Vacation in Montana

I finally got to take Tre "home", but first we had to make a few other stops...

We flew from San Diego to Spokane, WA. My aunt Pam lives there and we stayed the night with her. She was a fabulous hostess. After getting our Subaru rental car, which was dented on EVERY panel from being in a tornado/hail storm in Minnesota and totally fitting for a vacation in the northwestern United States, we got to Pam's house. She laid out a gluttonous spread of meat, cheese, crackers and a scrumptious pimento dip. We reminisced and got caught up while we sat outside (in the almost pitch dark) before we went back inside where Pam force fed us more food - vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. Then, with full bellies we hit the hay.

When we got up in the morning, Pam had again laid out a spread for us...fresh fruit, coffee, donut holes and a crab quiche in the oven. Clearly we were not going to go hungry in Spokane - ha ha. After breakfast we took a walk and then set out for MT (with a bag of snacks that Pam had put together for us). Thanks Pam for all of your thoughtfulness! Oh and did I mention that Pam is one of the smallest people I know...just check out the picture below.

Pam and I outside of her house

We had a nice leisurely drive from Spokane to Kalispell through a lot of beautiful countryside. As Tre kept saying, "That (view) is SO Montana.". The rivers were full and everything was so green. As we were closing in on Kalispell, we popped out through the trees and Flathead Lake laid before us - it was SO breathtaking! It is one of my most memorable views of the whole trip.

We stayed with my friend Erin and her husband Harley (and their almost 2 year old son Reece and Bailey their golden doodle). We had a nice BBQ at their home the first night and then went to Erin's mom's place on Flathead Lake on Sunday. We tried to pick cherries from their orchard, but they weren't quite ready...we were early by a week or two - darn! We swam in the lake off the dock and took a short boat ride. I love fresh water! Erin made us a wonderful white chili and then we head back to Kalispell, but not before stopping at a Dairy Queen for a "sweet treat" on our way.

Erin and Reece

Me and Erin...24 weeks and 32 weeks. Erin is having another boy. :o)

The next day was slotted for Glacier National Park, and since we only had one day to spend up there, we decided to enter at the West Glacier entrance, drive through (with minimal stops) on the Going to the Sun Highway, up to Many Glacier and then back on the Going to the Sun Highway but entering through the St Mary entrance (with more stops as time permitted).

Tre and I at the West Glacier entrance

Not 5 minutes after we entered the park we got to see our first bear. A good sized black bear, just off the road. I jumped out (like all the other dumb tourists) and took a picture - I was just seconds too slow, though, as he had already decided to turn and head back into the trees. It was still a pretty sweet way to start off the trip!

Black bear!

I could ramble on and on about how gorgeous the lakes, the mountains, the waterfalls, the greenery, the EVERY-thing was, but to sum it up Glacier is magnificent. There is so much beauty to see...the pictures of course won't do it justice.

(On a depressing note, though, scientists are predicting that by 2030, all of the glaciers will be gone. There were some vivid pictures on the walls in the Many Glacier Hotel depicting the recession of the glaciers over the last several decades.)

Quick scenic pic...Bird Woman Falls can be seen in the background, but it looks deceivingly very tiny

I checked out a few books from the library before heading out and one was a book on easy day hikes (it rated them from easiest to hardest). I found a really cool one that was part boat ride, part hike in Many Glacier, so that was our destination and reason for not making stops on our way in. Unfortunately, there were several stops/delays for construction and we missed the boat by 15 minutes. Bummer. We didn't let it get us down, though. We had a nice buffalo burger (slightly charred) for lunch and then wandered around the Many Glacier Hotel.

Similar to when we pulled in through the West entrance to the Park, we saw this small Grizzly (?) just outside of Many Glacier

I was so fascinated with this little guy...he was really on the hunt for something. He was as flat as he could be to the ground and really scouring...he could have cared less that I was standing right next to him.

Tre spotted these in the car next to us in the parking lot - have you ever heard of Ketchup flavored potato chips?!?!

Many Glacier Hotel

Many Glacier Hotel

Tre and I just above the Many Glacier Hotel

Many Glacier Hotel - such a gorgeous view.

I was determined to get at least one hike I'd never done in, though, so we headed back to the car and I looked at one of the other ones that had caught my eye. It was a 1 mile (straight uphill) hike to Apikuni Falls and of course it was rated the hardest in the book. The hardest of the easiest, though, so it wasn't too bad. It was super hot, so the shaded areas of the trail were nice except the bugs thought so, too - so it was either hot sun without bugs or cool shade with bugs, neither was a great option, but we made it up and back and even paused long enough for a quick self portrait.

