Monthly Archives: August 2012

We’d been on our camping trip for the better part of a week, and we were getting a little tired.  Varmint was starting to miss her creature comforts, her friends, and her cats.

And she had fallen into a funk.  Oh, it was a temporary funk, but it was a funk none-the-less.

So I did what I always do as her compassionate, empathetic mama.

I teased her.

I teased, and cajoled and coaxed her relentlessly.

Hey there Varmint….cheer up, Buckaroo!  Frowning causes wrinkles!

Mom, stop.

Aw come on now!  It’s not that bad.

Mom, you’re not helping.

Come On little Varmint!  Give me a smile, my Little Buckaroo!

Mom, if I stare at you long enough, maybe my eyes will drill a hole into your head, rendering you speechless.

Aw baby, don’t be like that!  Give me a little grin.  Give me a little smirk.  A wee little smile.

No.

Please?

No.

Pretty Please?

No. Go away.

If you smile, I’ll buy you a piece of Huckleberry pie!

There, you see?  A mother knows.

And blood tells.

We were hiking to the Hidden Lake, excitement for what lay ahead pounding in each heartbeat.

Well…. it was either excitement, or I was going into A-Fib again….

Critter sprinted ahead, My Captain walked briskly not far behind, followed by sweet Varmint.

And I?  I slowly limped along, alone, way, way in the back.  Like, so way far in the back that we eventually lost sight of each other.

It’s ok, though, I had the mountain goats to keep me company.

When I caught up with them, I found them in a fit of giggles.

What’s up?  Why the giggles?  Shouldn’t you be whining by now about how long and tedious hiking is?

“Mom!  The rest of the path is closed!”

“Why?”

“BEARS!”

Let me get this straight…they are giggling because there are bears ahead?

I don’t get it.  Are they laughing because they don’t have to walk any farther, or are they laughing because the thought of a fierce predator in the vicinity makes them so scared they’re giddy?

The answer doesn’t really matter, because either way you slice it, I’m the one with the excruciatingly slow-paced limp. They had no worries of potential predators…..

I was their bear bait.

One of the first hikes My Captain and I took Critter and Varmint on while at Glacier Nationa Park was called “Hidden Lake.”

This popular 3 mile trek sits alongside the Continental Divide in Glacier Park, and is under snow for most of the year.

Here the kids got first hand glimpses of Alpine and Sub-Alpine Wilderness…and an inkling of how much walking they would be doing for the next two weeks.

It scared them.

But the views during the hike were spectacular.

Bright green alpine grass and wildflowers of every hue, snow so white it was blue, and….wait…

Snow?

Aw, Crap.

I was so excited to embark on our family camping vacation to Montana a couple of weeks ago.  Eagerly anticipating quality family time, free from the distractions of day-to-day modern life, I plunked myself down on a seat at the airline gate to await our flight.  I chose a chair across from my beloveds, and prepared to engage them in meaningful conversation that I just knew would spark growth and curiosity, and deepen our affections for one another.

***SIGH***

I console myself that silence can be golden.

We went to Montana.

Man, that sentence just doesn’t impart the strength, the emotion, the sheer passion of that trip.

WE WENT TO MONTANA!

Pixels are so lame.

We bought a spiffy, ginormous tent for the trip, tested it out beforehand at Grandma Jane’s Orchard, and shipped it ahead of us for a paultry bazillion dollars, so when we arrived in Kalispell, our lodging was there, ready to be set up…. which we accomplished with the efficiency of a well-run bureaucracy.  (Ahem.)

I’m not sure why Critter is giving the Victory sign while holding a tent pole, but I’m certain it is a vital part of the process.

As is, I’m sure, the balancing-the-pole-like-a-Cirque-Du-Soleil-act that he is doing in this shot.

I love the way Varmint’s body language is screaming “How did I get stuck with these morons for two weeks in the wilderness??!!!”  Ah, good times, good times….

This was our view, our back yard, so to speak, for nearly 2 weeks.

And this, our kitchen/dining room.

You’ll note the flowers, thank you very much.  You can take the girl from the city, but you can’t take the Martha Stewart from the girl….or something like that…

You wanna know what one of the best parts about this place is?

You wanna know what it is about the place that makes us come back again and again?

It’s not the hammock, though that doesn’t exactly detract from the allure.

It’s that being together out in the wild reminds us that we have each other to hold onto in this world.  There are fewer distractions from each other.  There are fewer reasons to be away from each other.  There are more reasons to appreciate the teamwork of the family.

There is the thrill of adventure that cannot be found at home in all its domesticity.  Would you just look at the anticipation on this kid’s face?

Memories were made during the last two weeks, I tell you.  The kinds of memories that forge dreams in young boys’ heads…

…..and middle-aged Mamas.