Montana cont'd

I'm now 98% recovered from the cold I had, and successfully made it from Montana to Minnesota and back home. I have tons to write about, but as soon as I got home I hit the ground running with work stuff again, so I'm just now sitting down to breathe.

Highlights of the trip:

1. The people. Such amazing friends coming together from KC, Wichita, St. Louis, New Jersey, New York, and soon to be Chicago and New York. We are beyond blessed by these people. 
2. Montana weather in July. 75 and sunny? Yes, please.
3. Mountains. I can't get enough. 
4. White-water rafting. Brings back wonderful memories of family trips :-) 
5. Cooking and eating all the food. Katherine almost single-handedly planned three meals a day for six days for 13 people. And we ate well- quality food and plenty of it. Her skill serves people so well.

There was plenty more along the way. Fireworks, bocce ball, eating chocolate, Quelf, drinking coffee, chopping wood, drinking wine, frisbee golf, teepee building, singing, dancing, Harry Potter watching, and ripping out the rear of my jeans. Real cute, let me tell ya.  If I were to do it all again would I still forfeit my favorite pair of Citizens*? You betcha. (Pst- They were already being held together by patches so it wasn't that big of a deal.) 

Enjoy some pictures. I hope you smile at them as much as I do :-) 

(And I apologize in advance for photo quality. Vast majority were taken with phones.)

As a bonus for sticking with me til the end, I'll allow you a sneak-peak into our silent hike. No talking was allowed, so naturally...

The end. 

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Montana- Days 1 and 2

Day 1- Whitewater Rafting

Monday morning we took it easy around the lodge. After all, we had not made it to bed until 2am mountain time the night before. So we enjoyed muffins, couches, and the views of the mountains. Then we geared up and went rafting. I hadn't been in probably 10 years or more so I was very antsy to get back on the river. The rapids weren't very strong at all (level 3) and we were in a group with 5 other [loud] boats so we didn't stand a chance at seeing any wildlife. Still, we all had a lot of fun. The photos sold by the company were over $100 and since none of us had waterproof cameras we have no documentation of the trip. Womp womp. That night we headed to town for a pig roast. The pork was 75% fat so no one ate much, but it was a fun atmosphere with live music and locals.

 

Day 2- The Hike

Tuesday morning we went on a grou hike. The trail was only 2 hours round-trip. So naturally it took us closer to 5 hours. We were hungry and sunburnt, but had a blast. One of the guys had a tripod so he has all the group shots. I'll have to post those later. For now, enjoy these. They are completely untouched (since I'm too tired)

All 13 of us.

 

The wildflowers in the hills were beautiful.

Stopping to enjoy the view

 

In the meadows we looked like the VonTrapp family crossing the alps. So I kept singing all the associated songs of course.

 

In the wooded parts we joked about running into R.O.U.S's. Name that movie.

Ill tell you about day 3 later. Today is day 4 and I have a head cold or something so this has been enough computer time for me. Over and out.

Posted with Blogsy

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Day 0.5

Welcome to the lodge. It is gorgeous.

Welcome to Montana. We're at 8,000 feet.

Welcome lots of water and deep breaths. You have 4 hours to prepare for rafting.

Still super excited, just trying to conquer the attitude...

 

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Montana or bust!

We're currently in the Denver airport. Soo close to arriving at Montana for Beforekin 2012. I'm super stoked! 70 degree weather, white water rafting, hot tubs, fireworks, and wood fires... not to mention 11 of our best friends gathering in one place before we're scattered across the US: St Louis, New Jersey, Chicago, NYC, Wichita... bring it on!!!

Most posts to come later. If I don't post them, it's because we're having too much fun. :-)

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