Sunday Brunch- 4.24.11- Get outta town- The Madison Valley

'Back to Good' one little trip at a time. There are no excuses in not living the life we really want. All we need to do is trust and leap- the net always appears.

At the end of a 3 week whirlwind, I was finally able to do something spontaneous and fun.  Yesterday afternoon, I headed down to the Madison Valley to check in with friends. I didnt get to see any of them but I did meet new friends, enjoyed some water time, explored a bit and happened to catch a little Montana Safari of sorts.  As a side note:: I really like that landing strip in the middle of the Valley. One day I WILL land a plane there. Its time to complete that task I set out to  do 13 years ago. My dad was a private pilot- so much time was spent in the air and at small airports across the country as a kid.  I love everything about it. One more item to add to the bucket list.

The goal was to possibly make it down to West Yellowstone via Ennis and back to Bozeman via Big  Sky. By the time I made it to Cameron and the Beartooth Fly Shop- it was getting dark so I ended up staying on the river outside Ennis at a little place called the Rainbow Lodge. Very kind people.  They are friends of the Delekta's  who own the Beartooth Fly Shop on the Madison past Cameron. If you fish the Madison, you probably know Nancy and Dan by name, a big smile and a hug. Good people indeed and full of all the genuine kindness, hospitality and generosity of spirit it takes to run an operation built around ones passion.  I love them, can you tell?  Here is a link to their website www.beartoothflyfishing.com

Their Shop is packed with everything and anything you would need for a successful day on the river. They have great guides, gear, lunches and insider tips.  All that is good and necessary, but I really go for my hugs.

There were a few hundred head of Elk in the fields beneath the Sphinx, pronghorn sheep, cattle, sheep, water birds & deer all out enjoying the sunshine for the first time in weeks. The little town of Cameron has some swank new signage that seems it might be worth more than the whole town thrown together.  Ok,  Im sure that isn't true, but they must be gearing up for a Summer reopening of some measure. Over all, it was very quiet , the only exception being the  abundance of the wild life.

This looks colder than it actually was. The sun had been lost by the time this photo was taken.

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This was beautiful in person. Driving East from Varney Bridge at sunset.

I love the layers of color in this one. They will only get better as we head towards Spring in our high mountain dessert.

The Elk, deer, pronghorn and birds were too well disguised to see clearly in photos from my Blackberry- but the black angus and their spring babes show up perfectly.

This is the kind of day we woke up to Easter morning. Awesome. Perfect for the drive back to Bozeman to stoke up the Sunday Brunch show for you by 9am.'

Rainbow Valley Lodge and its hostess with the most-est. She is well known far and wide for her pine needle baskets. www.rainbowvalley.com

Again, my picture of them didnt turn out so well.  Here is one of the two of them in their lobby from their website. Im glad I stayed and will be back!  They also have a nice selection of gifts, handcrafted items, fishing gear etc... They have a good selection of gear for the ladies as well and a comfy sitting area  and waking up surrounded by rich real wood paneling is always a good thing in this girls book.

An easy drive up to your room with gear holds out front. The O'Dell Spring Creek is right there too. Pretty sweet access.

Then it was back to Bozeman....

I think this might become a trend....

Here is this weeks playlist- wonderful calls and requests. Thanks for adding to the fun today. Happy Easter Bunny Day.

Red Horse- Coshiville- Red Horse

Lyle Lovett- If I Had a Boat- Pontiac

Daniel Martin Moore- In These Hearts- Stray Age

Ray LaMontagne- For the Summer- recorded Live in the Fall of 2010

Patty Griffin- Coming Home- Downtown Church

Tony Furtado- Waste of the Moon- Deep Water

Madeline Peyroux- River of Tears- Bare Bones

Steve Earle- Tennessee Blues- Washington Square Serenade

Indigo Girls- Love Will Come to You- Rites of Passage

Jeffery Foucault- Train to Jackson- Ghost Repeater

Crooked Still-You Got the Silver- Some Strange Country

Neil Young- Silver & Gold- Silver & Gold

Redbird- Hold On- Redbird

Amos Lee- Clear Blue Eyes- Mission Bell

Eddie Vedder- Longing to Belong

David Gray- Only the Wine- single

Joan Baez- Diamonds and Rust- Diamonds and Rust

Shawn Colvin- Diamond in the Rough- Live 88

Robert Earl Keen- The Road Goes on Forever- The Party Never Ends

Joni Mitchell- Big Yellow Taxi- Hits and Misses

Taj Mahal- Giant Step- The Best of Taj Mahal

James Taylor- Sweet Baby James- LIVE

Josh Ritter- Snow is Gone- Hello Starling

Darrell Scott- The Open Door- A Crooked Road

Cat Stevens- Katmandu- Classics

Suzanne Vega- Songs in Red and Gray- Close Up Vol 1

Eddie Vedder- Growin’ Up- Berkley show bootleg 4.7.08

John Hiatt- Gone- Crossing Muddy Waters

Emmy Lou Harris- Gone- Songbird

Jackson Brown & David Lindley- Running on Empty- Love is Strange

Joel Raphael- Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key-

Neil Young- My My, Hey Hey- Rust Never Sleeps

Beatles- Blackbird- White Album

Abigail Washburn- City of Refuge- City of Refuge

Ben Sollee- How to See the Sun Rise- Learning to Bend

Ben Harper- Happily Ever After In Your Eyes- Both Sides of the Gun

Norah Jones- Sunrise- Feels Like Home

Matt Costa- Sunshine- Songs We Sing

Green River Ordinance- Where the West Wind Blows- The Morning Passengers EP

Cat Stevens- On the Road to Find Out- Classics

Alexi Murdoch- All My Days- Time Without Consequence

Martin Sexton- With a Little Help from my Friends- Live Solo