Montana: Life Lessons Learned on the Lake

My friend Danielle invited me to come and stay at her parents lake house in Montana - knowing about my goal to have a meaningful experience in all 50 States.

She and her family are amazing - so kind and welcoming! At the end of the trip her mom said, "I hope this was meaningful enough for you to count for your goal." Indeed it was!

One thing I enjoy about heading West is that you gain time, which of course = more adventures :) We spent our "found time" at a barbecue that's part of an annual golf tournament for her dad's company. Delicious burgers and potato salad were complimented by a gorgeous view.

Before I left I was in a meeting with my interns at work and we were doing some "would you rather" scenarios - one was "Would you rather have a beach vacation or a mountain vacation" after some lively conversation I told them I was cheating and doing both - going to a lake in the mountains. It really was a great combo - one I wouldn't mind repeating. This also got me thinking about the pros and cons of going to new places vs. going back to favorites - such a tough choice!!

Saturday morning we got up got incredible pastries from Ceres Bakery (sweet potato sticky buns that were divine and huckleberry bun that was somehow both flaky and soft...) and headed to Glacier National Park. SO AWESOME!!! I've hiked on part of a glacier now. And filled some of my need for nature - trees and lakes and waterfalls and streams and snow and wind blowing through our hair.

 

We drove up Going-to-the-Sun road and hiked as far as we could on Hidden Lake trail (bear danger closed the trail after about 1.5 miles). We also saw lots of mountain goats roaming the trails with us (one young boy exclaimed to his parents, "I've seen 9 mountain goats so far!")

We got homemade ice cream in homemade made waffle cones back in Kalispell with one of Danielle's friends who's getting ready to move back East to Virginia. In honor of Montana and at my colleague Jessica's recommendation ("you have to eat huckleberry everything while you're there!" she told me) I got huckleberry ice cream - a great choice.

Since we were in town, we decided to tour the Conrad mansion. Good choice. It was fun to learn more about the founding of Kalispell and to think about travel during years gone by - like when it took over 60 days to get from the Mississippi River to Montana. And the steamer trunks people used when traveling "because when it takes that long to get somewhere, you stayed for awhile when you arrived." And this was said in relation to President Theodore Roosevelt staying with the Conrad's in their mansion.

For dinner Danielle let me help her make coconut fried salmon. Fun. And tasty - especially when dipped in the grape jelly/horseradish/mustard sauce. Yum!

 We ended the night talking down by the lake watching the stars come out. I even saw a shooting star.

Danielle had extended family in town as well, and Sunday morning we all enjoyed a delicious breakfast of french toast made by her aunt Becky. Fun to be welcomed into a family with open arms and to get to know new friends. Some of us headed to Church and got to enjoy a welcome home talk from a missionary in their family ward. Then we had a big group dinner (19 people) and played games. Great relaxing evening.

Monday morning we headed out on the lake. One of the women I met at Church asked if I'd been out on the wave runners. When I told her no, she told me my Montana experience wasn't complete yet then. Let me tell you, she was right! I've never been on a wave runner before, so I was a little nervous, but it was great! I got brave and was able to go over 60mph zipping across the lake. We went around this island and on one side the water was choppy - Danielle said "it's like being on the open sea" and it really did remind me of when I had kayaked on the bay off Grape Island off the Boston coast. We went over and saw this replica of the Statue of Liberty :) and drove past these huge houses. Which led to a discussion about living life vs. amassing wealth in order to someday live life. I want to choose the former. 

Thanks for the impromptu and memorable weekend Montana!