canoeist paddles by.  Acres of shoreline give rise to agricultural fields, small farms, and lovely residences.

     We float along, sometimes in shallow waters, just three feet deep, yet navigating our way up the river for some twenty miles.

     Finally, projecting out from the muddy shore, we sight the spindly spires of a sunken dock, the remains of the boom and bust town of Demersville.

     The story goes that Jack Demers, a French businessman, established a trading post here in 1887 that became a flourishing port.  Demersville was the terminus of the freight boats on the Flathead River.  From this point on, boats could no longer forge up the river.

     From 1887 – 1891, the fledgling town grew anticipating the arrival of the railroad.  Downtown Demersville had the Cliff House Hotel, lake steamboats, a military post, Buffalo Soldiers, pioneers, and lots of people.  

      However, Charles E. Conrad, owner of the townsite of Kalispell, plotted a new community just three miles north of Demersville and in 1890, the railroad chose Kalispell.  Historians speculate that Conrad’s wealth and his political influence resulted in the railroad’s choice of Kalispell.  When this decision was made, the community of Demersville literally picked up the buildings and moved them to Kalispell, leaving only an old pier to signal a bygone era. 

     We disembarked and climbed the river bank to view the Demersville cemetery located along U.S. Highway 93 at Lower River Road.  Across the way, a lovely corn field and an old red barn silence the storied recollections of the railroad that never came to town.

     Turning around, we launched down river.

      Our historical focus turned to art as we detoured and cruised up Rose Creek to artist Nancy Dunlop Cawdrey’s home, studio, and gallery.  Nancy and husband, Steve, graciously waved us into their dock and warmly welcomed us.  Nancy led us to her upstairs studio, where she demonstrated her masterful process of painting on silk with dyes.  With her brilliant use of the brush, Nancy brought to her canvas horses, foxes, and flowers that dramatize her fine work.

     The vibrant hues of Cawdrey’s paintings notched yet another interesting turn along the ever colorful, and winding Flathead River.

      Hailing the discoveries of the day, and new found knowledge, we sailed back to the marina.

     Rivers give life and stories, and the Flathead evokes much more than just flowing into a giant lake.

 

Photo Op: I am emailing pictures.  

    

      

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copper King Mansion

Copper King Mansion – Butte, MT   story from Polly

     There’s a sense of storytelling when John Thompson passes through Butte’s Copper King Mansion’s dining room door bearing plates of traditional pasties.

     Thompson, a third generation co-proprietor of the thirty-four room William A. Clark home, baits his seated guests with bits and pieces of information, with promises to tell the rest of the story over dessert and coffee.

     The other half of the owner team, Erin Sigli, Thompson’s sister will appear later.  But for now, she is dishing up boats of gravy and bowls of catsup to accompany the famous steak and potato pastry pies.

     Questioning stares and prolonged queries spike the conversation as the grandeur and Victorian opulence of one of America’s nineteenth and twentieth century richest men stretches beyond the exquisitely crafted walls.

     Eventually, the firestorm of questions from a group of antique and history buffs, brings the shirt sleeved Thompson to the head of the table to regale the audience seated in this grand old house. 

     “Since 1953, my grandmother, Anna Cote, my mother, and my siblings have owned the mansion; we bought it wall to wall,” he relates.

     Back then, when “gram” bought the mansion, she had some furniture and fixed up the rooms with hot plates, a few accessories, and rented space.   Gram, and Ann, her daughter, frequented estate and garage sales to add “piece by piece” to the Clark mansion which was built from 1884 -1888.

       The mansion stood nearly empty after previous owners had done away with the furnishings. 

       According to Thompson, in 1953, World War II and the Korean War were over.  With the GI Bill people were able to get a new house. They got rid of “old stuff.”  In addition, every once in awhile, someone would give his grandmother a treasured item.

