First Fish

Normally by this time each year we have already been camping at least twice, but because of the late summer we've had this year, we just finally were able to this last weekend.
Tina, Christian, Matt, and Mitch arrived Thursday, my family, plus Steven, went up Friday at various times and Bill, Tammy, and Derek came Saturday. We were camping on Lake Koocanusa in Eureka. It's not really "roughing it" camping, but I do really like the Rexford Bench campground. Very nice, and really quiet (except for the stupid generator the man had next to us).The weather was really warm most of the time except for one evening when it started storming. We were out on Bill's boat fishing when it started to thunder. It wasn't until we could see the lightening right above the lake that we started to get worried and headed back to the shore. On the way back it started to sprinkle, then rain, then pour. It was really exciting, (a little scary) but mostly amazing to be on the lake with a full out storm starting. Loading the boat was interesting especially when it started hailing. The moms, plus me, vacated into the truck while dad, Bill, Matt and Steven were out getting soaked. When we finally got back to camp everything was drenched. The guys had wittingly set up a huge canopy above the chairs, but it really didn't do much to help with the rain. Overall that was quite the evening. The next day (Sunday), was so hot. We spent most the day zooming around the lake on the boat and then going across to the other side of the lake to play in the sand. Steven got the boys making a sand castle and soon had quite the fortress built. Tammy brought some water bombs and so we also had a war going on. Personally, I really love the sandy beaches on Lake Koocanusa, it always reminds me of the ocean I often long for. You forget how hard it is to walk on sand though! Later that night a few of us went out fishing and although we didn't bring in anything, I caught my first fish ever!!!!!! It was abuut an 8" WhiteFish. When I felt the line going wild I started yelling "What do I do! What do I do!". Steven came over and scooped up the fish in his net and brought it in. I'm glad it was too small to keep because honestly I would have had a hard time killing the poor thing. Steven said it was gasping for air, but to me it sounded as if it were crying and it looked really pathetic squirming around in my hand.
I'm not sure how many, if any more trips we will get this year, but I hope a few. I had a great time and I think everyone else did too. We came home on Monday. leaving early to beat the heat, and noticed that over the weekend I had, as Hannah put it, become very "pink and tan".

I feel like any culturing I once had, is now tainted.

*warning: this post contains pictures of dirty mountain people having fun*

Yesterday my brother had a mountain man muzzle loading rendezvous in Marion. We went as a family, and I have so say I was surprised how much fun it actually was. The era was set in 1840'a and although costumes were not mandatory, would I still be me if I let a good dress up opportunity pass me by?

We got there around 9ish and Luke and Christian went straight to the black powder rifle shoot. I don't know too much about it, but I think they both did quite well. The guns are really loud, but if they had a lot of kick, the boys sure didn't let us know. That lasted a good hour and a half, and then (Luke shooting his gun)(Christian shooting his gun. They actually forgot to bring Christian's gun, so I think he was a little bummed, because he had to use one that he wasn't used to)

The next activity was knife and hawk throwing. They had 21 different stumps to throw both their knife and tomahawk at. Some were really hard; like moving targets, through trees, etc. This was more interesting to watch in my opinion than the rifle. They let me try to throw some and honestly I stunk at it. The men there said I threw like a girl and I never once got either to stick. I would show a picture but it's too embarrassing:) Here is Tina Vestal and my mom. I think they both had a lot of fun. They both love to camp and were enamored with all the primitive doohickeys. After lunch the boys had black powder pistol shooting. Again I think they both did good. They had to hit various targets like skunks, frogs, bears, poles, and coils. When the boys were finished they asked If I wanted to try. I had previously stated that If I was to take a liking to any of the three things thus far I would be most inclined to try the pistol. They laughed at me and said that it was the hardest but let me try anyways. Guess, what... I hit the target dead on, first time ever. Needless to say, I was happy . Because the boys had finished all the activities for the day we had a few hours of free time to do whatever. For the moms that meant taking a walk, for dad, a nap, the boys, I think did some archery, and I sat around the camp talking with some of the older men there.Later that night after a potluck dinner they had some contests around the campfire. The first of which was fire starting. Both the boys tried and had a respectable time of both around 40 seconds, it was their first time ever. I think the winning time was around 5-6 seconds.They also had woman's games, which was a rolling pin throwing contest, Tina and I tied for first, and a frying pan throwing contest, Mom won that, (better not get on my family's bad side). It was fun and they had prizes too. (Luke and I)

For a grand conclusion on the day, they had a story telling contest. Some of the guys had great tall tails to tell. Mom practically forced me to tell a story myself and even though it was pretty pathetic (I was not happy to be doing it) They decided I won (I think just to be nice) and I felt bad for doing such a bad job. Oh, well, I learned my lesson.

