Homestead Visitors Log Book
2004
January 31/February 1 (Saturday/Sunday)
Happy New Year! Molly Kline & brad Smith in from Belgrade @ 330. Snowshoed & skiied
from Mark Krpn's gate - saw considerable elk sign on the way. 30 degrees in cabin, 31
degrees out. Built a small bonfire in road near woodshed, and managed to clear out
some of the unusable junk wood that has managed to find it's way to the woodpile.
Will probably burn some more in a month or two before I clean up the ash pile. Accidently
scratched the floor by the curtain. Headed back to the Gallatin Valley, 1010 AM. 42
degrees in the cabin, 25 degrees out.
February 13 (Friday)
Happy Valentines Day!! (Tomorrow) Jen Petersen & Beau Haker arrived @ 6:30 pm w/Trixie,
Judah & Bud. Very cold. Sat A.M.: Beautiful sunrise, only @ 10 degrees. Back to bed
till 9:30, 30 degrees, planning on putting on telemark skis & taking the dogs out.
We made it all the way to the cabin in Beau's Range Rover (Couldn't have done in a
different rig). Had a giant dinner of ribeyes Sat. night
February 16 (Monday)
Beautiful & sunny, 40 degrees. Have seen deer & elk signs all over; putting up new
"No Trespassing" signs today, the previous ones are completely faded away. Cold &
windy in P.M.
February 17 (Tuesday)
Nice & mild, 41 degrees, we're outta here, had a wonderful time relaxing.
March 13 (Saturday)
Brad Smith in from Belgrade @ 11:15 AM. 40 degrees in cabin , not much snow left
anywhere. Worked on the junk wood pile, cleaned up some wire. Krpn's green gate was
unlocked - accidently, it appears - when I came through. Jen was right, there sure
is a lot of sign, including sign of a minor break in attempt on the NW corner shutter.
She was wrong about the fancy Range Rover being the only rig able to come in here,
tho. Snowmachine or 4 wheeler tracks (scars?) are visible in the thin cover of the
little hill facing the porch. Seems like people who recreate (?) on these machines
think they have the unwritten right to go where they please. Other sign in the yard
included beer & pop cans, bottle caps, and a myriad of spent shells. 300 + acres,
and the yard is the best place to shoot?...
Not all was doom & gloom - huge V's of geese winged northward far overhead all day,
honking in the coming spring - a beautiful sight. Back to Belgrade at 400, temp in
cabin 50 degrees.
March 26 (Friday)
Jen Petersen in from Bozeman w/dogs --> 1:00 pm, overcast and snowing off & on very
lightly, nothing sticking. Don & Terry P. are coming for the night. Gates all closed
but can see tracks Brad mentions. Skye & Terry & DHP in about 2pm from WF. Overcast,
cool, calm. 1" of water in rain gauge.
March 27 (Saturday)
Calm, mostly clear, 30 degrees at 7 am. Had a nice breakfast & will be heading for
W Fish later this a.m.
April 3 (Saturday)
Brad Smith & Pony in from Belgrade to clean up burn spot. Will see how grass grows
before I put sand on it. Hauled a bunch of wood by product to the mine hole 1/2 way
to s. gate. Much sign, no animals.
Arrived 1:30, departed 5:15
April 9 (Friday)
4:30 PM 50 degrees F Helen S. & Greg M. in from Helena following Duane's memorial
service at Fort Harrison. Mostly cloudy. Had hoped to do a little weed management,
specifically on the very evil cheatgrass!! Tactic is to hit it hard early as it flowers
& seeds much earlier than natives thus giving it an advantage. Hopefully we can get
out here early in May to knock it back, as well as have a whack at the toadflax &
knapweed. Spud bar is back in garage. We brought out a fact sheet on hantavirus &
cleaning tios as well as a container of bleach and some mixed bleach/water for
cleaning. Latest research shows knapweed, up gall fly population, up deer mouse
population, proportion of hantavirus. Let's be careful cleaning!! Lots of moose scat
behind garage near aspen - browsing height indicates tall moose or deep snow...
Feather in drive, lots of scat on porch, prints in sand --> turkeys!! Walking around
we've seen quite a bit of sign but no birds (maybe in the morning). Who knows...
maybe next year there'll be a season on 'em in these parts!!
April 10 (Saturday)
7 AM 29 degrees out 39 degrees in Cleared up over night - frosty this morning. Fair
skies & looks to be a great day. Also looks to be a banner year for Bitterroots
if all the plants we've seen bloom. Seems somebody has been chopping kindling in
front of stove - lots of hatchet marks in the floor --> please do this chore outside
(not on the porch either!). There seems to be some critter activity in the attic
above the front door - nest material is filtering down. No time to investigate further
on this trip. Swept/cleaned and on the roads by 9 AM.