     One day, a lady knocked on the door with a beautiful crystal epergne she had bought in Hollywood.  When it was shipped to Butte and she opened the box, she thought it was the ugliest thing she had ever seen.  Gram put it on top of the china closet along with many other collectables, and a few original Clark pieces, that add to the present day splendor of that long ago era.

     William Andrew Clark moved to Montana in 1863.  From a lucky strike in Bannack, he extracted $1500 worth of gold which became the start of his immense wealth.  He arrived in Butte in 1872 and began amassing his fortune in copper smelting, banking, newspapers, and railroads.  He lived in Butte for nearly three decades with his first wife, Catherine, and their five children.  Catherine died in 1893. In 1900, Clark married Anna Eugenia La Chapelle in Paris, a Butte native studying in France.  They had two daughters: Andree and Huguette.  Andree died of meningitis in 1919, a week before her seventeenth birthday.  Huguette passed away at the age of 104 in May 2011.

    In 1907, Clark moved his family from Butte to New York City where he had built a 121 room Beaux Arts mansion on Fifth Avenue.  He continued to visit his Butte home as Eugenia had family in the city and Clark remained involved in Montana business.

     Clark died in 1925, and his son, Will Clark, Jr. took ownership of the mansion until 1934 where upon his death, it was acquired by a business partner who worked for the Hansen Packing Company.  They sold all the furnishings.     

     In 1935 the Catholic Diocese purchased the building and turned it into a convent for nuns.

     Since 1953, when Anna Cote bought the mansion, the family has been capable of keeping it historically correct through many stages of restoration.

     “We have six children, four of whom are very involved in the business from accounting to contracting,” says Sigl.  “Over time, we have worked meagerly,” she adds.

      Recently, a national historic preservation grant helped immensely.

      Referring to the contributions, Sigl comments:  “it was God sent,” as the money provided a means to replace the boiler, rain gutters, and restore the exterior.

     Throughout the years of upkeep, the Cote family has continued to offer tours of the mansion and maintain their Bed & Breakfast which is listed in the National Historic Preservation.  Today, there is a seventeen page script about the Copper King mansion that the guides must memorize. The long narrative is a tale of glass workers who made all the French beveled stained glass; artists who hand painted different frescoes on the ceilings in every room; and craftsmen who hand- carved and finished all the imported woodwork. It took four and a half years to complete with the total cost of construction at over a quarter million dollars.   However, it has been noted that Clark’s income in 1888 was nearly seventeen million dollars a month.  The cost of his home represents about a half day of his income.

If you go:

Copper King Mansion

219 Granite Street

Tel: (406) 782-750

thecopperkingmansion@gmail.com

Tours everyday May 1 – September 30

Adults: $7.50 - Children $3.50

jasen Emmons - curator EMP Museum Seattle, Washington

Jasen Emmons- EMP Museum Seattle, Washington

     Take the downtown Monorail to Seattle Center and as you near your destination, the train dashes through a corner of a massive curvy lavender-pink building.  The undulating elements seem to define movement and what some call: swoopy shapes.  You have arrived at the Experience Music Project (EMP) Museum.    Renown architect Frank Gehry had rhythmic dynamics on his drawing board as he designed the EMP for his client Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and  a collector of Jimi Hendrix and rock n’ roll ephemera.

     It also seems to be the right place for curatorial director, Jasen Emmons, who grew up in Great Falls, Montana.  From somewhere within the 140,000 square foot facility, Emmons appears to guide us through this amazing world of music.  A longtime multi media specialist, he now directs the EMP curatorial, collections, and education departments.  He also oversees the carpenter shop that builds exhibits within a 5000 square foot shop.  He has created 44 exhibits of which 17 now belong to EMP.    Referring to the absence of flat surfaces and the unusual rounded out walls of the building, he muses that: “It is a challenge to bring in and display exhibits because it is a French model with crazy shapes.”

     While the tone is set by the building’s exterior exuberance, Emmons enthuses about music, science fiction, and pop culture which the EMP is all about, even adding, that the EMP is the largest Jimi Hendrix exhibit.

