Melissa, Sam, Jack and Dona preparing for S'Mores by the Campfire
It had been two years since my neice Melissa and her family had visited us up here, and when she asked the boys what they wanted to do this summer, "Visit Uncle Gary" was at the top of the list. They flew up and we picked them up at the airport in the Rivian.
Jack helped me repair a fence bracepost. This time he could reach the pedals on the tractor!
One of the first things Sam had on his list was s'mores, so Jack built a firs and we all got comfortable. Then we got to put it out with the firehose on the tractor. By then it was too dark for pictures...
It was pretty hot during the day, and Sam remembered the rope swing at Harper Lake. So we borrowed two kayaks from friends and with them and our canoe we had enough boats for all of us.
On the way back from picking up the boats I let Jack drive once we hit the gravel roads close to home. He's going to be taking driver's ed this fall and I thought it would be good to get a little practice in. He did great.
We paddled over to the rope swing, and Sam, Jack and I all swung out and plunged. At first the water seemed pretty cold but it wasn't really that bad. Mel and Dona enjoyed watching...
The next day we traded the double kayak in for another single kayak and took them and our canoe to the Seeley Lake Canoe Trail.
After some convincing, Sam inched overboard and got into the water. It took a little convincing but once he got used to it he decided it was a great way to travel and stay cool at the same time!
We didn't see a lot of wildlife, but we did see a few baby ducks.
On the way home, once we hit the gravel road I asked Sam if he wanted to drive. He said "yeah!" so I pulled over and he sat on my lap. He couldn't reach the pedals but he could steer and run the blinkers. We got home in good shape!
A neighbor had told me this was a great year for beargrass, and I had driven up to the North Fork Trailhead and there was some spectacular beargrass beside the road, so I thought maybe if we hiked up Lewis and Clark Pass we would see some great wildflowers up there.
Our Australian Shepard, Sophie, had just been diagnosed with cancer and was losing weight rapidly. We thought about whether she could make the hike or not and decided she still had enough energy. She did, and enjoyed it, but it was probably the last hike she's going to do other than short walks around home.
There were quite a few wildflowers on the way up, but unfortunately not much beargrass. There was some at the top, but it wasn't crazy crazy like it was up by the North Fork trailhead.
And then all too soon it was time for them to head back.