Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Last night we headed to the big city to see the Spokane Indians play ball against the Vancouver Canadians.  This was a belated birthday present for Jordan's Dad, and the kids were thrilled to be able to celebrate with him.

We had front row seats in left field, and Thane was able to snag a baseball from one of the Canadian players. 

Following the game we were treated to a fireworks display put on by Toyota, the sponsor of the evening's game.

It was pretty magical.  Happy Birthday Papa!

Cousins

We have been spending the past few days at Jordan's folks in beautiful Colville, WA.  It's been great to visit with Dad, Mom and GG (Jordan's grandma).  The kids have been "helping" with lots of farm chores:  raspberry picking, canning, feeding sheep, gathering eggs, etc.  Annabel, our animal lover, has especially enjoyed Mama's flock.

As an early birthday present, Thane received a quilt that Mama made with lots of love.  It's so perfect with it's camo cowboy print and soft camo backing.  He LOVES it!

Yesterday all of the cousins came over for a day of fun.  The kids had a blast playing with Gunnar, Bailey, Austin & Aavry.  They spent the morning making a fort up on the mountain side, and then played in the pool.

Austin arrived dressed and ready to work, just like his Papa.

Amidst the chaos sat GG, who patiently endured the noise and endless antics. 

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

On our way through Montana, we made a quick stop at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Headquarters in Missoula.  This organization conserves land to maintain healthy elk populations throughout the U.S., and it houses a small museum that was quite educational.  The kids really enjoyed it.

And their building is right next to Starbucks.  A win/win!

Grant Kohrs Ranch

This afternoon we spent a couple of hours at the Grant Kohrs Ranch, a national historic site that commemorates the west's history of cattle ranching. 

First we toured the ranch owner's mansion, a beautiful home with lavish furnishings. 

Then we explored the grounds and outbuildings of this working ranch.  We saw the blacksmith shop, extensive barns, carriage houses, and cowboy barracks.  

We got a lesson on how and what the camp cook fed his men on cattle drives, and we especially appreciated authentic cowboy coffee - strong stuff!

Cowboy Thane even got to practice his lasso moves. 

At the end of our tour, the kids had completed enough of a special workbook to be sworn in as Junior Park Rangers.  Although small, we highly recommend this site.

Montana

We drove across 2/3 of Montana today.  What a gorgeous state!  Here are a few sites from the day:

 

We crossed the Continental Divide, and we stopped at the Wheat Montana bakery for some goodies that were almost as big as the state.  It was a great day.

 

New Home and Great Grands

We made an unscheduled stop in Sheridan this week to take care of details related to our move and our new home.  We finally got a tour of the home we have purchased, and we also got to spend a couple of days with Jordan's Grampa and Gramma.  Annabel and Gramma became great buddies, and Thane loved helping Grampa with ranch work.

 

We were spoiled rotten!

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Now that we are driving shorter distances (we are capping our days at 400 miles), we have discovered even more incredible spots.  The Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota is definitely one of these areas.  Seriously, we can't figure out how this spectacular park isn't more popular!  The park is named after one of our nation's great presidents, one who championed the national park service.  Roosevelt actually lived on the park grounds when he was 25 years old.  He came to the area to heal after losing both his wife and mother on the same day.  It's not hard to see why - the beauty and tranquility of this region do wonders for the soul.  You can still see one of the cabins where he lived.

The park is home to many native animals, including the American buffalo.  About 5 miles into the 32 mile loop, we literally almost ran into a 250+ herd of buffalo crossing the road.  We were literally within 100 feet of these majestic creatures.  It was SO COOL!!!

There are plenty of places to hike in the park, and the panoramic views didn't disappoint.

Our trip was sadly cut short due to some heavy storms, but the park had one more treasure in store.

We were able to sneak up on a small group of large male elks grazing in a meadow.  A truly magical evening!

Humble Beginnings

Yesterday we visited Itasca State Park, where the headwaters of the Mississippi River are located.  The kids were delighted to explore the rather unpretentious start of this mighty river.

Science tells us that after a drop of rain falls into the lake that feeds the river, it will take over 90 days to make its way to the Gulf of Mexico.  But that was a fact far from the kids minds as they gaily waded across the river (can YOU say that you’ve forded the Mississippi?)

Other notable sites at the park include Indian burial mounds, a massive white pine tree, primitive cabins and other pioneer-related displays. 

We made it home from the park just in time to avoid a severe thunder storm complete with tornado warning.  Quite anti-climatically, we only endured heavy rain and about 90 seconds of light hail.

To take their minds off the storm, the kids enjoyed some good old fashioned root beer floats – another cabin tradition.

Fishing

Fishing at the cabin has been, in Thane’s words, “EPIC!”  Jordan and Thane have especially enjoyed the tranquility of the lake during early morning and late evening hours.  They’ve caught walleye, croppies and pikes, and we are anticipating a big fish fry in our future.  Many thanks to Uncle Steve, who allowed us to take the boat out as much as we wished.

Yes, the fishing has been good.  

Random Sites

We love road trips and all of the random things we spy along the way.  We've seen so many beautiful old barns:

Also animals, big and small:

We are even doing our best to help y'all stay fed:

You're welcome!