     “Every two to three years, we do a new exhibit of him,” says Emmons.

   And for a guy who loves music (he also plays the drums and is in a band that does gigs around Seattle), Emmons is surrounded by sound.

      We are awestruck by the massive “cyclone of instruments” located on the main level in the museum’s entry.  Beckoning to be seen and heard, the multicolored structure, IF VI WAS IX, was created by Trimpin, an artist originally from Germany, now living in Seattle. The towering edifice contains more than 500 musical instruments from which sound bites are recorded and played back on an audio file. It’s the thirty-five foot icon that crowds gather around as the EMP’s visual catch for photos.  

      Strolling to the other side of a cathedral like space, we enter the Grand Hall which contains one of the world’s largest High Definition screens. This is the Sky Church where audiences watch dynamic music, videos, short films, and audio reactive visuals.

      Emmons moves us on to the Icons of Science Fiction where we encounter objects from famous films and TV shows, and where people are trying on costumes to create their own sci-fi world with the film composition interactive. There’s definitely a different way to see yourself here.   Not just in disguise, but also, by visiting the shadow wall to watch your shadow morph into monstrous forms.  And, if you’re not a scaredy cat, you will want to see the lure of the ten best horror (hair-raising) films.

     We paused for sometime in the Guitar Gallery which chronicles how guitars went from being acoustic to electric.  If you have ever wanted to know the fascinating history of guitars, it starts here with a 1770s Italian guitar.  There are sixty-five instruments in the collection that goes through the development of the instrument as it became larger, went electric, and finally came to dominate the stage as the signature instrument of rock n’ roll.

     Just a few steps away, people are jamming with ear phones and musical instruments.  “The idea is to let people make music in here,” directed Emmons. The glassed in booths were full of adults and children.  This Sound Lab promotes hands on play with installations such as the Big Drum which can be played by up to 12 people and a number of trio instrument stations. You may also pop into one of Sound Labs private rooms to perfect your own jam.  Then, hasten over to On Stage and perform with your own impromptu band, belt out one of five pre-selected songs, and capture the moment with a take home poster, CD or DVD of that performance.    

     The grandeur of rock n’ roll resonance is played out in The Sound Vision Gallery where kiosks show excerpts from interviews with hip hop, Santana, and oral histories of other famous musicians.  Close by, taking punk music to main stream, the Nirvana Exhibit features artifacts and photography from the band, and those connected with them.  It also includes many prints of the Rolling Stones captured by photojournalist, Jim Marshall.

     Presently, the EMP is featuring a special exhibit:  Worn to be Wild:  The Black Leather Jacket.   The EMP partnered with The Harley- Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to showcase one of pop culture’s defining garments.  Originally inspired by the WWII bomber jackets, bikers and celebrities have embraced them for style and warmth.  Here, there’s a peek at Elvis Presley’s jacket and one of his roaring bikes.

     The EMP’s technology and intensive multimedia displays are ever expanding.  Soon to come, according to Emmons, will be a “fantasy” exhibit featuring, among others, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter.

     At the beginning of every adventure, it is difficult to anticipate what to expect.  Indeed the EMP leaves you with a harmony of contemporary sound.   And, around every corner, the museum provides an opportunity to learn something.

      The intrigue of history, the magic of music, and the creativity of putting together shows; these words fall out of Jasen Emmons’ mouth like musical notes.  They play on a sense of symphony in a rock n’ roll world at the EMP which he knows well.

    

Admission costs:

Adults: $20

Seniors: $17

Youth: $14

Children: Free

Lost Lake, Montana

Lost Lake – travel story from Polly

     My second trip to Lost Lake began on a misty morning in June.

     A cool wet forecast in the Highwood area sent me packing wool sweater, and a rain jacket.