Overall, it was a really fun looooong day. They have a few every year and I think I might just go next year.

Day 26: Having returned from an adventure, I now embark upon another

We got home today around 2ish, wet, tired, somewhat miserable, but wholly intact. Because my mom and I don't know how to drive a stick, Mitch chauffeured Hannah and I there in the truck. It took around 3 1/2 hours to get to the McGillivray campground. We had to go through Libby and around lake Koocanusa to get to the sight. Below is a picture of the Libby Dam. the campground was about four miles away. On Saturday we actually took a tour. It was really interesting. Everything was super sized inside, from the turbines, to the wrenches. I would recommend it to any of you if you are ever out there to take a quick detour to take the tour. Sorry I don't have pictures of the tour itself, but they don't let people bring anything in since 9/11.I don't know what this river is called, but it was gorgeous to dive along. Had the weather been warmer, I would have been at risk. Our camp sight was right along a cliff overlooking Lake Koocanusa. Some parts were definitely too high to jump off, unless you have a death wish, but other parts would have been pretty safe and really fun to jump into the water from. *sigh* If only it had been warmer. Although this picture doesn't look like much, I hung over the side of a steep ridge to take it.

So you better like it. Christian, Matthew, Luke, and Mitch building their fort. Mitch said they were going to be like survivor man and build a fire, drink from the lake, and scavenge food. It lasted around two hours before they came back for smores. Funny, when taking this picture Mitch asked me if it was for my blog. *guilty*Interesting fact about the lake is that awhile ago they had a contest to name it. One gal came up with Koo (for the Kootenai Indians) can (for Canada) and usa (for the USA) to get Koocanusa. Mom and Hannah warming themselves by the fire. It was pretty cold Fri, Sat, and Sun. Thursday when we were driving it was scorching, And the irony? None of us had air conditioning.

Last night you could hear the light patter of rain drops on the tent. That morning unfortunately we still heard it. It never stopped raining. It's absolute misery packing up in the rain. All the camp chairs were soaked, so no sitting, they did get the fire going, but the whole way home we were that sticky damp. Yuck.

As for my childhood memory. Hum.... I once had a dream that a bird lived under the dirt in one of our house plants when I was really little. So when we moved to MT and left the plant behind I first had to dig up the "bird" to let it go free. Needless to say, there was no bird, and I was confused.

Oh, and the adventure I'm embarking on if your wondering, I start college tomorrow. Pray that all goes well.

Day 20: The Hu Hot Adventure

I guess a hobby of mine could be that I love to wear costumes, which fits perfect with my post for today.

Today Hu Hot was having a dress like Genghis Khan day. If you came in three or more Genghis pieces you would get a free meal. I convinced Luke, Mitch, Matthew, and Christian to do it with me. Hey, I'll dress funny for an hour for a free meal. Luke and I waiting for the rest of our mangy bunch to arrive.

Needless to say we got funny looks.Christian getting his food. The guys there are so cool. They can do all these flippy things with their spatulas and are just so good at what they do. My plate, or at least the first one. Yummy.Matthew being goofy.Luke, Matthew, Christan, and Mitch at our table.Luke and Christian looking, well, I'm not actually sure what they looked like. Some Viking, Mongolian, Sasquatch hybrid.Come to Montana, The locals are great!

Another great day!

Life on the Middle Fork

I really wanted to wait until I had pictures of our rafting trip to post, but till then here is our our trip in a very large nutshell (plus my orientation).

