Camping

The last weekend of August we decided to take the kids camping!!  Our first getaway all summer!!  Between cows, and baling there wasn't another free opportunity!!  We planned to go to Waterton for a night and do a hike then head over Logan's Pass and camp in Whitefish for two nights!  The weather was perfect, though quite smokey, so smokey at times it seemed like it was overcast!

When we got to Waterton we walked around the town centre and had lunch at a yummy pizza place!  While we were waiting for our food on the patio we saw deer walking in the streets!  After lunch we headed to our campsite to set up for the night!  It was super windy, the tent next to us was caving in from the wind, we were pretty nervous about what our tent would do!  After setting up we drove up to Red Rock Canyon where we planned on going for a hike!  The hike we decided on was to Blackiston Falls, about a 2 mile easy climb to beautiful waterfalls.  The boys did great and even skipped and ran in spots!  The falls were beautiful, and the water was so crystal clear.  Right next to the falls was a tree growing right out of a rock!  It was amazing to see how it could grow and flourish in such a rocky spot.

This is the tree growing right out of a rock!

After our hike we checked out Red Rock Canyon and walked down the creek bed exploring and having fun!  The boys took their runners off while we were climbing through the creek bed and it was probably for the best since they both fell into the crisp, cool water after taking only a few steps!  In places the water was deep enough to wade into and Calum eagerly went for a little plunge!  The red rocks were so beautiful to look at especially with the glow from the setting sun!

After our hike it was time for supper so we ate at a cute little restaurant in the townsite.  It was such a nice, calm evening (or so we thought in the protection of the buildings!!) we sat on the patio again and enjoyed the beauty of what we could see of the mountains with all the smoke from forest fires in the air!  Getting back to our campsite we could see that something wasn't quite right with our tent, and upon further inspection we found that the two main poles had snapped in the wind.  Jared was able to splint the one that was broken worst while the other one we were able to snap it back into the metal casing.  Sleeping that night was rough...every time the wind blew Emry shot straight up and started to whimper.  She was sure the tent was going to come down.  Jared assured her it would be fine and this seemed to appease her fear enough to get a little bit of sleep.  Even with Jared's reassurance he still sat up every time the wind gusted and held the tent pole that was splinted in place.  It was nice when morning finally came and we could pack up and head out of the wind.  On our way out of the park we spotted a bear swimming so we stopped to watch it swim the length of the pond and jump out on the other side!! It was so cute watching him run off!!

Going over Logan's pass was fun, we stopped at the top where we ate our lunch and looked around, we could hardly see the mountains across the valley because it was so smokey!  On the drive down we stopped a couple of times and climbed on some rocks and looked at the river.  We did a little hike at the bottom called "The Trail of the Cedars", the cedar trees were gorgeous and huge (well huge for what we are used to!!)  There was a waterfall half way through the trail and at some point in time a rock had fallen and precariously landed on another rock just over the water.  The scenery was amazing!!

These are the roots from a cedar tree that had fallen over!

Getting to Whitefish we found our campsite and set up for the night!  The campsite was nestled right in the trees so we knew we would be safe from the wind!!  In the morning we got up and got ready to go to Columbia Falls Water Slides!!!  It was probably the coolest day so far but still perfect for water sliding!!  The smoke was very heavy so we hardly saw the sun, but it made for a quieter day with less line ups!!  We got there shortly after the park opened and we were the last ones to leave!! The kids had a blast and were able to go on every slide!  Calum even went down Geronimo, twice!!!!  It goes straight down and is really quite high!! He loved it!  It was cute watching Calum and Armin walk up to the slides together, Calum would either hold Armin's hand or walk with his arm around his shoulder!!  They really can be best pals!!  After sliding all day we were famished so we drove into Kalispell and ate at our favourite BBQ joint, Famous Dave's!!  We didn't get back to our campsite until after dark and the kids fell asleep almost instantly!!

There had been a bear in the campground the night before we got there, and I'm sure it visited the first night we were there too!! The campsite a couple down from us had a salsa jar and chips scattered all over in the night, I think from a curious bear searching for a midnight snack!!!  Jared woke up one morning to a baby deer right outside our tent, and we heard the constant chatter of the chipmunks in the trees all around us!  It was so quiet and so peaceful!!

On our way home we stopped at the giant coal truck in Sparwood!!  Armin was fascinated with how big it was!!

It was a perfect getaway, the kids got along for the most part, the car ride at times was pretty loud!  But it was exactly what we needed before getting back into the swing of school and routines!  The kids each got a t-shirt that says "Take a Hike" written over top of the state of Montana.  We thought it was fitting since we did do a hike in Montana!  Armin wore his to his first day of Kindergarten and told his teachers that it's his "Get Lost" t-shirt!!  I guess in the mind of a 4 year old it means the same thing!!