      But, I wasn’t as finely prepared as my guide, Ron Long, EMT, volunteer fireman, and historian par excellent, well known for his research of the rugged beauty of the Shonkin Sag, Lost Lake, and the Square Butte area.  A trail of waterproof footwear and beverage coolers awaited my arrival in Long’s driveway just off the highway straddling Highwood.

     Long will trod destinations within miles to share his love of his rural residence.  His excursions are often accompanied by others who share knowledge.  We were fortunate to be in the company of Chris Croff, a well traveled geologist, now living in the Monarch area.  Though Croff had previously not explored Lost Lake, he was well aware of the area he described as “glacially bribed,” and geomorphologically a “unique area.”

     He is not exaggerating.

      It’s old news.  Lost Lake, about 70 miles northeast of Great Falls, is the remnant of an ancient sea that roared during the Pleistocene (ice age) thousands of years ago.  A glacier advanced and formed a series of glacial lakes along the Missouri River and its tributaries. These lakes were confined by highlands to the east.  (For instance, glacial Lake Great Falls formed west of the Highwood Mountains.)  Eventually, however, the water level raised high enough to spill over the natural barriers and carve out a new channel.  Today, this abandoned channel is known as the Shonkin Sag, allegedly the Blackfeet word for the Highwood Mountains, or an adulteration of one of the town’s early settlers, John Shonk.

     The Shonkin Sag happened when one of the continental glaciers melted scooting snow and rain down.  That dammed the Missouri River which was hundreds of feet deep.  The dam became high enough that it flowed on the face of the glacier and formed this area.  The soil on one side of the valley was dumped by the glacier which included rocks.  On the other side there was a sea bed, the bottom of which was shale.  Eventually, the decayed mountains eroded down to the present size to get rid of the volumes of the mountains.   Deep within the earth, the molten magma melted, and changed the composition basically to a soup that rose to the surfaces picking up minerals like potash, and feldspar . Shoved under the mountain because of its thickness, the magma intruded up. It expressed itself when it vented to the surface  (volcano) and it left an unusual rock: Shonkinite.

    “Shonkinite is relatively rare, found only in a few places around the world,” Long told us as we turned onto the Shonkin Road.

     He pointed into the distance to the grand and picturesque Square Butte and Round Butte where vertical rocks encompass the land surface and form different linear patterns.  These are intrusive rocks, or laccoliths of Shonkinite, that form a flat line feature with more vertical extent.

     Already, I found myself viewing hills and valleys in a new way, encompassing new vocabulary.  Part of this region’s secret is that people look at the landscape and don’t understand what they are seeing.

     “Once you have the knowledge and pursue the rhetoric, then you have something you can walk away with,” said Croff.

      As we approached the Shonkin Sag several miles on Shonkin road, the Sag ran east and went parallel to the road.  Now it turns and starts off to the north.  Here, you can see a valley where the river was dammed and washed out an elongated depression between upland hills.

     A rocky slope revealed a gravel pit filled with Shonkinite: dark black or grey stones with grey speckles.  This is one pile of rocks: millions of tons of gravel from a north flow of water that deposited it.

     Long pointed to explain that “when the glacier diverted the Missouri River, it didn’t always run in one channel.”  “It pushed the river out further east of here into several other channels.” 

     From here, we approached the channel where the river ran and formed Lost Lake.  There are appearances along the way of volcanic dikes, outcroppings of rocks that were formed by the river channel.

    A sweeping green landscape plunged us into a canyon along Shonkin Creek filled with bleached sandstone and granite.  Early summer turns these lush hills to a vibrant green, dotted with yellow balsamroot. And, the purple blossoms of Russian lilac sweetly invaded our geological navigation.  As a kid, Long fished along this rock dike, bringing home a fine catch of trout!

     Lost Lake was our destination, but a series of other lakes lie along the Shonkin Sag.

     “They are dead lakes like the Dead Sea with an accumulation of salt,” explained Long. 

