The Trip - Day 10

July 19, 2011

This was the epic adventure day of the entire trip. It started out like a normal vacation day, with Asher attending his writing class (learning about short story forms), Sylvia playing at the children's museum, and Mattias programming at the library. After lunch was when the excitement began - little did we know how long and exhausting the day would become.

Here is a picture of Fuse Lake, our end goal.



To get there, we drove down the Bitteroot valley, and up to the top of Skalkaho pass. There is a very fun waterfall right at the edge of the road. Along the other side of this one-car-wide dirt road, is a cliff drop off, down the edge of the mountain. It was a tense drive up, always wondering if we'd meet another car coming around each corner. Blessedly, we survived to tell the tale.

Because of the road, (and stopping to play and hike around the waterfall), it took a couple hours to drive up and find Fuse Lake's trailhead. Once we got there, everyone was ready to hike.


The older kids and Brad made good time, heading up through a forest trail, covered with bear grass and other wild flowers.




Sylvia and I walked went along at Sylvia-pace, discussing the wildflowers and rocks as we walked along. I also counted to 100 with her, before we would stop and take a drink of water.
The scenery was beautiful, ,and I loved seeing the wildflowers along the trail.


It was almost 3 miles in, and the last half mile was steep and rocky. Sylvia was not going to make it up some of the steep parts, so Brad climbed the last part with her sitting on his shoulders.

Sylvia was not sure about this arrangement at first, but they quickly became good hiking buddies. When grandpa (and I) needed a break, we would plop down on a tree, and catch our breath.


We made an exciting discovery as we came within a few hundred yards of the lake - SNOW!
Sylvia thought it was great to make snowballs in July. Maya loved eating it. The lake is at 7,400 ft, so it makes sense there would still be snow after such a wet winter and cold spring.



The older kids had gone ahead to the lake. We got a good picture of everyone with Grandpa before they set off for serious fishing. Or should I say, before we got hit by a quick downpour, and then they set off to fish.


Part of the reason for this outing was to take Asher to a place to fish. He had to catch, clean, cook, and eat a fish to complete his fishing merit badge. Brad said there are usually a lot of greyling in this lake. With dicey weather, and evening already upon us, they did some speed fishing.




Asher did catch one, and he was so excited! He said the feeling of catching that fish was one of the highlights of the whole trip for him. Unfortunately, while landing it, it flopped around on the rocks, and came unhooked. Back into the water it went.

Meanwhile, the rest of us were damp and cold from the rainstorm. Mattias gathered twigs, and started us a one-match fire, inside a ring of rocks. It was surprisingly warm, for being such a little fire. Sylvia was excited to try roasting some of the cherries we had brought along. She stuck one of the end of a stick, and put it in the fire.



Sitting here at the fire with the kids was one of my favorite times on the trip! It was warm and cozy, and beautiful. But most of all - it was totally isolated. No other campers, or hikers, or roads for miles around. I loved it!!

I wish we could have packed our gear in and camped there. That will have to be an adventure for another year.

Sadly, our cozy break was ended by a fierce hail storm. We heard it coming, and then saw the wall of hail pelting towards us on the lake. The kids were amazed that you could see it coming towards us like a wall. Here is the lake mid storm.

We huddled together in a cluster of trees. I had the older kids gather over Sylvia, I was worried about her getting hit by the marble sized pellets. They hurt.

When the storm was over, we threw handfuls of hail on our fire to put it out, and headed back down the trail. We did not want to get caught in another storm in the dark.

I jogged down half way with Sylv on my back, until my knees were about to give out. Brad came to the rescue and carried her the rest of the way on his shoulders. In the picture below, you can see them heading down the trail.



Even though our legs were tired, we were all satisfied. It had been a great day. I was so proud of the kids for not whining at all. They were all helpful and positive. The scenery had been great, and it was wonderful to see Grandpa Brad out in his element. We will definitely need to take him up on more fishing/backpacking trips in summers down the road.

We drove down the other side of the pass, to avoid driving off a cliff in the dark. It took a couple hours to get back home, but it was interesting to see some new country before dark set in.

Definitely an epic adventure to remember.

The Trip - Day 9

July 18, 2011

The sunrise on the mountains in the morning is so beautiful. Its beauty caught me by surprise each time. I would wake up between 5:30 and 6 each morning to take Maya on a half hour run. The cool, dry air, and the beautiful view made it something I looked forward to every day.


After running Maya, I would stretch on theback porch, while she would take up her usual post by the Ponderosa Pine. She was determined not to let the resident squirrel have a chance to cross to the bird feeder. It made for a loud and angry, tail-twitching squirrel. Maya though, would sit calm as a sphinx - until the squirrel made a move. Then she would leap off the porch and into the tree. She seemed to forget she can't climb trees. This was my daily morning action show.



Asher started a creative writing camp, "Words with Wings", at the University of Montana today. He was on the same floor of the LA building that all my English classes were on. It brought back wonderful memories of meeting inspiring professors and hearing about new ideas as I walked the dimly lit hall, and escorted him into one of my old classrooms, where they still had the same old wooden desks. I was proud my little writer was sitting where so many great people had sat before.
They ended up going to the Native American building on campus, and studied Native American poetry styles and tried their hand at writing in that style. Here is a sample of his writing from this day:

I am the one who moves with the water.
I am the one who hears music, just by listening to the air.
I am an archer, who makes arrows soar through air.
I am the one who sees crows, as they perch on high branches.
I am the one who slips and drops a rock in a stream,
then bends down to find it,
but only sees my reflection, swirling in the living water.

