Montana bliss

We have been having such a great time here and we feel extremely lucky to have been invited!

On our first morning, Rhodri and I went on a walk with Judy, Annie, Naomi and met up with the Mosai and also with Maura who lives over the red hill. As we got back to the ranch, we could see Uncle Joe in the corral with Rhiannon and Tryfan and a couple of horses.

 Rhiannon was riding Big Hick and Tryfan got to ride Gunner.

They had a really good time this first day and Uncle Joe taught them so much about horses and how to be with them. He is an amazing teacher and these kids are so lucky to have been able to have the chance to learn from him.

It is bliss being here and I want to savor every moment of it.

Road Trip Day 2

We hit the road after breakfast this morning and made a couple of stops along the way. We saw beautiful big skies and listened to country music and ate snacks and the whole day was wonderful.

Our first stop was in Butte (pronounced "Butt" in our family) and we detoured into town so that we could visit the Mineral Museum, which was actually located at the University of Montana. It was really cool but Tryfan was disappointed that there were not any opals available to purchase.

We loved the ultraviolet dark room.

Our next stop was Bozeman, where we went to Costco and bought a few groceries.

Finally we got the ranch around dinnertime. We unpacked the truck and then got straight back into it in order to head back down the road a mile or so to go over to the Mosai's house for dinner.

How wonderful to have good friends living minutes away in such a beautiful place! It was a wonderful road trip, but it is even better now that we are here.

Road Trip Day 1

Aunt Judy was kind enough to offer up spaces in her truck so we could ride with her to Arrow Mountain Ranch.  We left Chelan around 10 am and headed for Missoula, Montana which is about 6 hours drive away. I have been SO excited about doing this road trip and was really stoked that the day had actually arrived.

The hood/ bonnet is nearly the same height as the kids!

This is the route we took

We stopped for lunch near Spokane at the "Rusty Moose". The kids made moose faces and we had a great meal there.

 We got to Missoula around 6pm and checked into the "C'mon Inn" which featured an indoor waterfall with a fake mountain goat on top and a bunch of hot tubs scattered around the atrium.

Atrium at the C'mon Inn in Missoula

We did some shopping: Boot Barn to get cowboy boots for the kids, and Cabela's for Rhodri (& Judy) to look at clothing, then Target for a few other essentials. We had dinner at Outback Steakhouse and then spent the evening doing a lice treatment on Rhiannon's long thick hair while watching the Olympics on telly! Good times.

Hello Slidewaters!

It was hot when we landed in Fields Point so we made the decision to go straight to Slidewaters!

View from the sun deck of the hot tub and Thunder Rapids

We had a SUPER fun time going down all the slides. Our favorite was the "Tube Blaster" http://slidewaterswaterpark.com/rides-and-attractions and most of us found the "Purple Haze" terrifying and awful! But it was all good. After a few hours of watersliding, we all had giant ice cream cones and sat on the sun deck.

Ice cream on the sun deck

 It started cooling off a bit after that so we called it a day and headed to Rocky & Christy's house for the most delicious pile of ribs we have ever had AND then we got to sleep in their RV which was parked outside their house.

the RV we got to sleep in

And just when things couldn't get any better, Herb & Christine and Keith & Adrienne all came over after dinner to hang out with us and watch the Olympics on telly.

This mural is painted on the side of a building in Chelan

It was a really great afternoon and evening, and set us up really well for our road trip which starts tomorrow!

Goodbye Stehekin

Leaving Stehekin is always difficult to do. It is so hard saying goodbye to beloved family and friends and stepping aboard the Lady (or Lady Express, in this case). Earlier in the day we took a leisurely walk up to the Stehekin School and then on up to Rainbow Falls. Then we had to say goodbye and get on the boat at 12 noon to head downlake.

Crossing Rainbow Creek

Tryfan, Billy, Eric, me and Rhiannon

View from the boat looking down at relations on the Landing

Parting shot of the Landing as we push off

Further downlake, approaching Fields Point

More Stehekin family photos

Yesterday and today have been full of just plain ol' hanging out with family and riding bikes or vehicles up and down the road. Monday morning we went over to the Miles' house where the Kalts were staying to have a big family breakfast. This was great. Eventually some badminton games started up (the toddlers in particular were excited about the badminton rackets) and soon enough people peeled off in different directions to get on with the day, but it was really fun.

Later in the day we drove down to the Landing to visit the craft shop and see what was going on.

Studying the 3D topo map of the area

Coloring and crafts at the dining table in the afternoon

Me and Aunt Hobbie

Dinner at the Ranch

It is always a treat to have dinner at the Ranch. And by Ranch, we mean of course the Stehekin Valley Ranch, located 8 miles up the road from the Landing.

Rebecca with Billy and Ingrid, Kristin in the background

Approaching the dining hall

Rhiannon with Evan

Nearly everyone

Today was actually a strange and emotional day. Rhodri spent the day fishing up Bridge Creek with Will, Eric and John so we didn't see any of them until we reunited here at the Ranch for dinner. But what really shaped today was the drama (and trauma) of poor Sioned back at home who was having to deal with Bentley collapsing in the forest on a walk. Apparently he just collapsed, and she had to talk some passersby into helping her carry him back to the car so she could take him to the vet. It sounded horrible. The only slightly positive thing was that Sioned and I were able to talk by phone in Stehekin, which is previously unheard of! We used FaceTime Audio to talk using the wireless network at GBuck's house and probably used up her monthly quota during this single day. But it was very good to be able to speak with her and also with the vet several times over the course of the day, and I was grateful for that. The fallout of this incident is that Bentley seems to be ok, but something is wrong with his larynx. We are so, so grateful that Sioned was the one to be there with him rather than some random kennel-worker. It really was terrible for her though, and I'm not sure how we can ever thank her enough.

Stehekin rules - Part 2

Stehekin rules also because of how we get to ride around in vehicles: no seat belts, no maximum passenger limits. Normally we ride around in the back of Bruce (our old 1988 Ford Ranger that we sold to GBuck for $1), but this time Bruce was busy taking the old ladies around so we mostly rode inside of Herb's van or the Pastry Cabin van.

Actually we 4 Lewises mostly got around by riding bicycles up and down the valley road, but then Rhiannon started hanging out more with the smaller cousins so we saw less and less of her during our stay. In fact, she slept over at the Pastry cabin with Mom/ Grandma, Eric, Kristin, Billy and Evan for 3 of the 4 nights we were in the valley.

Stehekin rules - Part 1

We've been staying with Bob and Tammy at Tupshin Base Camp, their awesome strawbale house that has been thoroughly and completely handcrafted with love. What a place!

It is a paradise for indoor swinging, climbing, hanging and sliding, and the owners are fantastic hosts! We felt very welcome to come and go as we pleased, and we left chalkboard notes for each other.

One of the nice things about staying here is that it is on the stretch between the Bakery and the Landing, making it a social location because passing cars can easily swing by. Another nice thing is that it is only a short walk up to Buehler's Bluff. Tammy and I took a few early morning walks up here to appreciate the gorgeous view and changing light on the mountains.

Family photos