Montana-Mosquito Adventures

We left Idaho Falls at 3:00 P.M. on Wednesday and drove to find a campsite in Montana somewhere near Crystal Park. We stopped in Dillon for groceries. We ate really expensive deli chicken in the car as we drove to Bannack State Park to check out their campground. We really liked the site next to the creek, and we would have stayed there if it wasn’t for the noisy air-conditioned bus. So we searched for another campground with less noise. After we drove all the way to Wisdom, we turned back to try the way-out-of-the-way campground at Lower Miner Lake. It was nice, except for the swarm of mosquitoes that attacked us the second we opened the car doors. We set up the tent trailer and camp quickly since it was after 9:00 by this point. The kids enjoyed being out of the car finally. The next morning, Scott found a bar of soap that he whittled away at with a pocket knife. We didn't stay long enough to find the trailhead that I wanted to hike, but we enjoyed just hanging out at the campground. We packed up in the late morning and began the search for a campground closer to Crystal Park. We discovered Grasshopper Creek campground and set up camp yet again. We enjoyed playing in the creek while we waited for our meatball sandwiches to cook in the Dutch oven. Then we drove into Dillon, again, to fill the car with gas and we enjoyed ice cream cones at the local Dairy Queen. We stopped at Bannack State Park on our way back to the campground. The kids had a great time running around the abandoned ghost town. That is where Grandma and Grandpa miraculously found us. The kids were thrilled to hear Grandma and Grandpa calling their names from the other end of the boardwalk and they ran to greet them. Later, we enjoyed fajitas, watermelon, beet greens and fruit cobbler back at the campground. The next morning, we had a quick breakfast and loaded up our shovels and screens to go hunt for quartz at Crystal Park. Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids and Ted dig for a little while and then continued on their own adventure. We dug for a while longer and headed for the car when we saw the rain clouds rolling in. We barely made it to the car before the rain started. All the bugs washed off of the car as we headed back to Idaho. We intended to go to the cabin and catch a family reunion Saturday for lunch, but Scott said it the best after he realized there would be no cousins to play with at the cabin. “I have enough mosquito bites. Can we just go home?” So we came home a day early and slept in our own beds and had baths. All in all it was a memorable trip. Next time I go camping I want more effective mosquito repellent! We used an entire can of spray and we're all still covered with bites!

the trip

Honorable Mention Photos

Favorite Photos

I was going to upload my favorite ten photos, then I decided to upload my favorite photo of each kid, then I decided to upload my favorite TWO photos of each kid because I still couldn't decide. I just finished the DVD. I will burn CDs with pictures and mail them soon.

We sure had fun. Thanks everyone!

Here are some of my favorite photos:

It takes somebody special to get  Grandpa to read "Map" over and over and over....

Grandpa is just a big kid...

Grandma meeting L. Tom Perry and getting very wet on a ride that her grandkids thought she could protect them from getting wet (she is the one in yellow directly under the waterfall)...


My two favorite pictures of Rachel don't include her face.  I love the river shot at sunset and the policeman picture...she was too short and kept jumping up and down to try to get her head through the hole.  It didn't work:)
Two very different views of Erin Joy...sleepy and happy...

I love this picture of Andrew.  He looks like "The Thinker."  

Cute Lindsey and her contagious smile and sleeping while reading a book:

J.T. who thought I could never get a picture of him...it was hard...

Kaci and Grandpa being Red Sox buddies and washing her hair in a puddle in the driveway:

Alexa and her perfect Peep and on her baptism day:

I love Sean's smile.  I love how he pretends to be a race car driver in his swimming goggles.

Sweet William peeking around a pillar at the temple and playing with a pink umbrella.

Brandon was just about as hard to photograph as J.T. was...

Nate and his big grin.

Congratulations on your baptism, Scott.  You look mighty handsome in your scuba gear.

Conner discovering that yes, indeed when you wear your socks and shoes into the creek...you do get wet.

Little man, Eli hanging on to his Daddy's legs and peeking through the pink hole at the park (don't tell him it's pink, though..maybe red...either way it is definitely a girly color...):

Happy Laura!  I love the giggle behind the picture with her mom.

It wasn't hard to get a smile out of little Benjamin:

And here is adorable Mallory:

Sweet Isaac with Grandma and with a messy face:  I wish I could have captured his cute laugh...

King Damien on his Daddy's shoulders: