I Can’t Bear the Smokey Air

This past week has been filled with fun, adventure…and smoke. We have now set out on an easterly course to South Dakota to continue the Excellent Adventure in clearer skies, leaving behind a wealth of great memories created in Montana and Idaho.  Some of the highlights are:

 A whitewater raft trip along the Middle Fork River next to Glacier National Park. The water was down and there were just a few whitewater encounters, but it was really fun for a couple of Texans (see Dinah and I in the back of the raft in the first photo) who had never rafted before.

 A visit to a real gold mine—which is something I had wanted to do since I was just a young lad. It was a fascinating tour for “Trouble” and “Booger” (our official names on our borrowed helmets at the mine), and we even got to pan for some gold. I am sad to report that we came up empty on the quest for the shiny metal, but settled instead for a delightful meal at the nearby Radio Brewery in Kellogg.

 A 17-mile bicycle trip along the Hiawatha Trail on the Montana/Idaho state line. The amazing pathway has been created along a railroad route winding through the heights (thankfully it is all downhill!) Trains no longer travel there, and the tracks have been replaced by a bike path that passes through multiple tunnels and across trestles that span amazing valleys of beautiful scenery (which were of course, mostly obscured by the smokey haze). One tunnel was 1.5 miles long, and pitch dark inside except for the bicycle lights. It was an exhilarating ride and left us wanting another chance at the trail when visibility would be better.

 Finally, we were able to reconnect with a family friend from long ago for a delightful visit and dinner. Kay and Jim Guyette invited us for a tour of their ranch in the Montana hills, and we were amazed at the breadth and beauty of their property. Kay is the oldest daughter of Jim and Elizabeth Tomberlin, who were close friends of my parents when I lived in LaPorte, Texas.  We had not seen each other, except for once at a funeral, in about 50 years.

 We decided not to venture any further west because of the limited visibility, so once again Dinah the Planner has been hard at work setting up the next leg of our trip in South Dakota. We will be visiting George, Thomas, Teddy and Abe real soon…