Thursday I think was our most hectic day. We did most our packing Wednesday night, but on Thursday morning we still had to pack up all our food and some other stuff for camping. We left the house around 10ish I think to head to town. I had a doctors appointment and after that my college orientation. We got to the college on time and I signed in and they took my picture for a Id (ugg, I probably look really stressed, or just tired). After that mom left and I headed down stairs. They had me go into this really large room with around 40 other people. After a short wait, they had someone introduce some people and then talked a little. They then had us divide into four groups. I was in group one. A councelor then explained somethings to us and had us introduce each other. We then went back to the tables and listened to some more talking. Then they had us go back into our groups (notice a pattern here?) They said that one by one they would have us talk to a councelor about what classes we were going to take and so on. Well, after my compass test a while ago I talked to a advisor and had already figured out what I was going to do. A lady came by and said that if we had our classes to follow her. I asked the person next to me and she said that I should go. We took a quick tour of the campus and then went to a computer lab (I think) to officially sign up for classes. I soon figured out that I wasn't supposed to have gone with them. The people were pretty helpful and told me how to do it myself. After that I called my dad to come pick me up and he said he would leave work in about 15 minutes. Since I had some time to spare I walked over and said hi to Laurel and Ridge who I knew were there. Then I just walked around the campus until my dad got there and we left for the campground at Big Creek.

Big Creek

Friday was pretty calm. The boys (minus dad) all went rafting with Mr. McLean (A man from church) so we had a very quiet afternoon. That night the Underhills and Ridge got there. Hannah, Ridge, and I
Saturday I think was the best day. Mom, Eric and Mitch (my cousins), and I, left for rafting around 9:30. Mr.McLean and his brother were going down the middle fork again and said we could come. In the raft, besides who I already stated, was Daniel and Matthew (Mr.M's boys).
The rafting trip went really quick but was SO much fun. I loved how Mr.M was a thrill seeker like myself and was always trying to hit the biggest rapids possible. Once we hit this rock/rapid that was so steep that I thought for sure we had lost Mr.M and his brother off the back. Eric was practically in my lap, the boys both got hurt by flying paddles, and plus we all got even wetter than we already were (and we were really wet). Another time we almost lost Mitchell off the side but my mom grabbed him before he went over. We took a lunch break and the boys and I went exploring. I saw a good sized snake and asked Matt to catch it. He said he didn't know how and that they just always killed them. To my great surprise I ended up catching it! I don't think I have ever caught one before. I'm not afraid of them I just normally let my brother do the dirty work. Later we got back into the raft and completed our mission. At the bridge where we got off, Daniel and Eric jumped off the bridge into the river. I really wanted to but I wasn't in the right attire to swim in. Maybe next time. Later that night we went to Apgar village for ice cream (frizzy hair and all).

Sunday was tiring. We just packed up and came home. Then unpacked at home.
Sunday morning bumming around

So that's what I've been up to lately. Messing up orientation, relaxing in a hammock, and getting wet on the Middle Fork.

I got my beach fix

Well, we got back from camping a few hours ago. I'm wrapped up in my fuzzy robe, my wet hair up in a clip, my legs smooth from a good, way over due shave, and my eyes tired from smoke burn.

We left for camping on Thursday. After a two hour drive to Lake Koocanusa and we finished setting up camp, we, actually I don't really remember what we did, but it most likely involved sitting around a fire, talking, maybe a bike ride to the lake, and roasting marshmallows.

Friday was the really fun. Because Koocanusa is so close to Eureka we have a girls day. Hannah, Mrs. Vestal, Rachel, my mom and I first went to a little thrift store. I got a really cute yellow summer dress (it will need modifications). Next we went to this woman's resale clothing store, and then to The Sunflower Moose. Lastly we went to the same wonderful place we went to last year for lunch. I think I had the best sandwich I've ever had, but then I think I said that last time.

Saturday was long. We drove a hour away to go to the Amish auction. For lack of seating reasons I was in Eric's truck with Mitch, Tara, and Eric. Like most trucks it really is only supposed to be for two, maybe three people. So needless to say we were very squished. The auction was smaller that usual, so we didn't stay long. On the way back we stopped at the swinging rope bridge. That is so much fun! If you know me I have a thing for heights. Most people are afraid of heights, I'm afraid of lowness. So of course I love rope bridges. Rachel and I climbed on rocks and even my 89 year old grandpa made it to the bridge, and it is a little bit of a hike. Christian, Lucy, Luke, and ShelbyMeRidge and HannahMrs. Vestal, my Grandpa, and Mom

Later that night Rachel and I rode our bikes down to the lake. Lake koocanusa's beach is so wonderful. It has fine sand so it's more like a beach than a lake. We did cartwheels, built sand castles, basically got our beach fix for the next year.

