Montana Reunion--Part I

Yippee!  I'm super proud of myself for finishing the huge series of Europe adventure posts.  I'm even more proud of anyone who actually read them.  

Unfortunately the travelogue isn't over yet.  I still need to catch up on our summer travels to Montana and New York.  Luckily I started blogging about Montana on our way to Europe.  I guess it's time to finally publish these pics.

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(Blogpost written in early August.)

Okay, so this is going to sound totally obnoxious, but I'm excited and going to brag anyway.  We are on the runway in Newark, waiting for our plane to take off for Milan.  The plane's two and half hours delayed, but I don't really care.  After so much anticipation, we are actually going to make it!

In the meantime, Montana.  This year's Wheeler family get-together was up north in Thompson Falls.  As you can see from the photos, our reunion was fantastic.  I really can't take any credit though.  Susie did most of the hard work in finding us a great place to stay and planning fantastic activities.  Thank you so very much!  

I'll be honest. Montana surprised me.  I expected it to be pretty, but I didn't realize that it would be stunning.  The drive up was long, but breathtaking in places.

Plus, there are fun RV parks where you can fill up in a pinch if you nearly run out of gas.

I was equally caught off guard by the heat.  Being so far north, I expected it to be cool but we definitely arrived in the middle of a heat wave.  In the end, the heat was fine since we had so many water activities planned.  I'm often hesitant to take a dip, but it felt great to cool off.

Hanging out on the back porch after dinner.  The porch swing was particularly memorable.

Annika was thrilled to see all the Wheeler aunts, uncles, and grandparents.  Of course, Ruby is still her firm favorite.

The girls loved picking cherries right off the tree.

Everybody loved Ben, the retired show horse that grazes the pastures.  Ben accidentally chomped Annika's finger while she was feeding him carrots, but she quickly forgave the bruised fingernail.

On our first day we all ventured out on a family hike.  This gentle trail starts on the edge of Montana and crosses into Idaho, ending at beautiful Revett Lake.

Uncle Ben was the first one to hop in for a swim.  It wasn't long before others followed

Ruby scaling the rock and Jason at the summit.

Some better photos, courtesy of Jason's iPhone 12.  Here's Justin, Ruby, and Annika.

Portraits of Justin and Talia..

Grandma Susie at the lake and hiking with her trusty parasol.

Montana moss, plus an uprooted rock that happens to be shaped like a tombstone.

After our hike, we headed back to our cabin for some cliff jumping a half mile away near the Historic High Bridge.

Look closely and you can see Justin and Jason making a seamless jump with hardly a splash.  

Next up, we have Eli.  Most of us needed time to summon our courage, but Eli got to the top and plunged off without a second thought. 

The only scary moment was when Christy slipped off instead of jumping off.  We all feel lucky that she swam away with only a bruised backside.  Somebody mused after that she must have mistaken the cliff for a waterslide.

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  Here's Talia climbing out after an afternoon full of fun.

The next morning, we went for a family bike ride across Island Park into Thompson Falls.  The river running through the town is lovely.

The ride may have been a bit intense for Annika, but a swig of water always helps.

We ended the ride at a cute Independence Day celebration in Thompson Falls.  Here's Brianna helping Talia cool off.

Annika and Ruby got their faces painted.  Such ferocious felines!

That evening we went back to Island Park for some relaxing beach time, a little more cliff jumping from a smaller ledge, and a bit of kayaking.

Many thanks to Grandpa Charles for helping us shuttle the kayaks back once we reached Thompson Falls State Park.

Well off the map, I'd never heard of Thompson Falls.  I certainly never harbored any deep desires to travel there.  But now that I've been, I sincerely hope to go back.

Stay tuned for Montana Part II.