Bad weather always looks worse through a window so despite the terrible forecast Rost & I set out for Logan Pass. I figured it might be one of our last days to drive the Going to the Sun Road to the pass before the road closes for the season. We were actually in search of Mountain Goats (I’ve been dying to get an up-close shot of one since I got my telephoto lens) but they were at a completely unreachable cliff a few miles away. Either way, it was a beautiful day spent with my head in the clouds.
Another trip around the Daystar. Another new adventure was taken. While I had initially had a backpacking trip into the Crazy Mountains planned, it was sidetracked & a new adventure was formulated that included multiple days of hiking in different areas and crystal mining. Xoxo.
Rocky Point is a short little out-and-back hike along the water’s edge of Lake McDonald. My friend Breanna (and her son) took Rost & me out for a quick trek along the trail one night. Rost is a little rockstar on any hiking trail, especially when there are rocks to throw into the water somewhere along the way. I hope this bodes well for me as a future hiking buddy.
The air was filled with the sweet scent of pine as we arrived at the campsite, surrounded by towering trees and a babbling stream nearby. Rost had spent the first two nights camping with Grandma & Grandpa while I took my first vacay from momming in well over a year (48 bittersweet hours – a ridiculous amount of stuff was accomplished).
Brian & I joined in on the fun Friday night to enjoy a couple of days relaxing at the lake.
This unforgettable experience marked the beginning of countless adventures for my little explorer, creating cherished memories to last a lifetime.
Getting my Nikon out is a treat these days. Life as a mom has me prioritizing things differently – and that’s okay. So when a fellow mom-friend wanted to take a drive up to the Spotted Bear Ranger Station, without babes in tow, I knew it was going to be a chance to knock the dust off my camera and spend the day behind the lens. I hope you enjoy my captures for the day which included a lot of flowers and one random sandhill crane.
My friend Bre and I took a third trip to bike the Going to the Sun Road. Another attempt that had me turned around before reaching the end point yet again. My first trip out was rained out (something I now need to take into account when adventuring with Rost), the second trip a grizzly bear decided the road was (rightfully) his (or hers). On this trip, a flat tire on Bre’s bike meant she had to run roughly 3 miles next to her bike back to the trailhead while I took our boys back in my double bike trailer – which I luckily decided to use on this trip instead of the single bikes seat Rost prefers.
As a true Montanan, Rost has been out in the woods many hours already during his life. Over the last several weeks, much of this time has been spent not just on a leisure hike but as scouting trips for future hunts to fill our freezers.
I’m looking forward to the day he wants to heat out into the wild on out of his own. In the meantime, it’s been fun watching this little guy explore the natural world around him with the assistance of his family. Rost really enjoyed the spoils of Dada’s fishing trips this past summer. By the look on his face it appears he’ll be a hunter in the future as well.
In the meantime, it’s my job to teach him to be respectful of our natural world, thankful for where our food comes from, and to go at it all with a bit of grace and humor.
My prior boss, Bert, and his wife, Marta, gifted me an infant hiking backpack at a baby shower thrown at my office. I’ve been patiently waiting for the right time to begin hiking with Rost. We’ve recently begun practicing around the property to get used to the pack on both of us.
Our first trek out into the world was a short one-and-a-quarter-mile hike around a nearby pond. While short, it was only 20 degrees out, so that added another element of fun into our first adventure out.
Finally, Rost and I took off for a trail within Lone Pine State Park. It was 15 degrees out on that fine Tuesday afternoon. While the hike was overall a success, there were obvious improvements that I need to make on our next hike, regardless of the distance. This one was short enough that I didn’t think we’d need to pack along any sort of snacks. Rost made it very clear that I was wrong. One of my duties as a Momma is to ALWAYS have a fresh and plentiful supply of snacks on hand. Momma will do better next time, Rost.
Needing to get out of the house for a bit, Brian, Pa, Ma, Rost, & I packed a picnic and took off for the Hungry Horse Reservoir for some fishing, hiking, and sightseeing. Days like these are the best kind of days.
Rost got to go on a timeless Montanan adventure today – huckleberry picking! Thankfully, Rost is a fan of fresh-picked huckleberries and therefore a real Montanan.
