Western Montana is currently in the middle of a drought and a heat wave. Our June, the month that usually produces the most rain, gave us none at all and the temperatures have been running nearly 20 degrees above normal, in the mid 90’s to the low 100’s. Early this morning however there was a cool place to be…
Montana Outdoors 
hot
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Comment by Boeta: RumblingOcean, Photofun blogs — July 4, 2015 @ 10:59 am
Very hot for us here. New records were set nearly all of the month.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2015 @ 12:10 pm
Good luck. Hope it breaks a little.
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Comment by Boeta: RumblingOcean, Photofun blogs — July 4, 2015 @ 12:18 pm
I hope so too. Looks like there may be a few days of relief within the next week with a few storms in the forecast, but the down side of summer rainstorms here is that they include lightning. During the last storm there were 175 lightning strikes in the forest just south of here, 7 of which started fires.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2015 @ 12:21 pm
Yikes
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Comment by Boeta: RumblingOcean, Photofun blogs — July 4, 2015 @ 12:34 pm
Beautiful photos and yes, it looks like a good place to be … we are also having a summer of almost no rain, everything very dry, but not those temps, fairly mild here … thankfully. Enjoy your day!
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Comment by Teresa Evangeline — July 4, 2015 @ 11:00 am
I admire your milder weather! Our snowpack melted over a month earlier than normal this year, but there is enough watershed high on the mountain to keep this stream flowing, hopefully all through the summer. It goes underground before it reaches the roaded area and so only those who hike the trail know about the stream. There are two streams that do that, about 3 miles apart.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2015 @ 12:14 pm
Same thing here. June is usually rainy but it has been dry since early May. Crazy climate change. Nice cool place. Just looking at the photo makes me think it’s cooler than it really is.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — July 4, 2015 @ 11:06 am
I think that we are close enough geographically to participate quite a bit in the same general climate. All of the northwest U.S. is suffering, and we are very concerned about the potential forest fire situation, exacerbated by a human population that is stupid enough to have caused 88% of the 650 fires in the state so far this year.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
EXACTLY!!!!
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — July 4, 2015 @ 4:35 pm
I’d be tempted to put my camera on the bank and sit in the water.
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Comment by Malcolm R. Campbell — July 4, 2015 @ 11:15 am
Maybe later in the day. Early in the morning I stepped in the stream and I doubt that you would sit there very long!
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2015 @ 12:18 pm
Definitely not at dawn.
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Comment by Malcolm R. Campbell — July 5, 2015 @ 8:16 am
Lovely waterfalls! Perfect for a warm day:)
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Comment by Girl Gone Expat — July 4, 2015 @ 12:27 pm
The canyon through which that little stream runs is very deep and very shady, therefore quite cool. The trick is though to hike the mile it takes to get up there early in the morning before the daytime temps hit. It was pleasant this morning!
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2015 @ 3:23 pm
We went from a month long drought in May to flood watches in June and I hope you’ll see some rain soon too. On top of the low snowfall last winter things must be getting worrisome.
You don’t have to be a scientist to see that the weather is doing some very strange things lately.
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — July 4, 2015 @ 2:46 pm
The strangest thing has been the distribution of precipitation. The traditional patterns haven’t held. The weather we are having right now is normal for here, but it’s early by over a month. Hopefully there will be a respite before the usual late summer heat kicks in.
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2015 @ 3:26 pm
Gosh, that certainly IS hot (for your location). Must be worrying for the ranchers and farmers.
Wonderful photos and I love the fact that you haven’t used too slow a shutter speed, but have still retained the sense of movement in the water . (I don’t like that white fairy floss texture than some photographers use on water around rocks etc It makes the water movement disappear altogether).
Looks like the perfect place to go on a hot day.
Are these hand-held shots or on a tripod?
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Comment by Vicki — July 4, 2015 @ 5:12 pm
I keep trying to hit that sweet spot with the shutter speed that will still show water movement and still get a decent exposure. These were taken at 1/8 second, f13, ISO400, -.7EV. You know how hard it is to get a decent exposure in deep shade with spots of bright sunlight! I didn’t have a tripod with me (I seldom do) and so the second one was taken from a prone position steadying the camera on a fallen tree. For the first one, I had one foot in the stream, a knee on a rock and held the camera tight against a protruding root from a cedar along the bank. Ya do what ya gotta do!
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Comment by montucky — July 4, 2015 @ 5:59 pm
Twenty degrees above normal is certainly hot and no rain in your usually rainy month? That is concerning. I’m glad you have such cool retreats to escape to though. The pictures are beautiful, Terry.
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Comment by Jane — July 4, 2015 @ 10:11 pm
Thanks Jane. This is the hottest and driest season that I can remember here. All time records have been made for both heat and lack of rain, and yet in other parts of the country, rain and flooding have been the problems. Somehow our weather distribution system has gotten a little sideways.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2015 @ 7:24 am
Beautiful waterfall! I’d definitely like to spend some time there.
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Comment by Lucy — July 5, 2015 @ 1:21 am
If this heat persists, I’ll be spending a lot more time there! That little stream has about 4 miles of cascades and waterfalls like that but heavy underbrush obscures many of them.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2015 @ 7:26 am
What a drag, I hope you get rain soon. 100 here is one thing but not there. At least you found a lovely escape.
