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“Why don’t you come join us at our cabin this summer?” is a question that’s music to my ears. Who wouldn’t want to relax at a cabin in the wilderness for a few days?

So we did! My brother-in-law Dave has a family cabin in beautiful Star Valley, Wyoming, and we spent the week up there. For the first time in my life, I rode a horse…

Dave took me up the canyon, and it was a gorgeous quiet evening as we followed a horse trail through the forest. My horse, Fitz, stopped to nibble on grass every fifty yards, but he was great. Here’s my saddle-eye view:

We rode for about two hours, which was perfect. I wasn’t sore, but after another hour I probably would’ve been.

Pepper took Fitz out the next day.

The days were pretty hot, but we took advantage of the area to go on some walks. I can’t really call them “hikes” because they were either along gravel roads or ATV trails in the canyon. Pepper has an app on her phone that identifies plants, which is a lot of fun when you’re on a trail and wonder what flower that is, or what type of fern you’re passing, or whatever. So there were a lot of pauses on our walks as she pulled up her app and then triumphantly notified us what plant we were looking at. I don’t remember any of them.

Back in the air-conditioned comfort of the cabin, I made friends with my nieces and nephews. Well, actually they’re my grand nieces and nephews. Although I know all of my in-law siblings’ kids, I admit I don’t know all of their kids. There are simply too many of them, and we only do family reunions every other year. So in this case, it was the first time I’d really spent any time with this group, and I literally had to be reminded of all their names on the first day.

But later that day, we were fast friends.

It was funny how much all these little kids wanted to hang out with me. They argued about who got to be on Uncle Cosmo’s team for a game of Skip-Bo or Go Fish. They pushed each other out of the way to get a turn to sit on my lap. As a result, most of the games looked like this:

I only had Dirk and Bella in that moment; Lily (in turquoise on the right) had apparently hopped up to get a snack or something. It’s tricky to have three kids on your lap at a time!

They insisted on a selfie with Uncle Cosmo.

That’s Bella, Tally, Dirk, Lily, and Veja. What a crazy group. I actually had a ton of fun getting to know them, and wish I could see them more often. One morning all the adults were going to head out for an adults-only trip, and I offered to stay at the cabin to watch the kiddos (because someone had to stay back). Everyone said I was asking for trouble, but I figured it would be a blast. It turns out several of the kids ended up going with their parents, and I was left to babysit just two of them. So we played games and had snacks and went on a long walk.

On the left is Mason, who was born the same day as Ollie. He probably outweighs his cousin by twenty pounds, though… he’s kind of a chunk, while Ollie seems to have no body fat. At the time I took this picture, we were gathering flowers to make a bouquet for their mom. It was fun.

Speaking of their mom, we had a good time at a nearby lake one afternoon…

We were kayaking and paddleboarding. The weather was pretty warm, but the water definitely wasn’t. I jumped in a few times, because that’s what you do on a lake, but I didn’t spend long in the water. It was cold enough to take your breath away.

My nephew Ty, doing teenage stuff, managed to slice open his foot right to the bone. He and Luke paddleboarded back to shore where we figured out some first aid. That was when we realized we weren’t really prepared for this sort of thing… we had a couple of Band-Aids, but the cut was big and deep (and dripping blood). Fortunately another family on the shore noticed us, and brought over a proper first-aid kit with some gauze and tape. After that I told myself I’d be more prepared in the future… you never know when something like this might happen.

As our time in Star Valley wound down, I was told the Red Baron was the place for shakes. A group of us put it to the test.

Indeed, the shakes were pretty great. So was the cabin, and especially the time with family. We’re hoping to make this an annual tradition. Because hey, who doesn’t like hearing “Why don’t you come join us at our cabin this summer?”

Last year the Gundersons stopped in, and we had a great time together. Apparently the kids enjoyed it so much that they begged to come back this year. (Or at least that’s the story their mom told me… maybe she was just flattering me?) In any case, they did, in fact, come back!

Jet skis were the first order of business. Rhys and Brooke absolutely loved zipping around the lake. It was tricky to ride with them at times because they always sought out the waves and wakes to bump across and catch some air (which is, admittedly, the right thing to do with a jet ski). Here’s Rhys showing his dad how fast they can go…

… while Brooke shows me how sharply she can turn.

Then it was time to break out the tube. It’s such a blast to have younger kids who get so excited about being on the water! And of course it’s a blast to whip them around on a tube until they go tumbling out.

