MelBMarvis Does Western Montana

Hey there people, I'm back - that's right, it's Flat MelBMarvis.  Mex took me on a trip out to Montana, and it was really quite lovely.  We left on a Thursday evening after Mex finished work, met Bex in the MSP airport, and then flew in late into Bozeman.  Pops and Ma were still awake and came to pick us up and take us to our hotel for the night.  They had driven out there from ND.

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They say out west in the boonies it's so much easier to see the northern lights.  Look how easy it was for Mex!

We had 3 days of convention near Bozeman.  Of course it was very good, even though it was about 95 degrees F for two of those days.  It made it a little bit hard to sleep in the bunks, but luckily the higher elevation helps it cool off eventually during the night.  Here's a couple nuggets from convention.  "Don't misunderstand what you don't understand."  "Trust more, pray more, and keep our eyes on the joy ahead."  Uncle John took the opportunity to give all of us a hard time, including remarking how lucky we were to have Uncle Bex along on the trip seeing how she just got off parole a couple weeks ago.

Paradise really is in Montana!  We drove through it on our way to Thompson Falls.

We stayed at convention for part of Monday morning to help clean the place up, and then we were off to parts north and west near Thompson Falls.  We stayed with a lovely and hospitable couple there for three nights.  We went for a few hikes on the mountainside near their house.

The day we arrived to Thompson Falls, a forest fire started across the valley.

Bex and Ananias walk while Pops, Ma, J, and B drive the logging road in the truck.

One night Bex, Mex, Ananias, and myself went to the top of a mountain and stayed the night in a forest ranger fire lookout cabin.  They're not used by the rangers anymore, so the government rents them out to adventurous campers and hikers.  Pops, Ma, J, and B came up to the cabin for supper that evening and then went back home to sleep in the more comfortable beds in the valley.  We also had a nice little kayak jaunt one afternoon that included stopping to swim in the river.  It's always interesting to meet people and hear their story about how they came to know God.

Clark Fork river in Thompson Falls.

At the Cougar Peak lookout cabin.

View of the valley on the way to the top of the mountain.  Yes, that's forest fire smoke/haze.  The forest fire was mostly out, but we could still see some glowing patches on the next mountain the night we stayed in the cabin.

Me, Uncle Bex, Mex, and Ananias on Cougar Peak.

J and B's house with J waving goodbye.

After Thompson Falls, we headed to Kalispell the long way around.  We stopped by Ronan to check that place out for a little bit, and then we spent a couple hours just a few miles into Glacier National Park.

Even though they look like they're in a fence, they truly are wild turkeys (and that's part of Ronan 'vention in the background).

Ananias and Mex at Lake MacDonald in Glacier National Park.

MacDonald River

Mex, Ma, Pops, and Ananias in Glacier National Park

We spent the next two nights in Kalispell with some other nice people that Ananias knows there.  That evening we did some planning and set out at 6:00 AM for Glacier National Park again - this time our destination was the east side of the park.

We wanted to get to Two Medicine Lake for the 9:00 AM boat across the lake.  We allowed some time to stop and get breakfast and a to-go lunch on the way, and we still had 30 minutes to go to the bathroom and check out the gift shop.

There were some beautiful views there, let me tell you.  We went to see a waterfall, and then Ma and Pops walked back to catch the boat again.  Me, Mex, Ananias, and Bex hiked to Upper Two Medicine Lake, then back down and around Two Medicine Lake to the car area.  There was a bit of confusion with the signs and exact distance, so we ended up walking an extra mile or so.  But it was all in good fun, and it sure made lunch taste good!

Two Medicine Lake

Ananias and Bex on the way to Twin Falls.  I guess they got the memo about wearing blue shirts that day.

Mex hiked up the side of the waterfall.

Beauty!

Upper Two Medicine Lake and more scenery.

It was way bigger than it looks in this picture.

