This weekend Chris, Megan, and I trundled west to go visit Alex in Missoula, Montana.
Road trip!! Whoohoo!!
The last time we had this particular bunch of family members was back in January 2006 when the girls came down to Orange Country:
On Friday afternoon, Bailey supervised the packing of his essentials (see photo, below), I dropped him off at Mom and Dad's, we loaded up Pepe the Prius, and hit the road.
We were Montana Bound! Via Idaho.
We got in late Friday night and crashed at our hotel before meeting Alex at her dorm on Saturday morning. We had a quick breakfast and then decided to hike up to the "M", which was perched on a hill above campus.
It was gorgeous out. And cold.
Aww. It's so nice to have Big Pup and Little Pup back together again.
I love the pictures that Alex takes. We're going to coerce her into doing some maternity shots for us in a few weeks. I love how the sun is just tinting the photo with a sweet little glow around the edges.
Have I told you how slow I am at hiking these days? I wouldn't think that Baby J would weigh me down so much...but it's true. Banana slugs go faster than I, especially up hill. I was glad to reach the top.
Another one. A favorite.
Taking pictures..of people taking pictures.
It was so great to have the girls together. They are hilarious to be around.
Alex gave us a tour of campus and her dorm. It reminded me of Willamette. Except bigger. And Alex's room is waaaay nicer than little 'ole Belknap Hall.
Later we cruised through the famer's market in downtown Missoula, ate lunch, did a touch of shopping, and chowed down some delicious ice cream. After a nap in the park we headed back to the hotel, sunburned, tired, and ready for (another) nap. Dinner was pretty lazy: pizza and popcorn, while watching the Husky/USC football game.
A very good day.
On Sunday morning we drove out to the Garnet Ghost Town.
It was fun.
We were trying to recreate this picture.
Except Megan ruined it:
I couldn't keep a straight face, anyway. Too hard not to laugh.
We interrupted a fashion photo shoot...
And did our best to find ghosts.
Evidently they're a timid bunch as we spotted...absolutely nothing. But we did conclude that any ghostly residents were really, really short:
What a pretty place, though.
The drive back along the Flathead River was beautiful. I will be renting A River Runs Through It this week. For the millionth time.
Unfortunately, we had to head back to Seattle on Sunday afternoon. We promised Alex we'd be back and then piled back into the car for the long trip home.
Thanks for giving us the grand tour, Alex! It was great to see you and the new digs!