April 14 (Wednesday)
Skye & DHP in at 9am from Helena. Had 1 1/4" of precip in the rain gauge., GOOD! Nice
day, partly cloudy 50 degrees. Cleaning up the old wood pile is a good effort - ir
has been a mess. FYI the turkeys come from Krpn's place, they wander all over. Chopping
wood on the cabin floor is forbidden & will lead to banishment. Fed the yellow roses
& the creepers - some critter did a number on the south side creepers this winter.
Probably our rabbit friends.
April 15 (Thursday)
Skye & DHP out from Helena at about 11 am. Partly cloudy, little breeze, 53 degrees.
Fixed some fence, had a nice lunch of cold prime rib & crab - tasty. Krpn's turkeys
(1 tom & 4 hens) are hanging out here. He will probably come up Sunday & try to
corral them.
April 31 ? (Friday)
Brad Smith & Big Jaun in from beautiful downtown Belgrade, 1200 noon. 3 fair sized
muley does greeted me @ Krpn's gate, unperturbed by my (our) presence. 55 degrees
in cabin, 60 degrees out. Made some strides on the wood area starting to look somewhat
respectable. Took a walk up the draw and down the fence bordering Shuele's, forgot
the fencing staples but recomend two big handfuls before winter. One of Krpn's turkeys
appeared in the yard, walked up the hill, and then made a bee-line for the spot where
the bon fire was. Something about it was pleasureable for her, she rooted down in it
and rolled in it (like a dog). She was a contradiction - quite ugly to see and very
beautiful to watch move. I also found out what turkey scat looks like - now I won't
have to rag someone for not cleaning up after their dog.
May 1 (Saturday)
Heading for Belgrade. Took some cans. Will put some grass seed on the dirt spots
where the wood was - don't know that it will help.
May 6 (Thursday)
12:30PM 62 degrees Reneaus in from Missoula for a short visit. Paul's grandma visiting
from Los Angeles, CA (Great Granny Joyce Smith) Beautiful, sunny day, some flowers
blooming along the way. Boys saw a turkey and a rabbit when they entered the yard.
About 2" water in the guage. Granny made the big climb - up and around the rocks.
Saw the plaques & back down by the horse barn. Gave the LR & kitchen a quick sweep.
2:30ish 70 degrees we're on our way back to Missoula. - the boys have soccer & track
practice!
May 9 (Sunday)
Happy Mother's Day everyone. Nikki & Karen arrived 130 PM. Saw & watched 8 white
tail deer meander around the woodshed. Kevin, Chele & Kassi Kyle and Daisy Dog arrived,
also Bruce, Shelby drove in, took the fence wire & posts down so we can use that spot.
74 degrees wind sun shining. Cleaned up the wood pile. Barbecue & eat & please,
please dump stove ashes down past the O.H. not where people walk - per fence & by the back
steps! Temp in cabin 70 degrees.
May 15 (Saturday)
Kyle & Karen in about 1145 A.M. Brad & Molly & dog Pony here before us. Molly & I
did the lilacs suckers, etc. Brad doing the wood cutting & stacking. Temp inside 68
degrees & out is 69 degrees. Bruce & Shelby dog arrived.
June 12 (Saturday)
7:30 PM 64 degrees
Helen, Greg, and Connie Flores & Piper Dog in from Missoula for the night. Bruce
& Shelby Dog were up top trimming branches along the road then came down for a quick
visit before they headed out ~ 9 pm. Pleasant evening.
June 13 (Sunday)
7:45 AM 50 degrees out / 54 degrees inside
Cloudy over night w/a few sprinkles early. After breakfast & a quick hike up & around
the rocks we are off. We'll stop up top & burn some cheatgrass before heading down
through Marks'
10:15 Cloudy & only 56 degrees
June 16 (Wednesday)
Early arrivals for reunion - Dorrie & DJ from California rolled in about 5pm. Benny,
Lee and Carole got here about 15 minutes later. Temp. about 57-60 degrees and it fell
to 42 degrees in PM. Rained & wind in the middle of the nite.
June 17 (Thursday)
Donald Petersen arrived at 1:25pm. (Skye with him.)
Two turkeys sighted running past the house. BIG one & small one. Tan rabbit spotted
by the outhouse. Woodchucks/marmots spotted before green gate. Bird on rail by lilacs.
2:40pm - Gary & Pat Baker arrived.