I was thrilled to hear that Rhys absolutely loves the card game Dominion. It’s one of my favorite games, and when I showed him my collection of thousands of cards– I have every one– he was gobsmacked. We played many games together, and he roped his (somewhat hesitant) family into joining us.

Skunk was a hoot.

We played Skull and Survive and then I showed them King of Tokyo, which was an instant hit.

The cherries were almost ripe, which meant we picked and ate them, but they weren’t quite at their prime. No matter– people seem to really enjoy picking cherries in our orchard!

As always, the time flew past, and soon they had to leave to continue north into Canada to visit family.

They stopped in Glacier on the way, and I told them about the cliff jumping at St Mary Falls. Cindy reported back that all the kids jumped!

Right before they left, Brooke asked her parents if they could make this a “new family tradition” and come up to visit us every year. The answer was something along the lines of a classic “we’ll see” but I hope it happens. We love having these yahoos.

While in Glacier last week, my friend Breea told her kids if they spotted a deer before she did, she’d pay them a dollar. If they saw a bear, the bounty was two dollars. And a moose was worth three.

We saw several deer (although Breea saw them first, so she didn’t have to pay). No bears or moose, though.

Until yesterday, when I spotted a moose feeding in the lake. My photo wasn’t the best…

… But I sent it to her husband as a joke.

And a few minutes later…

Thanks for the bounty, Breea!

I’m sure they hear that joke all the time, but it was great to host the Adams (one D) family for a few days. Kendra and I go way back… and I mean waaaay back. We met in college in 1992 and have been friends ever since. She and her family have always wanted to visit Glacier, so naturally it made sense for them to make a trip up north and hang out with us for a few days.

Glacier was impressive as usual. The weather was spectacular, and despite it being the most popular weekend of the year, the traffic wasn’t terrible. We headed to St Mary Falls.

I should point out that Kyla (the 18-year-old daughter) agreed to cliff jump with me after our hike. We trucked up the trail to Virginia Falls…

… and on the way back down she was true to her word. The two of us jumped off the rocks at St Mary Falls into the glacially-fed water frothing below. Wow. It’s always surprising how cold the water is. Even on a hot July day, it was frigid. But always a good time.

We showed them a bunch of the sights in the area, including Bigfork’s main street (a tourist trap) where we took a picture with the Big Fork (get it?) and the kids picked up some hoodies to remember their visit. We enjoyed some pizza at Rosa’s (of course) and also had a dinner at the iconic Burgertown.

Back at the house, we broke out the spikeball set again and had some fun. Pepper and I felt like we were actually improving a bit.

I introduced them to Survive, a classic board game that really brings families together. And by that, I mean it’s somewhat like the way Monopoly brings families together. There’s no mercy, and it’s a brutal fight to the finish with plenty of back-stabbing. Kyla and Kendra are discussing some strategy here… probably talking about who to devour with a shark or something.

As with most of our guests, we taught them Skunk, which is a silly fast-paced chaotic game on the pool table. We had a lot of laughs and no smashed fingers, so I’d consider it a success.

The days flew by, and it was sad when they had to head out. We’re hoping to see them again soon…

One thing we love doing after a long day in Glacier is stopping for dinner somewhere on the way home. Not only is it fun to eat out, everyone’s generally tired from hiking and soaking in the sun. On our latest expedition to the Park, we planned to go to a place called Gunsight Saloon in Columbia Falls. It’s (mostly) on the road home, and they have good food. Plus, they’re open until 10.

We headed out of the park around 8:30, but unfortunately we ran into road construction along Lake McDonald. We were stopped for about forty minutes– which we made the most of by climbing out of the car and down to the shoreline, where we skipped rocks and enjoyed the cool water for a while. But it meant we’d be arriving at the restaurant around 9:40, which is uncomfortably near closing time. We didn’t want to be “those people”, so we looked for other food options along our route. Not much was open.

Except… Packer’s Roost. It was listed as a bar and grill, their menu looked solid, and they were open until two in the morning or some other ridiculous hour. Oh, and it was literally right off the highway we’d be driving. Deal!

We pulled up and immediately realized it was more bar than grill. Biker bar, to be exact. It was dimly-lit and the crowd looked a bit… rough. We had young kids with us, but they were hungry (and grumpy) so we figured as long as no one insulted someone’s Harley we’d be fine. We sat down, flagged down the sole waitress (not an easy task), and placed our order.