     “When they dry up they leave a salt residue late in the summer.  The salt residue is evident throughout this area because when the glaciers melted and formed shale, that was about three per-cent salt, the source of the saline seeps that have caused so much trouble in this part of the country.  Shale is near impermeable.  The water doesn’t sink into it, but evaporates.”

     Long motioned to the slumping hills ahead of us, mostly made of shale with a thin layer of top soil above that shale. The shale has bentonite in it, which when the soil gets saturated, (especially in the spring) it slips, and makes the benches along the hills.

     “Even in my lifetime I’ve seen it,” he said, stopping to show us the railroad track just ahead which was covered with sliding earth from the slump.

    After patiently following an antelope down the dusty road, we turned into a small parking pullout.  

     A long walk across a field, led us to a secret valley in the depths below.  Here was Lost Lake, approximately one mile long, surrounded by laccoliths and the dark outcroppings of Shonkinite formations.  From our vantage on a steep promontory, the bluish green water was quiet and somewhat foreboding.  The lake remains its old self, tied to the ancient past with tales sunk in the deep still waters, hidden from most of mankind.  The unspoiled prairie around the perimeter gives way to numerous wildflowers lingering with blossoms of: lupine, wild rose, prickly pear, and sandlily.

    “Can you just see the Missouri River dropping over these rocks,” pondered Long, as we stood marveling at the experience and exploration of a long forgotten world.

     This was why we had made the day long journey to experience and savor such a geological wonder. The adventure was worth a sustained pause to soak up as much of the strata as we could.  Now, we understood why the guest book at the Four Sisters Ranch in Square Butte included a long roster of famous geologists who had come to this area to do research and attend the 1989 International Geological Congress.

      Among other things, our tour brought us into the town of Square Butte where we stopped for a delightful lunch at the Square Butte Country Club.  We pulled up to the lone parking meter, and stepped into the tiny bar and restaurant.  Chef Amy was in the back baking desserts for the Saturday night hoedown, but she came out to review the menu items which included tasty burgers, homemade soup, Rocky Mountain oysters, and chicken livers. 

     Before departing Square Butte, we stopped to view the old jail house constructed in the late nineteenth century of Shonkinite.  The square block stones and iron bar windows remain touchstones to the past and a testament to the local construction one hundred years ago .

      Focused on the idea of an unusual day escape, there is much pleasure and novelty of encountering newfound geology, and something old and ancient, like Lost Lake, and the historical surrounds.

     Lost Lake is located on private property.  Occasionally tours are available.

 Call:  Ron Long @ 406-733-5321.

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College Bound: hints for getting into colleges

Techniques to get into college: Early planning

     In addition to working with high school counselors, there are some things students and parents can do to facilitate college applications. 

     Anne Martinez, a management consultant and now a community school volunteer, enjoys mentoring students. Martinez has a B.A. in Economics from Princeton University; and a M.B.A. from Stanford University.  She has served on the Great Falls School Board.  Presently, she is a board member of both the Great Falls Scholarship Foundation and the Great Falls Public Schools Foundation.  In the past, she has worked as a strategic planner for Davidson Companies.

     Martinez has had two children go through the process of applying to colleges and universities in 2010 and 2011. She has done alumni interviews for Princeton University for many years as part of their admission process and has met a lot of students over the years that she has helped.

     Martinez offers some insight to what you can do to get an early start on applications for college.

    1.  How do kids apply to colleges and universities today?

    The Common Application (commonapp.org.) is a free online undergraduate application used by over 400 colleges and universities.  The CA currently provides both online and print versions of its First-year and Transfer Applications. Teachers and counselors use this website as well.  It is an overwhelming process for parents.   Also, a good blog: New York Times: “The Choice,” offers a wealth of information about applying to college; from the financial aid to the required essays.  This is a good resource as experts chime in on the blog.  There are also independent educational consultants like Hughes Tutoring (www.hughes tutoring.com) located in Missoula, Montana.  

