Wide OPEN spaces & Quilting Bee

hi friends ~

while we’re waiting for ~~spring~~ ~ summer, that is… {i think spring has skipped us} … i’ve been contemplating possible road trips for us to take this summer. i found these pictures, although taken in 2010, it was a most enjoyable trip to the southern landscapes of montana…

a deer in the fence? make that… a fence Post!

love the ‘back’ roads… we are in awe of the wide open spaces… really hard to fathom, even for those of us acquainted with living in the ‘wild frontier’ of this awesome God’s country, no matter where you live…

we headed south, on the back gravel roads, which got quite a bit rougher as we headed into the big belt mountains in the background.

and on through the backroads we found spectacular cattle pastures, and cool, old, abandoned homesteads.

and a friendly face in this sweet horse.

on to virginia city in the famous alder gulch:

then on to the “open air” Museum in the gulch where there was a ‘live quilting been’ put on by the local quilt guild. very cool!

i definitely admired their efforts {and willingness} to dress up in the fashion of the era as well.

so hard for me to imagine what it must be like to not only wear all that fabric ~ but wash it! yikes.

always fun to take a peek into the old cabins…

loved the old schoolhouse, too.

and a beautiful old home; it must have been quite majestic and ‘high-end’ in it’s day! what a neat balcony, too.

i especially adored the gingerbread trim!

biscuit, anyone?

uh… maybe not! and definitely not any of the below-mentioned products either! but how cool to see what those fabulous labels say. they would be fun in a mixed media piece!