Then we waited. Some bar patrons played the slot machines next to our table; one older woman explained how they worked to ten-year-old Sebastian as she pumped her Social Security income into the machine. We waited some more. People came and went. The bar was filling up. A few people sitting there were obviously drunk. We waited. Some guy was hitting on some woman, but she didn’t seem interested. More waiting.

We took a group selfie to pass the time.

Still waiting. There was only a single waitress, and a single cook, and I honestly believe they were doing their best. Generally speaking, I’d guess that a bunch of half-drunk people in a dive bar at 11pm don’t care much how long their food takes to make. We, on the other hand, were getting pretty frustrated. It had been almost an hour and a half when our plates were finally delivered.

The food was good, but lukewarm at best. I’m pretty sure it had been sitting on the counter for a good ten minutes before it was brought out to us. By that time, the younger kids weren’t even interested in eating; they just wanted to sleep.

We arrived back home well after midnight. We agreed it would’ve been better to just skip the bar, come home, and either eat a little bedtime snack or just forego food entirely and hit the hay. On the other hand, we were all joking about how we ended up in a biker bar at midnight eating barely-warm food. Good times.

On a side note, when I told the story to a friend of mine the next day, he was incredulous. “You brought your friends and their family to Packer’s Roost? At midnight?” I guess that’s not recommended. But we all survived and have a good story to tell. All’s well that ends well, I guess.

Naturally the Campbells wanted to visit Glacier. It’s a given that our guests– whoever they are and whenever they visit– want to go up to the park. Fortunately we love it too, so we bundled everyone into the cars and drove north. We ended up visiting the park twice during their stay, because it’s hard to fit everything into a single day.

Because it’s still June, wildfire season hasn’t begun in earnest and the views were clear. The drive up Going-to-the-Sun Road never disappoints.

As we neared the high point of the road, at Logan Pass, we saw a flurry of snow on a huge, steep hillside of snow and ice. We thought it might be a mini-avalanche, with some snow and rock rolling down the incline. It turned out to be two mountain goats! I guess they didn’t have a better (or faster?) way down the hill, so they just rolled and slid. Once they arrived at the bottom, they picked themselves up, shook off the snow, and sauntered along like nothing had happened. One of them walked right past our car as we waited for them to clear the road.

We spent some time enjoying lunch on the shore of St Mary Lake, which is always beautiful.

Following that, we went to St Mary Falls. For most of the Campbells’ stay, their ten-year-old son Sebastian was my little companion. He was always asking me to play foosball and ping-pong and spikeball with him, or to use my camera to take some photos, or demanding I sit next to him at meals, or just walking alongside me on the trail. He nicknamed me “Coco” and I called him “Sparky”, and we had a good time together.

The trail isn’t beautiful at the start, but when you get to the falls the hot, exposed walk is worthwhile.

Continuing along, we passed the three other (unnamed) waterfalls along the trail.

The end of the line is Virginia Falls, which is about fifty feet high and wonderfully refreshing as it blasts cool air and misty water on all of our hot, dusty bodies.

Just below Virginia Falls is a cascade, and I managed to get a good shot of it.

Here’s the full shot from a little distance down the creek:

This has become one of our go-to hikes for visitors, and one of our favorites in Glacier.

After a long day of hiking and stopping at a bunch of spots, the kids were pretty tired. On our way out of the park, we were rewarded with a gorgeous rainbow (actually a double rainbow, if you look closely enough).

What a way to end another glorious day.

We’ve taken to recommending Holland Lake (and the accompanying Holland Falls) to our friends when they visit. It’s a bit of a drive, but the hike is relatively easy and the view is spectacular. We trekked up the trail today and were rewarded with a refreshing cool mist after the last half mile of hot, rocky gravel.

Of course you have to celebrate at the top, overlooking the lake.

As usual, there were a couple of chipmunks darting around the rocks. Most people stop for a snack, and the chipmunks know they can get some crumbs.

Although the sky was cloudy, the water was really still and made for some great shots.

Another good day at Holland!

On the way to Glacier National Park, there’s a roadside tourist attraction called the Montana Vortex (also known as the House of Mystery). There are signs all over the area, with catchy slogans like “Amazing!” and “Fun!”. Despite passing it every time we head to Glacier, we’ve never stopped. Well, the Campbells said they enjoy seeing wacky tourist attractions on their trips, so we all agreed to give the Vortex a shot.