After lunch by the lake, Pops drove us north a bit to the start of the Going to the Sun Road.  While he did that, the rest of us took a brief nap.  Then we marveled at all the beautiful views along the Going to the Sun Road for the next 2 hours or so.  We stopped a few times to check out the views and to go along the Highline Trail for a ways just to get the feel for it.  Mex and Bex are thinking they'll have to go back some time so they can walk the full length of the Highline Trail.

See the road?  Then go up about the cliff about 2/5 of the way.  See that tiny horizontal trail?  Yep, that's the Highline trail.

Supper was back in Kalispell with our hosts and some delicious food.  They sure know good meat.

He's ready for the smoker.

Saturday morning we traveled up to Ashley Lake for a quick look, and then we went for a pontoon ride on Lone Lake.  A nice guy gave us a ride and he and his wife made us tacos for lunch.  Then Bex and Mex and I headed to the airport for the trek back home.

Fresh off the pontoon boat.  That's Gem's dog, Whiskey, with us.

Bex feeds the lamb while our host looks on.  He had all kinds of interesting critters including two potbelly pigs.

It was a great trip full of lots of special people and experiences.  Mex insists I do some bullet points, so here they are:

1. People think Ananias and Mex look really similar.  Thankfully I look enough different from Mex that they didn't think we were triplets!
2. The ruling was made that Bex is not a real hippie because she doesn't grow out her leg hair.  The proper term for a person like Bex is flower child, not hippie.
3. "I need to brush my teeth so I can concentrate."
4. We had lunch in Thompson Falls at a restaurant one day.  Guess what Mex ordered with her burger instead of fries?  That's right, tots.  As in tater tots.  Gimme some of your tots.
5. While swimming in the river, there may have been some talk of getting extreme giardia while doing acrobatics on the rocks.  I think everybody successfully escaped the giardia.
6. It was smoke season in western MT - lots of haze going on.  We even got to see the start of a forest fire and watched the planes and helicopters flying around it and putting it out and dropping some red fire retardent stuff.
7. We didn't see as much wildlife as you might think (no moose, no bear, no mountain lions).  What we did see:  tons of deer and wild turkeys, chipmunks, a mountain goat, bald eagles, a blue heron, loons, and Bex said she saw a coney.  The ironic thing was that Mex didn't hit any deer until she was driving home from the airport.
8. On one hike we got to stop and pick some black raspberries off some bushes along the trail.
9. Irony - the lookout cabin was missing the battery in the smoke alarm, and the fire extinguisher was missing as well.
10. "As long as my feet feel cool, then so does the rest of me."  I think Ananias might be related to Mex.
11. Bex learned a little bit of patience having to deal with the slightly slower pace of Mex's family.  She claims it didn't drive her too crazy.  You will need to observe for yourself.
12. I realized how much my parents possess the skill called the "art of conversation."  It's quite amazing really, especially my dad since he's been feeling better recently.
13. I thought of a new nickname for Ananias:  Annex.  Which do you prefer?  Ananias or Annex?  I like them both.  I can't decide which one to use in the future.
14. I met LinD's slightly mean older brother.  He gave us several stories about her childhood escapades.  Who knew she was such a rascal?
15. When Bex gets into the high, dry country, her walking pace greatly improves.  She walks almost as fast as Mex under those conditions.

Oh, and here are a few more pictures too.

Just a few of the many deer we saw.

J and B get their water straight from a mountain spring.  We checked out the source here.  We thought Gideon might show up, but he didn't.  I guess there weren't any impending battles.

Cougar Peak lookout cabin.

Beary Bex!  That could be a new ice cream flavor.

Now that's serious lightning protection.

Glacier National Park scenery.

Travel buddies at Two Medicine Lake.

Sassy mountain goat.

More beauty.

Mex harassing the wildlife.

More scenery.

Lone Lake with a beaver lodge and a bald eagle.

Goofy, I tell you!

Whew!  The end.