This is “Lucille.” Yesterday we joined 12 friends and went on a trail ride into the Gravelly Range above Antelope Basin.
Lucille is our ATV (all terrain vehicle). Because she’s a redhead on whom we have a ball, we named her after the actress/comedian, Lucille Ball.
Are you old enough to remember her?
Anyway, we met at Antelope Basin about 50 miles south-west of Ennis, and took the trails through the Gravelly Range to our destination of Hidden Lake.
It was a blue-sky-perfect day with temperatures not rising above 80 degrees. We had not been up to this site for over a year. In the meantime forest fires had ravaged the trees and changed the landscape.
This tree was lush and green last time we were here.
We stopped and chatted with our friends awhile before taking a lunch break.
Good buds: Sherry Riggs and Penny Hocking
TazE was quite interested in what Rex & Penny Hocking were getting from Linda Schott. Mmm … fresh and yummy Flathead cherries!
TazE was interested in Bob’s Cheetos, too!
After lunch we traveled on up to the lookout above Henry’s Lake.
The wildflowers were prettier than I have ever seen them this late in the summer. We had quite a wet spring and that helped!
Traveling back down, we could see our Madison Valley in the distance.
We gathered to take a group photo of our ATV friends. And then some couples and quartets, too.
Top left: Kris & Bob (CG’s cousin) with CG & Caroline Bottom left: Penny & Rex Right: Sue & Bob Welna
Here are our five ATV’s. You can see that Lucille stands out among all those earth tones!
Most of the way to and fro the trail was a road also traveled by cowboys in their pickups, tending the the cattle up in the verdant fields.
Some of the trail was rocky, steep and pretty hairy. But, we managed just fine… and I am so grateful that Bob and I both had enough stamina to enjoy the trip.
We Thank the Lord for our neighbors/friends (the Welnas and Hockings) who came to help Bob prepare Lucille for the trip, and then returned this morning to help him put her back away. God bless them!!
Maybe you’ll come join us one of these days for a Montana trail ride. Ya think?
I’d be tickled to see you!
Just give me a call and let me know when you’re coming. We’d love to see you and treat you to a Montana trail ride!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Click on the link below if you’d like to enjoy Dale Evans & Roy Rogers (my favorite cowboy) singing “Happy Trails to You.”
I have taken a week off from blogging… time to enjoy company … time to enjoy summer finally!
July is a month Of special celebrations First: Back on the road
Bob, TazE and I were invited to join our friends, Mike and Julie, on an ATV ride into the Gravelly Range.
Julie & Mike brought their wonderful dog, Zeke.
The wildflowers were out in full bloom, and my friend, Susan Phillips, captured their beauty magnificently. What you see is the Madison Valley and the Sphinx in the Madison Range in the background. Impressive, huh?
Thank you, Susan, for letting me share some of your photos.
I captured some of the panoramic scenery. It was such a pretty day!
The fields of wild mustard and other wildflowers were breathtaking!
The fields are so green. The cattle are happy grazers!
Bob & I thought this was a beautiful place to stop for a lunch break.
That’s Bob holding TazE’s leash… And Julie bending low in front. She and Mike were our drivers… and Caroline & CG were the trip organizers.
Caroline & Chuck- dear friends!
Then, other dear friends, the Tillions, came from California to spend a few days with us.
Ingrid & Alan Tillion
We went to our nearby tourist attraction, Virginia City, and enjoyed time together there. No time to blog… too busy being in the moment!
Ingrid & Alan almost missed the hailstorm – but not quite! We got hammered!!
We went on the 4th to watch the parade from the comfort of our friends’, the Washburns, beautiful yard. They provided breakfast and lunch for an amazing group of their friends. We felt privileged to be included and to be invited to bring the Tillions with us.
Alan, Bob, Jan & Ingrid Such a beautiful Independence Day!
The parade came right in front of our lovely, shaded area at the Washburns. I loved the painted horse.
Back at home, we were treated to our own neighborhood parade with the Welna Family… too cute!
To continue our July celebrations, we went with the Tillions to Bozeman on July 5th, and we all enjoyed a yummy brunch at Jam! (my favorite BZN brkfst)
Mmmmm… it was delicious!
We didn’t stop there… yesterday we invited our pastor, Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds, to come celebrate her birthday with us. So you can see why I have not blogged for a few days. It’s been a wonderful time of face-to-face with people who are dear to our hearts. No better way to celebrate!
