summer adventures in Montana

The wilds of Montana are majestically beautiful and quiet.  Except when you are screaming as you go down an unchartered river rapid in a kayak with your 10 year old.  But he calmly navigated the waters, and the trees that had fallen across the river, and we enjoyed the thrill together.  Unfortunate circumstances caused my husband's family to have to sell their/our cabin near Livingston, Montana.  That is, 45 minutes on a bumpy dirt road from Livingston.  Abutting the Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness, you could fly to Yellowstone in 15 minutes - or hike there in about 30 miles.  Sadly we never made the full hike, but we have enjoyed many happy summer adventures there, and our kids think of it as a second home.  They get to drive the car (or at least steer), ride the river, make fairy homes (and bowls of fairy food), adopt dead birds, whittle sticks, float bark boats, visit the mules down the road, spot bears and antelope, and visit with our favorite deer "Honey".  Even running through the sprinkler is a fantastically fun activity.  It is a special place that we will miss, and hope to return to not so long from now.

dinner on a pond

My good friend turned 50, and her party was held on a pond at Ranchero Mark West up near Calistoga.  It was an awful drive with lots of traffic jams along the way in hot weather in a car with no air conditioning, but once there my daughter and I enjoyed a beautiful evening with good friends and delicious food.  It was a perfect evening, and an amazing way to celebrate the birthday of my friend.