The things that I get up to…
So, knowing roughly where Jim was when he took this shot, I pulled up Google Earth and started poking around to see if I could determine just how far those peaks were. And in the process, realized that I had found the precise location of nearly all of the preceding Montana pics. Yes, even the swing set – mostly because it’s not far removed from the other, easier-to-spot subjects.
The peaks were easy to determine, taking a beginning cue from the light angle – they’re to the northeast, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. Judging from the shadows, I’m going to assume the storm is that far too, which will give you a faint idea how far away some clouds can be seen – just, not too well since he shot this at 20mm focal length, which is wide-angle and makes things look further away than they are in reality; the thunderhead itself looked much bigger and closer to Jim, and it’s likely you could see such a tall cloud at least twice as far away as this, perhaps much more.
In examining the photo, I realized that it looked like pre-sunset colors on the clouds too, and checked the time stamp to confirm. It said 22:00 hours, which was slightly confusing until I realized Jim’s camera would be set to Central and not Mountain time; translated, this meant 9:00 PM, and sunset that day and location was 9:26. Okay then.
Pretty much nailed it. The schoolhouse directions, as related by the cousin that lives nearby, are head towards the mountains and then drive another 20 miles.