Happy Birthday, MGR!! We’re so happy you are a part of our lives! You make us happier with your presence.
It’s good to be back on my blog. I thank you for visiting and sharing time with us. I hope you will share how you are celebrating July, too.
Happy Trails to You!
See ya again soon, I hope. Have a beautiful rest of your week. What will you be doing? Tell me…
If I had space in my WordPress photo gallery, I would show you a series of photos of this place in Ennis, Montana where we are blessed to live. BUT, to add more photos, I have to erase older photos. The program tells me I am at 100% capacity! How does Derrick Knight manage to post so many beautiful photos of his garden on https://derrickjknight.com every day without running out of space? I need to discover his secret!
Meantime, what I did was put the photos on a Facebook post – and give you the link here so you can go there to see where we are inviting you to come visit. I hope you will/can check it out!
I’ll put one here as a teaser – hoping you’ll click that FB link and go see more, OK?
Bob & Jan love company… and now that my hand is better and I can be a hostess again, I hope you will consider a trip! We are just one hour from Yellowstone – and the entrance (nearest us) to the park is open now – and the road that takes you to Old Faithful is open, too… following those terrible floods a few weeks ago. Beekman B&B is full July 2-6, but after that, July is clear on our calendar!!
Our kitchen windows with the gorgeous lilac bush
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. It’s our daughter’s 35th anniversary this weekend… DeDe, the one who lives in Switzerland. We look forward to visiting them in the end of August.
Meantime, my devotional today in “Mornings with Jesus” encouraged me to “Find a quiet place. Write down any problems that surround you. Thank Jesus for being bigger than those problems.” It is not hard to find a quiet place here… and it is easy to live gratefully for daily healing of my broken finger and hurting hand, and to thank God for the beauty of nature and the peacefulness of this place. Come see for yourself!
Thanks for visiting JanBeek
Tell me what you’re doing this lovely weekend… See ya Monday (I’m taking a day off tomorrow) Hugs, Jan Beekman
Up pops the crocus leaves Tiny sprouts of green Signaling winter’s end – A very welcomed scene.
Only in snowy places Do crocus flowers grow. What makes that a fact? I’d really like to know.
So I checked it out With a quick click or two And learned about this flower. Does its beauty attract you, too?
In her article about gardening, Marie Iannotti wrote the following about crocuses: “Growing from bulb-like structures called corms, crocuses are low-growing perennial plants from the iris (Iridaceae) family. In many regions, crocus flowers (Crocus spp.) mark the arrival of spring. These early bloomers can often be seen peeking up through the snow well before any other flowers appear on the landscape. They grow in a range of conditions, including woodlands, coastal gardens, and suburban lawns. Bloom colors on the tube-shaped flowers include mauve, lavender, and yellow. …”
The crocus in our yard are this gorgeous color of lavender. I wasn’t aware that they also come in mauve and yellow, are you?
My daughter-in-law’s mom, Ruthie, grew up in Switzerland and has lived her adult life in southern California. Speaking with her this morning, telling her about the crocus that are popping up in our yard, she said, “I haven’t seen a crocus since I was a child in Switzerland. They only grow where there’s snow.”
That got me thinking and wondering … and as you read above, they actually grow in a range of conditions. I intend to send her a few “corms” as an Easter gift next week – and I will be very curious to see if they will grow in her yard. She lives not too far from Los Angeles … certainly a place where snow is not expected! But, Marie Iannotti included “suburban lawns” as a place they grow, so we’ll see.
Not quite the same as her Swiss mountainside, huh?
What are some things that you might expect to see only in snowy places?
I love snowdrops. We don’t have any of these in our yard. Gotta remedy that!!
I did a little research on these flowers too, and learned this from Longfield Gardens’ site: “Like other spring-blooming bulbs, snowdrops use their foliage to generate energy for next year’s flowers. Resist the temptation to cut back the leaves or mow them down while they are still green. Within a couple weeks, the foliage will yellow and melt away on its own.
When snowdrops are growing in a location that suits them, the bulbs will multiply and can eventually carpet a large area. The bulbs don’t mind being crowded and rarely need dividing. If you want to move some bulbs to a new area or share them with friends, dig and divide them in early spring, right after flowering and before the foliage begins to yellow. Handle them carefully so the foliage stays attached to the bulbs, and get them back into the ground as quickly as possible.
