Montana vacation car list, August 2016

Our vacations just keep getting better. We went to Missoula and Helena. Had adventure. Relaxed. Spent quality time with lots of different friends. Enjoyed near-perfect weather.

We also played a game I got from a book I read this winter: The Secret to Happy Families. Throughout the trip, I rewarded the kids with points for this and that (hiking 1 mile,  learning the names of 10 plants, getting the brass ring), promising them a reward if they both reached 100. The reward turned out to be a stop at that crazy 10,000 Silver Dollar place, plus money to spend on souvenirs.

As always, it was hard to leave Missoula. Just what are we doing in Seattle again?

Here's the list of memories we made on the way home in the car.

Rocky start:

• Toilet overflowing in Spokane
• Hiawatha Trail: flat tires, crash, crazy bus ride
• Missoula VRBO not ready

Heather, Paul, Lucy, and Oscar!

• Closing down the Carousel
• The brass ring on Paint!

Montana Splash. Fun slides. Great lap swimming!

Downtown Missoula:

• Protected bike lanes!
• Farmers' market 
• Scooting by the fountain
• Piano in the park

Potluck with Vicki Watson, Mark, and Marnie:

• Holly hock dolls with Vicki
• Tillie thought Mark might be Santa Claus

Dinner with Sandy and Troy:

• Double D
• Three yellow jacket stings (Tillie)

Farmers market

Water sampling with Vicki

• Mermaid hair
• Playing in the river

Bridge Pizza

Philip:

• "L" and Philip's
• Coffee with Philip
• Drink with Philip outside at...Old Post?

Nimrod's and cave

Butterfly bar with Tillie

• Her first ice cream soda

Tristen's birthday:

• Huckleberry pancakes for birthday breakfast
• Sushi
• Too much mochi

Saw Miles at Bernice's!

4th of July with Frank and Beth and Maddie:

• "The turducken of berries"
•  Watching Lion King
•  East Helena fireworks
• Amazing dinner
• Guitar around fire
• Sleeping giant
• Mount Helena
• Ray at the Merc

Gateway to the Mountains:

• Man Gulch Fire
• Geology
• Eagle with fish
• Osprey with snake
• Mule deer

Margaret and Carrol

• Saloon
• Hot tub under the stars
• Piano, guitar
• Caroll's art
• Old jeep
• Boner the bird
• Playing in the river, flyfishing
• Bear scat
• Moose pump
• Trout! on a Japanese flyrod
•  Bats

Playing near Brennan's wave

Date night for Chris and Anna:

• Old post
• Dancing at Union Club
• Paula

Doug:

• And his cherry tree
• Headwaters of the irrigation ditch

Run

Blodgett:

• Swimming three times.
• Tillie hiked SO FAR. 
• Smelling Ponderosa pines
• P pine, huckleberry, Indian paintbrush, quaking aspen, spruce, Douglas-fir, princess pine, twinflower, kinnickinick, gooseberry, elderberry