The massive sign out front is breathtaking, especially since up close it’s clear this is a wall-size print of a poorly-edited JPEG.

Our guide was Matt, who was very enthusiastic about the incredible, unexplained phenomena created by the Vortex. He mentioned “quantum physics” more times than I can count, apparently as a way to not only lend credence to the “theories” about the Vortex, but also as a way to basically hand-wave away any questions we might have.

The Vortex, we learned, is one of several in the western United States. In fact, there are three separate vortices right on this spot! The largest one is 216 feet in diameter, with the smaller ones measuring 72 and 54 feet across, respectively. (How does one measure the size of a vortex?) You’ll notice 72 and 54 divide evenly into 216, which is evidently a magic, mystical number occurring frequently in things like this. Two other vortices in California are 216 miles apart. There are 21,600 arc seconds in a circle. Amazing!

One of the unexplained phenomena caused by the Vortex is people shrinking and growing relative to one another. To demonstrate this, Matt asked some people to stand on either end of a little concrete slab. Here are Eliza and Murren facing each other. Note that Eliza (on the left) is taller than her sister.

Because the energy lines of the Vortex cut through the slab (notice the blue line painted just in front of Murren’s feet), these two women are actually in separate universes. When they switch places…

It’s incredible! Now Murren is taller! Energy lines! Quantum physics!

After this, we entered the main attraction at the Vortex: the House of Mystery. It’s in the background of the photos above, and is basically a ramshackle shed built on the side of a hill at an 18-degree angle. When you walk inside, you feel a little dizzy because everything is so slanted. What I’d chalk up to disorientation between what you see (the inside of a house) and what you feel (gravity pulling at 18 degrees from perpendicular), Matt chalked up to the effects of the Vortex. It turns out the Vortex is centered in the house, right inside this circle they’ve conveniently drawn on the floor:

It makes for some fun photographs, anyway. We all took turns standing in the circle, closing our eyes, clearing our thoughts, and feeling the Vortex swirl through us.

Later, Matt asked the group if we could tell which direction the Vortex swirls. I said it was clearly counterclockwise, and I was correct! It’s probably because I took an Electricity and Magnetism course in college, and know the Right Hand Rule about current flow and magnetic fields:

Once we were all a bit dizzy from the House of Mystery, we stepped outside where Matt directed our attention to several trees that were growing in strange shapes:

As any student of the Vortex and its mysteries could tell you, this is obviously because they’re in the energy field. Fortunately for us, at one of the “nodal points” of the energy field is a Healing Stone. The owners of the Vortex were kind enough to place several chairs in a circle around the Healing Stone, so all of us could put our feet on it and receive healing energy (it’s important to remove shoes and socks, so the energy can flow more freely). We all agreed it looked like a smooth rock that had been painted blue, but we figured what the heck. We sat down and healed ourselves for a bit.

There were several other demonstrations of quantum physics, but we couldn’t get them to work. We were told it’s probably because our bodies are in a state of “particle being” rather than “waves”. Of course this is a reference to the famous Double-Slit Experiment which proved the wave-particle duality of photons and led to the birth of quantum mechanics. We were all a little bummed that we were too particle-y, but I guess them’s the breaks. Quantum physics is a fickle thing.

In the end, we had a good time, despite all the mumbo-jumbo about quantum physics and numerology. It also provided multiple ongoing opportunities for jokes as we spent the day together. (“Do you feel that? I think it’s a vortex!”) (“I’m pretty hungry. It’s probably because my particles aren’t wavy.”) (“Look, a tree that’s not straight. It’s probably in an energy field!”)

Like pickleball, spikeball is a “sport” that’s been gaining popularity. It’s relatively inexpensive, easy to set up, and easy to play. Since we’ll have a bunch of visitors over the summer months, we figured it might be fun to get a spikeball set.

Today was our first run. Our friends the Campbells are visiting from Colorado, and they were excited to give it a go. I look pretty good making a lunge for the ball:

Eliza and I made a good team– we worked hard to use our three allotted hits to bump/set/spike the ball.

The ladies took a turn as well.

After a few games, we organized a quick tournament. Here’s the championship round, which went to 20-20 before the guys took home the trophy.

Bottom line: we were all terrible. Terrible. Despite our efforts, it was rare to get three hits, and most of the volleys went back and forth precisely once. We’re hopeful that we’ll all improve with practice… I guess Pepper and I will find out over the next few months.

This was the sky last night, just shy of midnight. Pretty cool!