That Time When Montana Stole Our Hearts

We finally decided to bother Uncle Mark by bringing our circus to his cabin for a weekend in Nye, Montana. I'm not sure how they felt about the trip, but we absolutely loved every minute. Luke constantly is saying, "I have a great plan. Let's just drive to Montana." It is quite hard to be the responsible adult and not jump in the car to completely go along with his plan.

We met up with nana in Idaho Falls to continue our trip to Nye. Augie is quite the nervous ninny when it comes to a lot of things, especially the car. He works himself up so much in the car, that he makes himself vomit. So special, right? We were feeling hopeful when we had been in the car for 1.5 hours with no vomit, thinking, "He finally got over it!" Nope. Nope. Just needed a good almost 2 hours before he thought enough was enough. He then decided to make that message known two more times within 40 minutes... Luckily, after the third go, he realized he could lay down and fall asleep, making the duration of the 12 hour drive (It should only take 8, but we made A LOT of stops...) a lot more enjoyable for us all.

We met up with Mark in a cute little town. He then took us into another cute little town so Dallin could buy his fishing license. The boys loved running around the country store, exploring all the random items they had.

We made it to the cabin around 5pm, had some delicious dinner, then the boys went up to the pond to fish. Augie was in heaven, running around all that land with 5 other dogs...yes, 6 dogs in total. We stayed up late to see stars, using Mark's app that shows you exactly what you are looking at. We even got to see the International Space Station fly over, which was a lot cooler than it sounds. 

The next day, Dallin and Mark hit the Stillwater River on their pontoons to fly fish, while nana, the boys and I went to search for a little hike. We tried two different hikes, when Luke informed us that he was just too tired. So, we headed back to the cabin, got some lunch and we all took some much needed naps.

That afternoon, Dallin, Mark, his wife, Sandy, and I went "Floating" down the river. Only one person got caught in a tree and one shoe was lost (mine). Overall, it was a successful float, and once I relaxed and figure out the flow, it was quite peaceful.

The next day, Nana headed back to California early, and the rest of us hiked up to a little spot where Dallin and Mark and the dogs fished up the river, while the boys, Sandy and I found a little spot where the boys played in the water. It was magical. The beauty of Montana is beyond words.

That evening, we started our trek back to Utah. We stopped in Ennis to camp for the night. The campsite was literally someone's backyard that they had transformed into an RV and tent camping area. It was quaint and the town is just precious. Not to mention, the view dropping down into the valley was breathtaking.

We finished out our trip with a visit to Wade and Cliff Lakes, which are just gorgeous. turquoise blue water, so clear you can see the rocks at the bottom, surrounded by trees of all types. They just scream peaceful beauty. We then spent a few hours in West Yellowstone before staying the night in McCammon to gain energy for our trip back home. We are all now convinced that we belong in Montana.

We also celebrated Dallin's birthday in McCammon. Grandma came through with some apple pie filling in the pantry. I whipped up a crust, turned some matches into candles, and wah-la....Good thing he had so much fun all weekend or he might hold it over my head that his 32nd birthday was such a dud...We sure are lucky to have this man in our lives!

In case you didn't catch that, we LOVE Montana. Dallin and I just kept saying how wonderful the trip was and that it was just heaven. We will be coming back!