At Apikuni Falls

Having just driven through the park from the west, it was really cool to immediately drive back through from the east. The way the mountains opened up from each direction and the slightly different views it offered was really neat. Just after Logan Pass (the top of the continental divide and popular tourist stop), I spotted a goat walking our direction in the middle of the road, paying no mind to the cars/tourists. We were able to park in a small turnout for a trail that was close to where he was heading. There was a small herd lounging around, including a mom and baby. At one point, the baby walked away, flopped down and started whining...just like a little kid. It was adorable, but it wasn't' too long before it gave up on it's tantrum and rejoined it's mother (when she got just a little too far away).

Here he comes...right up the center of the road

Just out for an evening stroll...

He was big and muscular

Posing for us or daring us to come up the steps?

Some of the herd

The tantrum-throwing baby...little stinker

Mom - losing her winter coat

Just west of Logan Pass, looking west - so beautiful

So many waterfalls

I just LOVED all the different shades of green!

Our last stop was the Avalanche Gorge trail. It's a really easy and popular trail that is either a paved or wooden walkway all the way. It was a perfect finish.

I know this is a terrible picture, but this was our last sighting of wildlife (small squirrel in center of picture). It was munching so loudly, that it caught my attention even though he was at least 6 feet from the trail.

The next morning we got ready to head to Helena (this was the only morning that the alarm got set the whole trip!). My friend Mari, in Helena, had offered to take us out on her boat and go up through the Gates of the Mountains just outside of Helena, so that meant we had to be in Helena by noon, which meant we needed to leave Kalispell by 8:30. That way we could eat at The Staggering Ox (a sandwich shop I wanted to go to), pick another friend, Lisa, up from work and meet Mari at the boat launch around 1:00.

Turns out we didn't need to set the alarm after all, though, because Mari called me as we were getting ready to tell me that it was raining in Helena. She said she'd keep me posted, but that more than likely it wasn't going to blow over. So, we had a quick breakfast with Erin and Reece (she works from home) and got on the road. The closer we got to Helena, the darker the sky got and as we were coming down McDonald pass into Helena, it was 52 degrees, misting and so foggy that you couldn't see 2 car lengths in front of you. Crazy weather.

Needless to say, there was no boating for us, but Mari was able to meet Tre and I for lunch at The Staggering Ox, where we hung out for a couple of hours. After lunch, she took us out to her place to show us around and give us a key for the night. She went back to work, we unloaded our luggage and then we went over to my friend Lisa's house, which ironically was less than a block away - too funny. That night we had dinner at Bert And Ernie's with a group of my old friends. It was really nice to catch up with everyone.

The next morning we headed to Lewistown - our "true" destination. We stopped to see my friend Jenni's parents at their cabin on Holter Lake. They just happened to be up there and I wanted to see it anyway. We spent a lot of weekends there in the summers when we were growing up - it's where I leaned to water-ski...I LOVE to water-ski. We had a nice visit and then it was time to get back on the road.

Our next stop was in Great Falls. My friend Tanna, a gal I worked with in a Pediatrician's office (between junior college and university) just happened to have the day off. When we pulled into town, she and her son, who was having his senior pictures taken, were at Giant Springs Heritage Park. These springs are one of the largest freshwater springs in the world. Lewis and Clark stumbled upon them while going around the "Great Fall" of the Missouri river. We stopped and were able to hang out for a little bit - it was neat to see her after 12+ years.

As you may have noticed, Tre was subjected to one old friend after another. Almost all of these people he had never met and again and again he had to listen to us ramble on about a time, people and/or things he knows nothing about. I started to feel pretty guilty after awhile (especially because there were many more days of it to come). He was a great sport, though and NOW he'll know who these people are when I talk about them. That's a bonus. ;o)

We pulled into Lewistown (or rather the outskirts of Lewistown) about 6:30 on Wednesday night. My friend Jenni (the same one whose parents' cabin we stopped at) had offered to put us up at her and her fiance, Jeff's, place and it is about 5-10 miles outside of town. Again, more chatting and then she made us a wonderful dinner.

