Smoked Out

For the past week or so I've woken up, looked out my bedroom window, and gazed upon a thick, brown, smokey haze hovering over the Gallatin Valley. The Bridger Mountains, normally visible, seem to have disappeared.

So much for Montana's clean air.

I'm sick of the fires. From a journalist's perspective, I love covering them. From a citizen's perspective, it's disgusting. The smell of smoke is getting old. My eyes burn all the time. People around town are coughing constantly. It's making me crave the crisp, cold air of winter. Anything to get this haze out of the air.

In other news, some of my Glacier friends and some of my work friends traveled up to the Garnet Mountain Lookout Tower for an overnight stay.

It was awesome. I've known you could stay in Forest Service cabins and towers for year but I had no idea how luxurious they were (well....as luxurious as you can get for an old cabin at the top of a mountain). The hike was intense but the view was well worth it.

A few other thoughts: Goodbye Steve Irwin - I wasn't what you'd call a loyal fan but I was sad to see you go. Reliving 9/11 - I still think about what happened that day and I'm shocked. What a horrific day...and yet as a journalist, I wish I could have been there covering it. Coffee - I've been drinking too much of it. I need to stop.

That's all for now. Later.