Even later we went canoeing across the lake, and even later than that went on a walk around the beach bare foot. Well, Rachel and I were barefoot. It felt so good to walk in the mud. Oh, that's another fact about me I love mud, if you didn't already know.

Eric, Tara, me, and Rachel

Today we picked up camp and came home. So wer'e back where I started, except my hair is a little dryer now.

Camping Big Creek

We got back from camping a hour ago. Over all it was OK. The river was nice and the weather was not to bad. We had thunder, lighting, and rain during the night, it was so loud it woke us all up. It sounded like it was right on top of us, and it just about was! We set up the hammock and it was relaxing laying around on it. The boys and Nora had fun building really neat bionicle traps and fly fishing.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times....

OK, for all who didn't know, us, the Vestals, and the Underhills went camping this weekend. That being said let me tell you what you didn't know.

We got to the campground about 1 p.m Friday morning. It was beautiful, warm, and the campground was practically empty. We chose our prime spot and set up our tents, chairs, est. Hannah and I rode our bikes down to the lake and the mud was heaven, absolute heaven, so we rode back as fast as we could to get our suits on. Getting back to the lake it was cooler so.... We slathered ourselves in mud up to the waist. The moms went to get the canoe and when they got back Hannah and I paddled across the lake. It was like a perfect serene beach over there. No salty ocean, annoying seagulls, absolutely NO people, great sand, and a cool sandy wall to graffiti all over. Eventually dragging ourselves away from the perfect world, we came home to find the Underhills had gotten their except Mitch and Matt who came with the Vestals.

Before dinner it started raining, then pouring, then dumping, (I found out that my waterproof jacket was not water tight) My dad Mitch and I were putting up the fly tent over our kitchen stuff (everyone else had vacated to their tents) when it started thundering and lightening. You could see the lightning way less then a mile away. It was like Boom, pow, Boom, pow (if that was a good description or not) It kept dumping then my mom said that the tent was leaking through the floor! So off to save our comfort of a warm sleeping bag. Mitchell kept on cooking the chicken throughout the rain. The Underhills (three of them) got back when it stopped raining. They had gone to a rodeo Eric was riding in. It was indoors. Later we played madlibs in our tent. It poured most the night.

We took Shelby camping. during the night Shelby woke me up by scratching on our sleeping bags. I woke my mom up to get her to stop. Mom, upon finding Shelby was cold decided to put her in the sleeping bag. Shelby never having slept in a sleeping bag before kept climbing out and butting her head against mine, why I don't know. Eventually she fell asleep.

The next day it was chilly, so all us girls (except Nora) went to Eureka and the Amish store. We went to a used store, a really neat consignment store where I got a really cute pair of shoes and skirt, then an amazing clothing store. I mean it. I liked practically everything in that store including the name "Sunflower Moose". They had so many cute skirts, jackets, and tops it was unbelievable. After being in la la land, We went to lunch at a really neat deli, yarn shop, cross bookstore. I had the best sandwich ever, then we went back to the cold wet, miserable, camp sight and played badminton. ,

Today was wonderful. A little chilly in the morning but warmed up great. We packed up then rode down to the lake. Hannah, Nora, and I went across the lake again. Still bliss. imagine.... sunbathing on hot sand, cooling off your feet in clear cold water, running down the "shore", doing more graffiti, climbing a sandy hill, playing in quick sand, then taking a relaxing trip back. Later Hannah and I "played" in the mud more, then we all went home. And Hannah if you changed your mind and still wanted that swirly metal thing I found it's to late, I threw it into the lake.

I hope that wasn't to long, but I hope you read it because I took awhile to write. Here are some pictures because I know that's the only thing you like. The boys playing cards with goggles on so the smoke wouldn't bug them The chairs attempting to dry off. The shelter made to keep the hammocks dry from the rain. Mitchell cooking the chicken in the rain.