The Hazard Chronicles

I can already tell this is going to be another two-blog-post kind of weeks. If you remember from last time, we had driven down to Rexburg to surprise my parents with a retirement party organized covertly by my siblings. We had a blast, and it was great to see everyone, but before we knew it we were waving goodbye and going our separate ways. In our case, I headed back home while Rach and the kids extended their vacation by driving to Utah. They were gone for most of the week, and from all accounts it was a great time. Later this week I'll have Rachel get on here and share about it. Meanwhile, I'll go over the weekend that we just got off of.

Friday evening, Rach rolled in with the kids. It had been a long trip, and everyone was tired. Our original plan was to take it easy and let the kids recover over the next few days. But we are us, and sitting around was never really our style. We lasted until about Saturday late-morningish, and then decided that the weekend would be a great time for us to test our our new trailer. A quick trip to the store for food, and an hour later we were on the road.

I love us.

We started our drive heading North in order to check out a little-known climbing area that is being developed. It was too wet to actually get on the ropes, but we all had tons of fun exploring and the kids are all excited to go back. I am too, as the granite up there, although sparse, is of better quality than what we are used to closer to home. Time to hone that crack tecnique!

Addy exploring a hole in the rock

From there, we drove to our campsite in Montana near Kootenai Falls. About the camping itself...it was camping. But it also wasn't. It was comfortable. It was easy. It was warm. We ate real food- like, the kind that has to be refrigerated or cooked. We had chairs and tables and lights and toilets. In other words, it was the opposite of everything that "camping" has meant to me for the past 37 years of my life. I don't even know if I can justify what we did as actual camping. But it was fun, and because it was easy and warm and all those other things, perhaps something I could get used to.

Perhaps.

We stayed up way past all of our bed times playing games

Not even tired, even though it's like 11:00 (to our credit, we did get a time change going into Montana)

We did make a fire and roast hot dogs to make it feel a little bit more like real camping

Jackson was our tireless fire-wood-chopper-guy.

The next morning we all slept in, enjoyed a good breakfast, and then the kids explored near the river while Rachel and I leisurely prepared to leave. Our next stop was Kootenai Falls and the swinging bridge of doom. We had actually been there before, but this time the kids were older which made for a better experience all around. Also, this time the river was hauling like a freight train. Oh man. 25,000 cfs funneled over that falls is an impressive sight. The eddy lines are boiling and the waves are churning. It has been over a decade since I ran rivers, and I don't even own a boat any more. That said, the familiar feeling of tingling neck-hairs, dry mouth, and increased alertness still comes back to me with just the sound of big rapids.

From the falls, the original plan was to just head back home, but the campground host had mentioned another destination to us that was not too far off our path. The Ross Creek Cedars. We have been to a number of these old Cedar forests, and every time I am struck with a sense of reverence as I walk among trees that are a thousand years old. Being with these trees, still majestic and strong and huge after all this time, makes me feel very small and fills me with wonder and a quiet sense of resolve. These groves, I am convinced, are nature's churches, and they put our own man-made structures to shame.

I thought this was pretty cool. Our whole family fit "comfortably" inside this tree.

Here's Addy crawling out of it

Looking up from the inside

It really was a place from a fantasy world. Huge trees. Sooo much green. A babbling brook. A soft path that muffled our footsteps. It seemed magical. 

After spending a couple of hours in this hallowed space, we reluctantly got back in the car and drove home. It had been a good trip. 

One funny thing: On the way home I offered to take the kids out to eat that night at any restaurant they wanted, as long as they could come to a unanimous agreement. I specifically mentioned many of the nicer establishments in the area that Rachel and I frequented, as well as some of their favorite places they had already been. The next hour was a perfect social experiment. It was fascinating. There were a lot of ideas thrown around. There was arguing, and tears, and some people willing to compromise, and some people drawing hard lines. Time was running out, and in the end, they finally decided on...

...wait for it...

...An ice cream shop.

Yep. We offered them anything they wanted. I was mentally prepared to spend hundreds of dollars as a kind of "school-is-out-and-vacation-has-started" celebration. But they couldn't agree on anything except for only very basic food. I don't think anyone was actually satisfied. But we went and got our burgers and fries and milk shakes, and then went home and watched a movie. It was still a good night, but in the end very underwhelming. 

Kids are funny.

Have a good week!