Bert Gildart: Writer and Photographer

Dear Family and Friends:  In years past we’ve mailed Christmas letters to family and friends, but we’re on the road right now and just discovered we left our address book at home. Hopefully, this posting will  seem just as appropriate.

Though it may seem as though we’ve become jet-setters, that’s really not the case.  However, we have amassed lots of Frequent Flier mileage and decided to use them this fall for various events.

L to R: We’re still On the Trail; Janie and Bert in Arizona; outside our cabin in Venetie Alaska, which still brings back some of our most favorite travel images.

In September, we flew to San Francisco to attend a family wedding.  Then, one week after returning to Montana, our home (when we’re not in our Airstream), we flew to Albany, New York, rented a car and then drove to several of the New England states to visit family and friends.  Of particular significance was a trip to see Nancy Dennis, whose husband Don, had just passed away.  Though we all knew his cancer was serious, his passing has been hard to accept, because he was active so recently.

Otherwise, this past year has been a good one.  We saw Janie’s children and their respective spouses.  Together, in our extended family, we have 14 grandchildren and we saw all of them this year, but just wish we all lived a little closer.

L to R:  Photographer recording pulsations of jelly fish; flight shot of hawk in Sonoran Desert Museum; Karen and Mother Jane on right  chomping on apples during Apple Orchard tour.

At one time Janie and I used to enjoy x-country skiing, but in recent years we’ve been enjoying seeing so many new places from the comfort of our Airstream.  This past winter we spent time in the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce.  At the moment we are in Lake Mead National Recreation Area spending Christmas with good friends who are from Montana and from Canada.  We’ve all been amazed at the extent to which this sustained drought has dropped the Lake Mead Reservoir.  Water, of course, is the concern, and we’re wondering how the reservoir will ever return to “normal.”

We continue with work as both writers and photographers for various magazines. Included here are a few published images.  We’re still working for Globe Pequot, and will be returning this spring to Shenandoah NP to update our book on that park.  It has been one of our best sellers.

Hoping this letter finds everyone in good health and that the new year offers all that can be reasonable expected.

——

THIS TIME LAST YEAR:

Christmas Greeting from Bigfork Montana

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 21st, 2014 at 8:05 pm and is filed under Outdoors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.