You may find it takes a couple years to establish large clumps of snowdrops, but once the bulbs have naturalized, you will have flowers every spring for generations to come.”
What springtime flower inspires you?
I hope your home is blessed with a colorful, sweet smelling, beautiful gift of flowers today.
If I could send you a few “corms” as an Easter gift, I would!
Bee well! I send you my love and hugs this day. Thanks for visiting JanBeek.
Rick Malone wrote in his “Spiritual Matters” article,
“There is something very special about the dawn. The sun seems to climb over the horizon with open arms, inviting us to share in the wonderful opportunities of a new day.
Every dawn puts the things of yesterday in the past and allows us to begin afresh. The Bible uses this imagery of the dawn to communicate the reality of new beginnings.
The psalmist teaches us that each new day should be a source of rejoicing, for it is a “day that the Lord has made; and we should rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
And Jeremiah tells us that the mercies of the Lord, “are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23).
Michael Buble’ sang of the new day in his song: “It’s a New Day.” Listen and discern his idea of a new day.
Then design your own idea of a new day … and praise the Lord for each new beginning!
Rick Malone went on in his post to explain his image of a new day:
“This imagery of the dawn not only symbolizes new beginnings for us personally, it symbolizes a new beginning for the brokenness of God’s creation. The bliss of the Garden of Eden crumbled in the hands of Adam. Creation now groans under a curse. But we are given the promise that at the dawning of the age to come creation itself will be made new.”
We have incredible sunrises above the Madison Range that I can see from my home. I love this time of day. Below is what the sunrise looked like from my sanctuary window this morning:
I sent this picture to my friend, Lisa, in North Carolina. We exchange sunrise pictures and prayers for one another most mornings. I apologized for the way my roof line from my sanctuary kind of spoiled the view this morning. She wrote back and sent me a cropped picture of my sunrise saying, “Simply GORGEOUS!!!”
Like most things in life, what we behold is often a matter of perspective, right? When we screen out the distractions and zero in on the positives, we see the true beauty around us, within us, and within others.
Lisa lives near a lake. Often her sunrises and sunsets are reflected in the water, creating a double image. I can look at the gray clouds beyond and expect a rainy, dismal day, or I can focus on the colorful reflections in the lake and anticipate a colorful, joy-filled day (or night) ahead.
Rick Malone explained it this way:
“Each new day is the perpetual promise of new beginnings. It is a new opportunity to turn the disappointments of our lives in a new direction. We can all identify with the failures of life—bad decisions, broken relationships, unfortunate circumstances. But God gives us a continual opportunity to start life fresh every day and put the past in our past. He is the God of new beginnings, the God of new life, the God of forgiveness. He is the God who covers our yesterdays with His grace. And, He is the God who graciously covers our tomorrows with every new dawn He gives us. Every sunrise beckons us: ‘Turn your life away from yourself and to your Maker who loves you.’ “
Another of Lisa Glines’ sunrises
Psalm 118:24
“This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Montana Sunrise by Ken Hall
Above our bed, Bob & I have a painting by Ken Hall. It depicts the sunrise over the Madison Range. On clear mornings, we see this scene out our bedroom, dining room, living room, and sanctuary windows. But, even on fogged in or snowy days when the mountains are hidden and the sun is behind the clouds, we can look at Ken’s painting and thank God for this new day – new dawn – new beginning.
I pray your new day is a blessed one. I pray you are healthy and happy. I thank you for your friendship – and for coming to share your day with me here on JanBeek.
What are your plans for this new day? See ya tomorrow (God willing) God Bless You!
P.S. Please pray for my daughter-in-law, Monika. She spent most of the day yesterday in the ER. Today our son, Ty, will take her to the hospital to find out why the massive headache and the pain in the area of her gall bladder. Pray for a cleardiagnosis and for healing, please. Thank you!
Don’t let the sheer cliffs scare you. This driver knows what he’s doing! Thank God!!
You’d enjoy the ride
Putting trust in the driver
He’s quite talented
We’re just relaxing
In Grandmaman’s lovely home
So blessed to be here!
Here’s Nick & Céline
They treated us yesterday
Pink Asian in Sierre
Great breakfast again
At Grandmaman’s lovely home
Sierre, Switzerland
Listening to bells
Is such a rare privilege
I wish you were here!
