Ah, our wonderful, beautiful little piece of paradise. Who would have thought a Halloween trip to the mountains of Montana would prove to be so relaxing for the soul? Being this was our third trip to the Lodge at Lolo Hot Springs, we would consider ourselves old pro's on this particular vacation. We showed up with a variety of drinks and snacks to load up the in-room mini-fridge and unpacked our earplugs to compensate for the thin walls. When now out hiking or soaking in the hot springs, we were cuddled up in bed eating potato chips and taquitos watching old DVD's rented from the lodge. We also like to visit local eateries, so we took take-out back to the room from nearby Lolo Hot Springs restaurant and also trekked our way into the MT wilderness to enjoy a hot meal and beer at Jack's Saloon (little known inside tip, you can host your wedding at Jack's Saloon and land! It's beautiful out there and was the runner up location for our wedding). Here are just a few photos from our adventures - enjoy!
September came with a strong and sudden shift in the temperature. With that came a jump into all things fall, including cooking my all-time favorite Pumpkin Butter Cookies from Half Baked Harvest. And, in an effort to take on new fall activities, grabbing the friends, our masks, and doing some apple picking at a local orchard. An added bonus was some cider after all our efforts. Delicious!
Now, don't worry about Chris and I. We'll just be peeling and dehydrating apples for the next four months.
Another adventure with the love of my life! The incredibly talented photographer, Heather Woolery (who took some last-minute engagement photos for Chris and me that are SO MAGICAL!) was on the hunt for a couple to take some artistic photos with down on the river. Chris is such a champ and said yes! We headed down and prayed for some rain, but was stuck with some overcast, which was still moody and lovely. We took photos up on the rocks and ended our session with Heather by getting into the water. It was an artistic shoot, so we do not have any photos back yet, but you can bet your boots I'll share photos on Instagram when Heather gets a chance to edit them!
Anyway, while down in the valley, I went ahead and snapped a few shots of my own. I'm working to improve on my landscape photos, as I've always leaned towards photos of people. Expanding those skills, trying new things - you know, just trying to be even more uncomfortable these days.
This smoke is truly something else, isn't it?! With all the wildfires in the region, it was only a matter of time until the smoke showed up. Once it moved in, I went out to relive my photojournalism days and capture this event in history.