Later that night, we had dinner with the missionaries. One of the Elders had worked at a scout camp with the rifle classes. That led to Brad getting out his rifles and a pellet gun, and letting the boys try them out. Asher enjoyed shooting, and hopes to do more when we visit again sometime.

The Trip - Day 8

July 17, 2011

After church, and a nap, we again retired to the Rattlesnake. The kids found sticks to sword fight with and the rush of the river filled the air. It was Missoula perfection.



Asher wanted to try a noble stick fighter pose. I think he looks quite dashing.



Sylvia found forest treasures for the grandparents. A pine cone for Brad, and some moss for Liz.


I loved sitting on a log in the shade, watching the river roll over its white capped rapids. I dearly miss the Rattlesnake. It was like our second living room.

The Trip - Day 7

July 16, 2011

Went to the Farmers Market. The kids enjoyed sampling honey and fudge. We also bought vegetables and strawberries to sit on the curb and eat for lunch. Below Asher is giving Sylvia lessons in the secrets of opening pea pods successfully.



We wandered over to the children's' museum, and found an unexpected source of entertainment for the boys. They had a Water Works exhibit, that was meant to teach younger children how to divert water, as it pumped out of different spouts, and flowed down the table.


Asher started out by playing with the diversion panels alongside of Sylvia. It was a harmless enough beginning.

Mattias started testing the changes in water pressure, as various pumps were blocked.


You could see him morph into mad-scientist mode, as he started connecting various lengths of pvc pipe to certain pump spigots.

Asher became his assistant. With his longer arms, they were able to make even more elaborate creations, which turned into water cannons. It was really cool.

Eventually, everyone was soggy wet. By the time they had used the principle of increased surface area to double the water cannon's water pressure, they were about to soak the ceiling of the museum.


The football-goal-post water cannon pattern proved to be the most effective.


I was sure the staff had not considered the warped minds of boys this age when they installed the exhibit, or they would have put it someplace with 30 foot high ceilings. Not wanting to pay for ceiling damage, I decided it was time to go.




Sylvia had moved on to other exhibits, a favorite being the bubble machine, where she could get trapped in a giant bubble. Sylvia and I would return another day... without the boys.

The Trip - Day 6

July 15, 2011

I took the kids to Bonner Park, the Childrens Museum , the library and Great Harvest this morning. Sylvia made a mask at the museum, which she had a good time modelling around the house, until all the feathers came off.

She even let "Paws", Grandma's dog (a birthday gift from Sylvia the previous year), model her mask. Sylvia and Paws had many adventures during our stay.

I never tired of looking at their beautiful yard. It is like the Garden of Eden - sans serpent.

Brad has worked hard to tidy up all the garden areas, and trim the orchard. It is a beautiful veiw, especially at sunrise and sunset. I loved tenting in the backyard. It got down to 40 degrees at night, without the Wisconsin mugginess. I awoke fresh and excited about life. Even though it reached the 90's during the day, the nights were always cool.

We couldn't believe that we were putting on sweatshirts and wool socks to huddle under blankets on the porch, when poor Sean back home was suffering through a heat wave that was actually killing people.

The Trip - Day 5

July 14, 2011

Brad was working on paving the edge of the driveway today. In the morning boys helped Grandpa lay sand, and some blocks. Later in the day, we attended a 50th wedding anniversary party of some fellow church members, and got to see lots of friends from long ago.



All that visiting though, made us feel the need for some solitude and open space. Where do we usually go when we need a break, when in Missoula? - The Rattlesnake.

Sylvia loved trying to imitate Noel and the boys, creeping up a downed tree trunk next to the trail.

Noel was the most successful in climbing along the tree branch, which ended at height around 15 feet off the ground. Perhaps it was due to her new 5 toe Vibram shoes.

Seeing Sylvia climb up, and slide down this hillside along the trail brought back years of wonderful memories. All the kids have worn out their pants, shorts, and snowsuits, doing this slide in all seasons. It must be a genetic thing.



The river was running high after so much snow and rain this year, so we had to walk up the trail to the bridge in order to find a place shallow enough to wade in.



The water was freezing cold... as Asher discovered.

Mattias thought that was pretty funny... until he tried it.


Everyone got into the action, counting out loud to see who could stay in the longest.


After he came out of the water, he spent the next five minutes telling me how it was numbing all the nerves in his feet, and he might never recover. Sylvia didn't seem to mind as much. She and Asher tied with 50 seconds in, as the co-winners of the freezing water competition.

The Trip - Day 4

July 13, 2011

The best part of today was seeing Sylvia skip and jump with joy when she saw "Pal" and "Avalon", her two favorite carousel horses. Here she is, reunited after 2 years with "Pal's Pal", her favorite pony.



Asher tried to look cool while riding, but failed miserably. :)


The carousel can bring smiles to all ages, even Noel.


Mattias kept busy trying to create a math formula to predict who would get the brass ring from the dragon's mouth, depending on how many riders there were, and how many rotations the carousel did. The random variables were too much for him in the end though, and he never came up with a solution. Maybe next visit.



Brad and Liz were wonderful hosts... letting us drag them around to all the sites on our "Must do in Missoula" list. Today was carousel and "Out to Lunch" in Caras park day.

We used to attend "Out to Lunch" every Wednessday in the summers that we lived there. The older kids were too cool to hoola-hooop down in front of the bandstage, but Sylvia went with me. Afterwards, we cooled off in sprinklers in Brad's backyard paradise. Below is Sylvia, eating a popsicle, and getting a "back scratch" from the sprinkler.

The boys had a good time holding each other in front of the more powerful rotating sprinklers out in the pasture area. Everyone came in soaked.