God's Country

I don't even want to talk about the traveling to and from Montana (it could have been worse, but twenty-eight hours door-to-door is rough) so I'll skip right to the fun part. We arrived in Ennis, the town where I went to junior high and high school, late Thursday night and checked into the cutest cabin right next door to Mom and Ray at Lure Me Inn. Obviously we didn't waste any time getting into vacation mode, as evidenced by the chips in bed.

My sister and her fiancé stopped by first thing in the morning to welcome us to their wedding weekend and we took a little drive around the area, stopping to throw some rocks in the Madison River and enjoy the sunshine before meeting my dad and his wife for breakfast. It was the first time Jamie was meeting his Aunt Lukie, new Uncle Don, Opa and Grandma Rainy, which must have been overwhelming but he adjusted well and warmed up to everyone quickly.

During the time leading up to the wedding, we just hung out around town with the folks, checked out monster trucks (where do kids get this stuff?) and shops that I grew up walking by but never going into, throwing more rocks in the river, taking drives, eating good food and horsing around at the hotel. Mom and I helped a bit with the wedding set up on Saturday while our dudes napped and then we got to spend the afternoon with my niece Hayden. She's a doll and Jamie just loved her. 

On Saturday evening it was wedding time and my sister looked amazing. Not only that, she seemed happier than I'd ever seen her and was somehow extraordinarily calm considering she was throwing a wedding and hosting a ton of out-of-town guests. She and Don had a really sweet, simple ceremony, the high points of which were Lukia walking down the aisle to this tune and Hayden chucking her flower girl basket when she reached to altar. It was a warm day and the wedding was outside, they had a potluck with some of the best food I've ever tasted and pitchers of mojitos (!!!), there were lots of little kids for Jamie to play with, and a herd of deer crashed the party. There was a karaoke after party at a bar downtown that was filled with friends wishing them well and singing the night away. I don't think they could have planned it any better.

The next morning we took a drive out to Quake Lake with Mom and Ray then said good-bye to them as they headed out on their roadtrip back to Ohio. 

After that, we went straight over the hill to Virginia City and took an historical tour of the town on a vintage firetruck. Jamie was pretty into it, as you might imagine.

My dad had planned a couple of organ concerts to benefit Montana Dental Outreach during his visit to Montana and thankfully we were able to attend one on Sunday afternoon. He performed a dozen or so pieces of music - from renaissance to ragtime - on an organ that he built himself that played digitally-sampled instruments from all over the world. He included pieces he selected for each of his kids and their spouses and it was really special. Jamie was an angel during the whole concert so The Swede and I were really able to enjoy it.

On Monday morning we were scheduled to leave Ennis, but first we stopped by my old friend and employer, Victoria's place for brunch. We had a nice time catching up and she spoiled us with a delicious spread.

My dad had two extra tickets to Lewis and Clark Caverns and he and Rainy offered to watch Jamie while The Swede and I went inside of a mountain. I had been before when I was a kid, but had forgotten just how cool it is in there. Afterwards we went our separate ways, both toward Helena, but with different plans. We were so tired after the busy weekend that we just had dinner, took a quick drive by my old neighborhood (our old house wasn't even there anymore!) and went to bed early wondering why we had driven all that way. 

So the next morning we drove three hours to our next destination, Big Sky, which is just on the other side of the mountains from Ennis, but I'd never been before. It's a ski resort town and felt practically abandoned in this time between the summer outdoorsmen and the skiers. But hey, that meant cheap lodging for us!

The first day in Big Sky we just hung around the resort, checked out the shops, had an awesome Italian dinner, and played games and swam at the lodge. 

Then, on Wednesday, we drove to Yellowstone. We had gone the last time we were in Montana and my sister had shown us all the best spots and we were happy to check them out again. Unfortunately there weren't many animals out and we only saw five buffalo, compared to the dozens that approached our car last time.

Jamie didn't appreciate the thermal features as much as we did, but was quite taken with the buffalo poop and the idea of bear spray. He was a good boy, though, and got a monster truck and pizza for dinner when we got back to Big Sky.

On our last day it snowed. I'd have been shocked but we're talking about Montana here, and it was just so, so pretty.

We spent our last day in Bozeman at the Museum of the Rockies, which was a total hit, and then just drove around checking out some of the places I remember from when I was a kid. Also, The Swede got to eat Buffalo Wild Wings' queso dip and I got to do a round in Target. Vacation accomplished.

 

Now please say a prayer that Jamie isn't awake again tonight between 12:30 and 5:30 am and it will have all have been worth it.