June 18 (Friday)
Paul, Sami & Kristian Neidhardt in 11:30ish, Sheila N. in 1:30ish
The rest of this page and probably one more has been torn out of the cabin log. GPB
June 30 (Wednesday)
Dave, DHP Skye in from WF about 2pm. About 80 degrees, partly cloudy. 4 turkeys in
yard. Scouted some toadflax for spraying.
July 1 (Thursday)
Calm, clear, 50 degrees at 7a.m. Had a brief shower during the night. We did weeds
today. Dave dug a bagful & I sprayed two ATV tankfuls (approx 14gal each). Knapweed
is scarce but toadflax is all over the place - be my guest!
July 2 (Friday)
Calm, clear, 50 degrees at 7a.m. Sprayed toadflax with another 14 gal while Dave
cut out singles. We're off to WF at 11 am, Ta Ta.
P.S. Some one left the living room door completely unbolted, unlocked, etc
Makes it pretty simple for visitors.
July 3 (Saturday)
Helen, Greg, Zane, Sterling, & Piper in from Missoula about 2 pm. Partly cloudy & ~68
degrees F on the porch. Lightning / thunder storm over the Elkhorns. Karen & Lois
in about 3 pm. Started sprinkling soon after w/steady rain to follow (nearly 0.2"
rain in the rain gauge for the night. Friends Scott Mincemoyer (sp?) Mo
Mislivets in about 4 pm. Karen off to Helena after dinner. Our mission this weekend
was to pull weeds - tough job when we don't know where spraying took place! Guess
we'll head to area between spring & south gate & maybe up the draw. Printout from
the CDC on hantavirus precautions is missing --> please repost for all to refer to!
Note regarding road through Madsen's/Mark -> just below Madsen property there are
trees down - I don't have a chainsaw to clear, but will try to get my hands on one
& take care of that...
(Sunday)
Independence Day 50 degrees F at 7:30 AM
Thanks to Bruce we have a nice new flag to fly. Carla & Paul in about 10:30 AM from
Missoula. Mo & Scott out about 11:30 - headed for a backpack trip into the Tobacco
Root Mtns. Scott printed out a new invasive for us to worry about. It's in the mustard
family and it's called Berteroa. It's widespread in the yard area and is white with
small flowers ... tough to describe, but am willing to print it out if anybody desires.
We will try to pull it all this weekend.
Well we made a valiant attempt at pulling weeds. Carla, Paul, Zane, Sterling, Greg
& Helen started at the cabin and worked our way towards the spring (mostly berteroa
along here). At spring we pulled a different mustard (yellow one) as well as a couple
hounds tongue (one of the "10 Least Wanted") - need to return w/a shovel for these
monsters! Worked our way South and West from spring, pulling thousands of toadflax.
Worked for about 2 hours. Finally came to some sickly-looking toadflax near road and
decided we had made it to where the herbicide application left off. Mo & Scott came
in about 9 PM.
July 5 (Monday)
Rained off & on thru the night. Cloudy, damp, & 49 degrees F at 7am. Reneau family
out to Msla 1230PM or so. Rest of us gearing up to leave also, still cloudy 60 degrees
1 PM. 0.4" rain for the weekend - emptied rain gauge.
July 11 (Sunday)
Jen Petersen, Nate Burner, Trixie & Judah in from Bozeman @ 4:45 pm. 81 degrees inside
cabin, 85 degrees outside, windy but beautiful & sunny. Looked for the Beteroa Helen
mentioned by spring & stable, dug out some, I was pretty sure was it. Left Mon. 7/12,
found a shovel (Helen's?) up by road coming in --> I set it on the table against
wall --> 4:30 pm, 83 degrees in cabin, 55 degrees outside, until next time...!
August 8 (Sunday)
Jen Petersen & the dogs in for the day, arrived @ 12:30, 80 degrees outside 73 degrees
in cabin. Beautiful sunny day, still some lupine blooming. Its nice to see some green
this late in the season, heading back to Bozeman @ 5:30 - 6.
August 25 (Wednesday)
Roger Petersen & Travis came out for a afternoon of fun 64 degrees when we arrived
out here. Not too long before I head out to Iraq so spending time with Travis (3 yrs
old) out here is great. Uncle Donny arrived here about 230/300 AM. DHP & Skye in from
WF. Visited with Roger & Travis, then off for some fence work. Almost 2" in the rain
gauge!!
August 26 (Thursday)
Overcast, calm, 50 degrees at 7a.m. Had some rain last nite. Got in some fence fixing
on North 40 & East 40, the rain came about 3pm & we headed for the cabin to wait it
out. Finished the fencing chores after dinner & after the rain.