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Comment by Candace — July 5, 2015 @ 9:35 am
Yes, the environment in the Valley of the Sun has adjusted to the high summer temperatures but the ecology is beginning to really suffer here because of the extended time that the heat is persisting. The cool places in the mountains are really treasures, but few people retreat there. As they do in most other places, people here congregate along the accessible lakes and rivers, trash up those places and in general drive each other crazy.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2015 @ 9:50 pm
Aahh…just perfect! Thanks for the true pause that refreshes. hugs
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Comment by Beth — July 5, 2015 @ 3:47 pm
I’m glad that you found a little refreshment from the photos, Beth!
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2015 @ 9:51 pm
I agree with the comment above about the way you go about capturing water. I do wish I’d been skilled enough to slow down a flapping flag on July 4th — it would have made for a better photo (with the Venus-Jupiter conjunction). But when it comes to water, I enjoy seeing the “action” because it helps to evoke the sound of live water.
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Comment by shoreacres — July 5, 2015 @ 6:05 pm
The technology is probably available (although I don’t have it myself) to present the sound of the water too, but what I wish is that more folks would or could visit places like that themselves and enjoy the whole experience. Recently I was asked what got me started hiking into the back country and I really couldn’t answer, but whatever it was I wish I could spread it to many more people.
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Comment by montucky — July 5, 2015 @ 10:12 pm
Wow, that sounds severe. I hope you get some fresher weather and some rain soon. By contrast, we had a windy, wet and cold June. Love your photos! I would be tempted to sit in those falls and cool off – or at least put my feet in!
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Comment by Jo Woolf — July 6, 2015 @ 12:28 am
When I hike through those canyons in mid summer, I will cool my feet and relax for awhile at each crossing. It’s very pleasant.
The weather forecast is changing now to include the chances of some rain showers, which would be most welcome, but also for thunder storms, which wouldn’t be!
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Comment by montucky — July 6, 2015 @ 8:17 pm
That DOES look refreshing! Sorry you’re in the heat and drought. I’d share some of this abundance of rain we’re getting with you if I could.
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Comment by Mama's Empty Nest — July 6, 2015 @ 6:18 am
We would welcome some of your rain. Somehow the distribution of the rain has gotten out of the usual balance.
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Comment by montucky — July 6, 2015 @ 8:18 pm
Wonderful photos. We have had cold and rainy days this summer. Few days ago we had during a couple of days warm with the max meperature29.3 ºC / 84.74ºF. Well, there is yet hope…
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Comment by Sartenada — July 7, 2015 @ 12:36 am
Not much we can do about it, is there! It’s easier to get and stay warm than to get cool though, especially when outdoors.
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Comment by montucky — July 7, 2015 @ 7:24 pm
Hi Montucky, It is all going East. Here in my area of N.Central Florida, we have had seven days of heavy thunderstorms or rain – usually inches per day. No trouble with flooding or tornadoes so far (I hope that stays the way it will go). Have a cooler and more refreshing day. Enjoy those cooling streams!
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Comment by wildlifewatcher — July 7, 2015 @ 11:47 am
The snow was in the east last winter too. Today was a little cooler though. Hope it continues!
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Comment by montucky — July 7, 2015 @ 7:23 pm
absolutely beautiful and refreshing to see!
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Comment by Tammie — July 7, 2015 @ 8:57 pm
That’s exactly what comes to my mind when I approach the canyon and the stream!
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Comment by montucky — July 8, 2015 @ 7:22 pm
Beautiful shots!
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Comment by williamkendall1 — July 11, 2015 @ 1:30 pm
Thanks!
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Comment by montucky — July 11, 2015 @ 2:38 pm
Photographing water in motion and capturing exactly how it looks is no small feat. You have certainly accomplished this here! Wow!
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Comment by WildBill — July 26, 2015 @ 3:39 am
Half an hour ago I saw something in Austin I may never have seen here before: a Montana license plate on a car.
Sorry to hear your temperature has gotten to triple digits and you’ve had so little rain.
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Comment by Steve Schwartzman — July 28, 2015 @ 5:34 pm
Beautiful scenery, regardless of temperature!
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Comment by Watching Seasons — July 29, 2015 @ 9:34 am
Hi Montucky!
It was the opposite here.
We had a rather rainy summer, and it wasn’t as hot as last year.
Never know exactly what mother nature is going to do!
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Comment by Mary Strong-Spaid — August 27, 2015 @ 5:09 pm
I love all the vibrant colors in these photos!
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Comment by The Lonely Dogs — August 28, 2015 @ 8:46 pm
I see you are concerned about Terry too…
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Comment by Mother Hen — September 2, 2015 @ 10:59 am
I haven’t seen you here for a while….hope you’re doing ok.
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Comment by seekraz — August 30, 2015 @ 8:27 am
It’s quiet here.. Hope you are ok!
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Comment by Mother Hen — September 2, 2015 @ 10:57 am
Thinking of you, Terry.
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Comment by Candace — September 2, 2015 @ 4:33 pm
Hoping all is well and sending good wishes your way, should you need them.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — September 3, 2015 @ 8:48 am
Hoping all is OK Terry. Your beautiful narrative on Montana is sorely missed.
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Comment by WildBill — September 11, 2015 @ 6:18 am
Thank you Bill. I’m going through a major adjustment, but the beautiful world of nature is still the same. I will return to it soon.
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Comment by montucky — September 29, 2015 @ 8:17 pm
Missing your posts. Are you okay?
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — September 21, 2015 @ 10:18 am