Our DeDe is such a blessing!
This is a typical scene of flower boxes in Vissoie. They are beautiful at De & André’s chalet.
Did I show you that brief video earlier? It was in my saved drafts.
This afternoon we had a wonderful lunch with Theu and Célia. Their son, Aurélien, lived with us in 2004-5 when we took a motorhome trip from CA to MT and UT and found our Ennis home. We have such wonderful memories of that year with him as he gained air hours to get his pilot’s license
Live sweet memories of beautiful days gone by cherish the friendships
Thank you, Theu & Célia!
There you see Denise happily engaged in conversation with Célia who was across the table from her. They hadn’t seen each other in a while. We had not seen Theu & Célia since Aurélien’s wedding 8 years ago!!
I hope you are able to maintain long-term relationships like this one. Tell me about a special one you treasure.
Did I tell you yesterday about Sylviane? We started calling her Syli in 1982-3 when she lived for a tear with us in California. She took DeDe to live for a year with her family after she left us.
Young, naïve, beautiful, impressionable DeDe!
The lesson learned here: unless you want your daughter to go off to a foreign country to live the rest of her life, do not invite a foreign exchange student into your home when your dollywolly is young and impressionable!
Here I am with ZuZu, our 1980-81 Swiss son. So… on the other hand…
… if you want to enrich your life exponentially, you might consider just that! Check out AFS and tell them what country you’d like to have change your life!!
My friend, Dana, said she wanted to hear more alpenhorn. Here you are, Dana:
Thanks for vicariously traveling with us one more day! See ya tomorrow. Meantime, have a blessed Saturday.
Today we went to Yellowstone National Park with our grandson, Nick, and his sweetheart, Celine.
The only entrances into the park that were open were the north gate by Gardner and the north-east gate by Cooke City. We were able to enjoy the Mammoth Hot Springs and the road to the Tower. Only on that last road were we able to spot a few bison. Not being able to go through West Yellowstone to Old Faithful was a disappointment, but Nick will just have to return with Celine some summer when the whole park is available. Highlights today were:
TazE enjoying the Bighorn sheep that were right by the road (we did, too)
2. Enjoying a day in Yellowstone at Mammoth Hot Springs with Nick & Celine
3. Being healthy & vigorous enough to enjoy walking the Mammoth Hot Springs trail, too!
4. Stopping in Gardner for refreshments on our way home
5. And enjoying the changing colors of the night sky on our way home
Hopefully next trip we’ll be able to go through West Yellowstone and see Old Faithful in her glory. But meantime, we had a great day with bighorn sheep, bison (at a distance), antelope, mule tail deer, and a bald eagle delighting our visitors.
Nick took lots better pictures than I did… and his Instagram posts will delight his followers, I am sure.
Hopefully you can come some day, too… and enjoy this beautiful park with us.
Meantime, thanks for visiting with us today. See ya tomorrow (God willing) Love, JanBeek
To see more of Yellowstone Park, click on that August 9, 2019 post. Our cousin, Sofia, visited the Park with us on that occasion. Old Faithful and the hot springs were in full array.
Do you have trouble asking for help? Or trouble receiving it? Or trouble knowing when you need it?
All of those are questions to which I must admit – yes! I enjoy being able to say, “I can do this!” Mom told me that two of my favorite words as a toddler were, “Me do!”
So, it should come as no surprise to you that I was reluctant to accept the help of a wheelchair when we were in Switzerland this month. Our daughter and grandsons were very wise, however. They didn’t ask. They just rented one and had it available for the loooong walks they knew would be part of our schedule. God bless ‘em!
Bob, with his congestive heart ♥️ failure – and me with my arthritic knee and ankles, needed it! And we appreciated taking turns being pushed as we toured Sierre (with Mike’s fiance’ Tania, as our gracious tour guide) and as we walked the distances required at the Sion Wine Festival. (Seeing how others see you when you’re in a wheelchair… well, that’s a topic for a future blog!)
The other help that we really treasured was our daughter, DeAna’s tech skills. She helped us find the links to the COVID-19 tests and other paperwork we needed before travel, the taxi we needed to get from airport to hotel/hotel to restaurant/ restaurant to train station, etc. Lordy, we could not have made this trip without her and all our other helpers!