August 27 (Friday)
Calm, mostly overcast, 46 degrees at 7 a.m. We'll be packing up & leaving for WF
this morning.
September 4 (Saturday)
Breeze, clouds, 68 degrees at 248PM
G. Jay St. George grandson & Karen arrived 235Pm. Lois showed shortly after 3PM -
Nikki & Bruce came soon after. Brad came in Fri eve, went to JCBar to watch the
Grizzlies in their first football game of the season.
September 5 (Sunday)
Sun. A.M. 52 degrees Breeze & sunshine 8:20
September 6 (Monday)
Labor Day A.M 40 degrees 7: AM - Yearling buck & doe grazing the upper corner behind
woodshed.
Closing up - 72 degrees 341 p.m. Lois Karen & Jay are gone.
September 10 (Friday)
3:45 p.m. Joann & Hank N. in temp 76 degrees in shade. Sheila here 7:30ish - nice
cool evening. Lilacs - irises & vine look great a/c moisture this year. The vine
did well & DHP critter-proofed for the winter.
September 11 (Saturday)
6:30 am 50 degrees above. Beautiful day. Saw a wild (?) turkey. Fixed a lunch & went
to tour the Charter Oaks FWP mine just out of Elliston & several miles up a dirt FS
road (227B1) A really enjoyable day! Nine was interesting. Then a picnic lunch at
campground on MacDonald Pass - minus our tuna sandwiches. Sheila washed windows &
cleaned dead mouse & dirt from under couch. Jen Petersen & Chas. came in at 6:30.
Jen P. Dogs & Chad up from Bozeman. Met Hank, Joann and Sheila, hung out (next
several words undecipherable)out especially in the cabin. Too dark to notice
(undecipherable word), mouse (undecipherable word). 42 degrees F. Jen
beat Joann @ Cribbage 9 -11 @ 9:50 p.m. by 1 point. Chas 121 - Jennifer 119
September 12 (Sunday)
7 am Rain sprinkles 56 degrees. Jen & Chas & dogs out around 10 - raining then - not
sprinkles. Sheila & Joann cleaned - Sheila taking curtains home, etc home - to wash
- back in 2 weeks. Heard a coyote yipping this am. Didn't get any clean-up of mouse
stuff in back bedroom. .1 rain today. Removed 1 long dead mouse mummy from under foam
stuff that was at end of sofa - whomever owns/uses foam may want to consider throwing
it out, it's quite mousey.... Sheila out at 4 p.m. for Belgrade.
Rain about 9 or 10 pm.
September 13 (Monday)
6:30 am 44 degrees - mostly cloudy, rain. 2 mule deer 2 pt. buck just browsing along
the hillside, then a doe came along. Somebody's gloves left on shelf. Joann & Hank
out at 9-ish.
September 22 (Wednesday)
DHP & Sky in from WF at 2:30pm. Met with Michael Downy from Montana Land Reliance.
He had to do the annual monitoring visit - left about 4:30. Everything o.k. 55 degrees,
mostly cloudy, little wind but nice day. Some snow on North side of woodshed. 1 1/4"
of moisture in the rain gauge - Good!
September 23 (Thursday)
48 degrees, totally overcast & calm at 7 a.m. Just starting to get light. Put out a
few poison nuggets for the mice/rats to dine on. Watch your pets & children about what
they snack on. Out to WF at 8:20 am.
September 26 (Sunday)
68 degrees out, 60 degrees in. SN New mouse sign on dresser & cupboard by the bread
box....re-hung curtains - could not find the lid-lifter for the stove...out around
1:30ish - 70 degrees out 66 degrees in
October 23 (Saturday)
DHP & Skye in from Whitefish at about 3 pm. Overcast, light breeze, ~ 44 degrees.
Nice clean curtains - thanx Sheila. Also, thanx to whoever picked cardboard & plastic
pipe in the garage! Duane's birthday today. Standard time tomorrow - turn the clock
back!
October 24 (Sunday)
Clear, calm, 22 degrees at 6 a.m. Hunted the East 40, Nada. Hauled some old barb wire
& trash to the landfill. Visited with Bob & Barbara Marks.
October 25 (Monday)
Clear & calm & 20 degrees at 7am. Too nice for hunting?? Turned out to be a pretty
good day - missed a shot in the a.m. but had another in the p.m. which was good.
Clear all day but never much over 40 degrees.
October 26 (Tuesday)
High overcast, calm & 25 degrees at 7 a.m. Will be packing up & heading back to
Whitefish this morning.
November 14 (Sunday)
12 noon Terry Don & Skye stopped for a quick check-up on the place, no activity. Came
from Bozeman & headed for Whitefish.
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