We Made It!

My plans for Saturday were that we’d stop in Missoula at the Farmer’s Market for a few hours, stop in Bozeman to pick up more food at Costco, then be at our friend’s, the Robert’s house, by 6pm with Pizza for dinner.  We arrived at their house at 6:05pm but it was a lot of hustling to get us there.

We were up and driving to Missoula by 7:30, not even eating breakfast before we hit the road.  The Farmer’s Markets always have baked goods, and this one had about ten booths of them, so we weren’t disappointed we waited to eat until we arrived.

There were actually three markets going on at the same time – two that were primarily produce and plants, and one that had hand made crafts, imported things and a little bit of everything.  We managed to hit them all after we loaded up on cinnamon rolls and fresh coffee.

The temperature was already in the 70s by 9am, so we all overheated walking around from booth to booth.  The boys even had fun looking at things and I managed to find a few treasures and get more craft ideas for Kory and Kaleb to make for me.

We found the Costco so we could gas up our rig, and nearby there was a young woman with a big dog sitting by the side of the road, with a sign to get a ride.  Kory asked her if she wanted to join us and her final destination happened to be Bozeman, which is where we were headed, so we were happy to remove the dangers that might lay ahead for her.  She’d been hitching a ride from Oakland, California to a summer job on a ranch outside Bozeman.  She had tattoos, a nose ring like a bull, half her head shaved and the other half not.  She looked a bit odd, but she was still vulnerable to who knows what.  She said she spent the night before sleeping in the bushes behind the Wal-Mart, but she felt safe because she had her dog with her – a bull mastiff/pit-bull mix. 

We gave them both some food and water, and they slept hard for part of the trip.  Anna played her guitar and taught Daniel a few new cords.  She was a good distraction for that stretch of road and we dropped her off at the Costco in Bozeman when we headed in for supplies.  Her friend was there to meet her so it was all good….

The drive south of Bozeman was gorgeous, as always and I guess that’s why they call it Paradise Valley.  Daniel was anxious to arrive and had had enough with being in the motorhome.  Every few minutes he kept asking how long until we’d get there.  I guess this is the good thing with Kaleb always having his nose in a book – he never notices time passing.  He’ll read the book over and over again before he’ll stare out the window and watch the world go by and get bored.

It was so great to see the Roberts again.  Joni was pregnant last time we were here and now Tilly is over a year old, so we hadn’t met her yet.  With five kids in tow, they keep themselves busy.  Jimmy’s been working on the house – painted it, put in new windows and a new roof and it looks like a different place.  They just got back from a six month road trip visiting several family members, too, so we are there first guests of the season, with others coming back to back after we leave.  God bless ‘em.

The kids all ran around and we walked down by the river to cool off after dinner.  It was in the 90s on Saturday so we were all a bit fried.  After the sun went down we heard and saw a whole herd of elk across the river – making all kinds of wild animal sounds.    After looking at some of the Robert’s photos and hearing stories of their car being “cleaned out” by a black bear, most of their chickens being devoured by a mother grizzly and her cubs (while the Robert’s family looked on helplessly) and bison and elk roaming through their yard at all times of the year, day and night – it felt like we had arrive in Wild America, for sure.

It was good to be back in the Robert’s home, even if I still haven’t forgiven them for moving away from Skagit County. 

Sunday we were up and trying to get everyone fed before church started at 9am.  Their little community church here was packed with locals and visitors.  The sermon was quick and powerful and I was convicted of my “sin of fear” when it comes to not trusting God fully for Kory’s health.  God apparently knows how to speak to me, no matter where I’m at.

After church we had lunch with the Roberts then Kaleb and the Johansens did a river run down the Yellowstone River.  Emma, age 13, and I were the official photographers and we followed them down river in the car, stopping to pull over and get a few shots before jumping in and zooming off to the next lookout.  We were so hot and sweaty by the time we got back to the Robert’s house, as it was at least 95 degrees, we needed a dip in the river to cool off.

We sat in the shade of the trees by the riverside and relaxed a bit before going back into the tiny town of Gardiner, which is only 5 minutes away, to pick up the rafters.  They found a souvenir shop that consumed the next hour in the day before we brought them back to join us at the beach.  A water war ensued with Emma and I against the boys and none of us were sad to be drenched, as it was so darn hot.

It was tacos for dinner before we wound down for the evening and Are got his big moment down by the riverside with a fly fishing reel in his hand.  He wasn’t completely satisfied with the spot he had so he moved down river and ended up catching a rainbow trout before it was totally dark.  He was thrilled.  I felt like it was a “check that thing off their wish list” kind of event, and he was thrilled with the experience of it all.

We adults forced ourselves to stay up a little longer than the kids, just so we could enjoy a few minutes of peace and quiet to wrap up the day, as we needed it.