Here are a few more photos of the phenomenal experiences we had:
The train took us from Derrick’s in Downton to London. We had a wait at Waterloo Station before the next train to the airport, so we took the opportunity to relax and grab a bite to eat. (Yes, food always is a highlight of foreign travel!)
The travel in London is very easy if you have someone helping you find the right direction, the right train or taxi. On the train, each stop is well labeled. Away we went… headed for Heathrow Airport and on to Geneva.
De’s husband, André, picked us up at the airport… another helper whose gracious assistance we accepted willingly. It was a drizzly, gray day, but that weather only lasted two days. The rest of our two weeks in Switzerland were gorgeous blue skies!
This is our view on morning #1 from Denise’s balcony in Sierre.
That first Swiss week, we were at André’s mom, Denise’s in Sierre. And of course, more food … and delicious wine. That’s our DeDe getting ready to serve the wine. Our grandsons, Nick & Mike, provided the cheese fondue. More evidence of generous helpers… doing the cooking and serving!
The fondue is always one of our favorite Swiss meals. As you know, Switzerland is noted for its cheese, chocolates, and watches… oh, and banking! It is an amazing, clean, technically advanced, beautiful country!
In advance of our arrival, our grandsons created a spreadsheet of activities they planned for us and sent it out to family, so others could choose times to be involved with our visit. Soooo sweet of them!
Thank you, Nicky, for being such a wonderful, loving helper! We look forward to your visit here to Montana this Thanksgiving with your sweetheart, Celine.
Thank you, Mike & Tania, for taking such good care of us and showing us so many beautiful sites! We look forward to returning to Switzerland next September for your wedding!
Back Home
In today’s sermon at our Madison Valley Presbyterian Church, our pastor, Mary Grace Reynold’s sermon fit right into this theme of “Embrace Helpers.” Using Mark 10:46-52 as her springboard, she shared the helping nature of Jesus. The story of the blind man who asked for Jesus’ help pointed clearly to need for us all to set aside our “Me do” childish attitude and ask for help when we need it. Accept help offered, and praise the Lord with all our hearts when that help comes.
Mark 10:46-52
New International Version
Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging.
47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.”
50 Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Mmmm …
Thank you, DeDe, for marrying Andre’ and giving us this wonderful place to “have to” visit! Thank you for all your help & love.
Dear blogging friends, I pray when you have a chance to travel and you need help seeing all you want to see, you will take a lesson from Bartimaeus and from Bob & me… Ask for help – Graciously receive it – And enjoy the journey with gratitude and joy in your heart!
Do you love to travel? What is your motivation to travel? Some people travel to study history. Some travel to see the scenery. Bob traveled recently to “catch the big one!” Others travel for business purposes. Why do you travel?
This week my grandson, Mike, who lived in Switzerland took a trip to Greece with his fiance’ Tania, and sent me some wonderful photos. Why do you think they traveled?
At the same time, our daughter, DeAna, sent us pictures of her travel experience. She and Andre’ (our son-in-law) are traveling to Corsica this week. Why do you think they traveled?
Look at the difference in travel mode!!
Bob & I traveled to Bozeman today. That kind of travel counts, don’t you think? It’s an hour’s drive… We went for several reasons: Get my new iPhone, Get help programming the phone, Get a haircut, Buy new clothes for our trip to Switzerland. Why do you think we’re going to Europe?
Snow-capped Madison Range Ennis, MT 9-21-21
No, our trip to Switzerland has nothing to do with Swiss cows. Guess again!
I am praying that all these COVID tests required for flying to London, and then required for staying there, and then required for leaving and going to Switzerland will arrive on time to each of their destinations. I have faith that God hears my prayers, and God knows how much we need to see our daughter and the rest of our Swiss family. Please pray with me for all to go smoothly!
And stay tuned…
I hope to show you my favorite sites along the way.
Our buddy, Rex Hocking, with his award-winning 30″ trout.
Bob says it’ll be pretty hard to beat that wonderful, surreal trip he just took with his buddies to Alaska. Rex sent a photo of Bob fishing (there was a bear on the shore right across the river from where he was)! Just imagine that!
I can’t post that fisherman-bear photo today (gotta figure out how to reduce the size of the file and eliminate some of my WordPress photos so I have room to add more in my media library)… But, it is pretty hard to beat those kinds of experiences, huh?
God willing, and test results arriving on time, we’ll be sharing our fun in the days to come.
Where have you traveled recently? Or what’s your favorite trip?
