Leaving Ennis & Driving North to Glacier Natl Park

Happy Father's Day - New Shirt & New AXE!

Holter Lake, MT

Toasting a Great Father's Day & a Beautiful Campsite

June 15

Father’s Day 2008 dawned with beautiful blue skies & the promise of 75 degree temperatures! It has been awhile since we’ve seen temps that high & we’re amazed that our friends back home have been having temps in the 90’s & 100’s since we left the end of May! Furthermore, we have had a good deal of rain & snow throughout this trip. The west has been in draught conditions for a few years so we know they are happy to have this extra precipitation.

We joined our friends Andy & Chris at their lovely home in Ennis for a lovely brunch. Chris is a wonderful cook & we enjoyed the most delightful Sunday morning dishes – deviled eggs, shrimp orzo salad, fresh fruit, delicious chorizo (?) sausage, & blueberry coffee cake, assorted cheese & crackers, & delicious homemade cookies along with champagne & mimosas! Chris was so kind to send us on our way with our hands full of these delectables. We so enjoyed visiting with the DeBona’s traveling friends from CA, Jack & Lila, & 2 other local Ennis couples, one of whom previously lived at 321 Pitt St in Alexandria before retiring to MT. What a wonderful beginning to Father’s Day!

Steve, Bennie & I began driving north to Helena about 1:30 pm with the intention of stopping in Helena to shop at Costco for supplies & to visit PetCo for a Bennie bath. The capital city of Montana has 2 exit ramps from the interstate & they are 6 miles apart & of course, we missed the 1^st exit where those stores are located. That was just the beginning of the frustration in Helena. We were eventually able to accomplish our goals but couldn’t figure out how to get back on the interstate. We had to stop twice to ask directions for what should have been intuitive but that method did not work & Montana is not too willing to post directional signs like we normally see in cities. Andy & Chris had warned us that MT was not too open to outside visitors & it had taken them a long time just visiting MT before they felt welcome enough to settle here. We got the picture!

After traveling along the interstate for about 50 miles we followed some camping signs at the Wolf Creek exit & after driving about more 10 miles from the exit we ended up at the most beautiful lake (Holter Lake) with lovely camping sites all with very picturesque views of the lake & the nearby mountains. This recreational area provides fishing, swimming, water skiing, & tranquility. We were amazed & once again so pleasantly surprised. The other amazing fact is that our campsite only cost us $5 because we have the Golden Age Passport card from the National Park Service. Without question many of our campsite fees are helping to offset the cost of gas, which by the way, we are still able to eek out prices just below the $4 mark. That will soon change very drastically as we cross into Canada in a few days. Sunday evening we enjoyed a delicious Costco prepared meal of chicken shish kabobs which Steve cooked on a disposable charcoal grill. We are still looking of the right type of grill for us to carry along. Finding a few more stores would speed up that process! It was a perfect end to a special Father’s Day for Steve. He was doing everything he loves – camping, enjoying the beautiful northern mid west, & visiting with a special USMC friend from the past. He also enjoyed phone calls throughout the day from Dan, Beth & Shannon & a special email message from Mike at sea. The gift of a big ax from me topped off the great day.

Today (Monday June 16, 2008) onward to Glacier Natl Park located in northwest MT & we expect more beautiful sights & interesting history.