2.  What kind of help is available if you want to apply on your own?

     Parents of all high school students locally receive the VISIONS newsletter published twice a year.  College Bound also does a workshop every spring.

3.  When is a good time to start planning your path to applying to college?

     Early on, kids need to read, read, read, even quality magazines, like National Geographics.  Kids that are good readers, test well.

     Students need to start planning in middle school.  In the seventh and eighth grade, start taking honors classes.  If you do not start here, it is harder to jump on track later.  High schoolers need to plan over four years.  When planning their course of study in high school, students should consider taking AP (Advanced Placement) and/or dual credit classes.  Not only do colleges like to see that you have taken these rigorous, college level courses, but if you get a high enough score on the AP tests, you can also get academic credit or be placed in upper level courses putting you on track to graduate early.  Obviously, this can save you and your family money in the long run.   

     From sophomore year on, start practicing for the SAT (SAT Reasoning test, formerly the Scholastic Aptitude and Scholastic Assessment Test) and ACT (ACT.org, the organization responsible for the ACT Assessment College) tests.  Most colleges accept either the SAT or the ACT and you can take them as many times as you want, although it may be costly.  Some kids do much better on the SAT or the ACT, so take them both at the end of sophomore year or beginning of the junior year to see which one you do better on.  Definitely take the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test) the fall of sophomore year for practice.  Juniors take the PSAT to qualify for National Merit Scholarships.  The website: collegeboard.org has information on SAT testing.  And the new policy called “Score Choice: that allows students to see scores before sending them in.  You might take the test again to improve.  Then, send your highest scores from your test to the colleges to which you are applying.  Some colleges require two SAT subject tests.  Plan your testing schedule in advance and find out when and where these tests are given.  It is wise to take the SAT subject tests in the spring after completing the relevant class.

4.  How important is the high school transcript?

    This is what the admissions office looks at first. It is most important.  Consider: course load, class rank, leadership potential, essay and extracurricular activities.  Schools today are looking for what the individual student is passionate about. For example, if you like to write, volunteer to be part of the editorial staff of your high school newspaper.  Community service is important.  Use your summer effectively to volunteer.  If kids have to work full time in the summer, that shows a good work ethic.        

5.  How can a student strengthen their application?

     There is a lot of free testing on line from College Bound.  The vocabulary website: freerice.com.  donates ten grains of rice through the World Food Programme to help end hunger for each answer you get right. Subscribe to the SAT question of the day.  They will email it to you.  Another way to apply is for Early Decision or Early Action.  Early decision is binding and you have to apply by November 1 of your senior year, and commit (if accepted) by December 1.  Early Action defines your decision by early spring.  The advantage here is that the odds of getting into your school of choice are better.

6.  How important is the required essay?

     The essay is very important.  The earlier a college applicant starts drafting his or her essay, the more prepared they are. Pick something to write about that you are passionate about.  Have parents and teachers read this and get going early. This is the part of the application where students can demonstrate their interests and intellectual passion.  Take a look at the website:  commonapp.com. It refers to set of questions that schools want answered in your essay. Work on it during the summer between your junior and senior year.  Each college will also require supplemental essays of varying lengths.  Have your English teacher, parents, siblings and friends read your essay and give you feedback.

7.  Are recommendations still required for college applications?

     Yes.  Most schools require recommendations from two teachers, one counselor, and sometimes an optional recommend from someone the student personally knows well or has worked for.  Choose teachers who know you well and with whom you have a good relationship.  Give them a list or resume of your activities and awards and work experience.

8.  Is there financial aid available to most students?

     Financial aid is mostly need based, but generous.  People tend to underestimate their need.  It depends on many factors: assets, income, and the number of kids in your family in college.  FASA.org has the financial aid form.  All three Great Falls high schools hold FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) in February, March and April for families who need help completing the FAFSA Form.  There are also many subsidized government loans available.  And, there are lots of scholarships to apply for.  Don’t be discouraged by the price tag.