The past week has been a blur. I just wrapped a seven-day stint at the shop, which in turn was coming straight off a three-day marathon of “real world” business in Bozeman. With a long list of things to do, stories to write and the day job, sleep has dropped to a secondary tier of importance.
And, it seems with the approach of July, the Missouri River people hatch has progressed to full swing.
The short stint in Bozeman was productive – full of work, photography and creativity. I was repeating one of my favorite assignments of all time – photographing Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. A few years ago – the last time I was in the state to see them, in fact – I photographed the troupe for The Big Sky Journal, and this time I was on assignment for The Big Sky Weekly.
I have adored Shakespeare for many years, to the point that I made my way through the complete works of Shakespeare and made notes on each play. For fun. And personal development. MSIP always does a stellar job of putting on the plays, and I was doubly excited as they were taking on Henry V, a personal favorite.
The troupe performs out-of-doors, in a different small town each evening throughout the summer. The actors themselves pack, drive and set up stage at each location before performing. I have nothing but admiration for the team who undertakes that task.
Well done, MSIP. Well done, indeed. I’m excited to catch up with the troupe as I may this summer.
After a run of meetings in Bozeman, I headed back up into Missouri River no man’s land. We are in the midst of our first run of real summer weather – saw 97 Friday – and people are taking full advantage of the cooling power of water. There are suddenly as many recreational floaters on the river as anglers, and reduced flows are driving the two groups together.
Needless to say, I have heard a few stories detailing near altercations on the banks of the mighty ‘Mo.
With the influx of people we are seeing an entirely new cast of characters in Craig, and I had the pleasure to meet a few very nice clients this week. I can never help but grin when some guy walks in, looks me over and says “you the photographer?”
If you are around, crew, stop in and say hi. It’s always fun to meet new faces!
I’m paying close attention to the water situation around here – we received an email with a water order saying Holter was due to drop to 2450 CFS as of the 26th. I’m writing this on Saturday the 29th, and so far we are still holding at 3210 CFS. Water temperatures have bumped over 61 degrees Fahrenheit at the dam, and things are looking a mite weedy. I’ve sought out some local fisheries biologists whose response has simply been to wait and see what the weather and the water does.
Regardless, it should be an interesting water year. And potentially an interesting fire year. Saw the first fire response team on the move yesterday when we were shuttling – they were on a small grassfire between Craig and Wolf Creek. To their credit, the jumped on it before it got out of hand. But does this portend things to come? We shall see…