Me and Jenni - 24 weeks and 17 weeks

Luckily Kyler (Jenni's son) had a hunting game that Tre could entertain himself with - ha! It made me feel a little bit better for all the "boring" conversations he had to sit through with my old friends. I think he almost had it mastered by the time we left. :o)

The next morning, we went into town for the "Lewistown Day" parade. All of the businesses close at noon on Lewistown Day so they can take their families to the fair. We found my brother, Don, and his family and watched the parade with them. After the parade, we had lunch at Taco Time (I think that might have been one of the things I was looking forward to doing the MOST on the trip). It's just a fast food taco place and nothing like the yummy taco shops we have here in San Diego, but it's the one I grew up with and you can't get it just anywhere (although, oddly enough we drove right past one as we were leaving Spokane - if we hadn't just been fed a breakfast of champions, I might have had to have stopped - ha!).

After lunch, we drove back out to Jenni and Jeff's place and headed up into the mountains to Crystal Lake. I hadn't been up to Crystal Lake since I was a kid. It was popular place for my family to go picnicking. Kyler and Tre played in the water. Tre couldn't help himself...he and his friend John are planning to do a 1 mile rough water swim in the ocean in September, so he couldn't pass up an opportunity to get a lap in - cold, mountain water or not!

Small, VERY cold waterfall on the way to the lake

Too bad we didn't get Jeff in the picture, but I guess SOMEone had to take it

Kyler - typical boy..."let me climb up on the tallest thing around and have mom take my picture". I must say, it turned out really cute, though!

That night we headed back into town to meet up with another one of my friends, Lisa, and then headed over to another friend, Shalon's house. Shalon is married to Wade and Wade and my other brother, Brian, and his wife, Sommer, and their daughter, Olivia, were staying with Wade and Shalon. (Did you follow all of that?) Anyway, we all just hung out there for a couple hours.

The whole reason we travelled to MT/Lewistown was because it was Don's 20 year high school reunion and since he lives in Ohio and was going to be coming all the way out with his wife, Selina, and 5 kids, I decided it was a perfect excuse for all of us (my family) to make the trip. I think the last time my whole family was in Lewistown together was when Don and Selina had their wedding reception there (after having their wedding ceremony in Kentucky where Selina is from). That was the spring of 1994. My parents were supposed to be there, too, but unfortunately, my dad had to have open heart surgery 2 weeks before and that just wasn't enough time to recover. (the surgery was prompted because he had gotten a blood infection and the infection damaged one of his heart valves, so it had to be replaced. While they were in there, they did a double bypass as well - the surgery went very well and he's recovering very well, too!)

The next day, I took Tre around town and showed him all of the "sites"...my old high school, where I lived, etc and then we ended up meeting my brothers and their kids at the city pool for the afternoon. When we were growing up, as soon as we were old enough to ride our bikes alone, Lisa and I spent almost every summer day at the pool. It's basically the same old pool, but now it has 2 waterslides! My nieces and nephews were up and down them constantly all afternoon.

After the pool, we got cleaned up and went out for dinner at Little Big Men pizza (another place I was looking forward to). My friend, Christina, was able to join us for dinner and then we headed over to Lisa's to pick her up before heading out to the beer gardens at the fair. We hung out with Brian and Sommer, Wade and Shalon, and Don and Selina for a little while before we headed back to Jenni's to turn in for the night (the time at the pool really sucked the energy out of us!).

Not only did we turn in kind of early (ok, not technically "early", it was after midnight, but I'm sure the party went on strong for a few more hours!), but we even slept-in the next morning. The guest room at Jenni and Jeff's place is in the basement. The room was the perfect combination of cold and dark to where you could sleep for days - we loved it!

After stopping to see both of my brothers, we headed toward Billings where we would eventually catch our flight back to San Diego...but not until I introduced Tre to TWO more of my friends that live in Billings.

Quick belly shot at Wade and Shalon's

Olivia...getting geared up for the inflatable pool (the little boy is Wade and Shalon's oldest)

Brian, Olivia and I

Me and Olivia - I just wanted to eat her up, she is SO cute!

The first stop in Billings was at my friend Brenda's house. We grew up together in Lewistown, too, and she would have more than likely been in Lewistown, but she had just had a baby the Friday before. And then finally, our last stop before the airport was at McKenzie River Pizza (yep, another pizza place - are you surprised?). My friend Jodi (from college) and her husband, Jon, and one of their little kids, Macy, joined us for a late lunch. While we were eating, a thunderstorm blew in and by the time we got to the airport, it was so windy that the light rain was coming in sideways. It was a typical, hot, Montana, summer day storm, though - over before you know it and then we were on our way back to San Diego.

It was a GREAT trip! I wish I would have taken a few more pictures of all the people we saw/hung out with, but sometimes you just get lost in the moment...