January

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Summer Vacation to Montana




We worked hard and were ready for a vacation to Montana. We drove and it was a great road trip. We stopped in Utah to stay and visit with one of my best friends Cammie and Erich Seal. They have a son that is the same age as Alexander, they got along great. They gave us their bed and fed us a great breakfast. Thanks Seal Family, we love you!






Cammie and I were comps in the mission field, that made us friends for life



Me, Scotlyn, and Cammie



Their lovely home in Utah





We went to visit Uncle Bob Newell, who lives in Grandma's home











This was the first time Zac, Alexander, and Uncle Bob met








Great memories at this home.



lovely view from the house







We made it to Dillon Montana, we love this town











Breakfast in the morning is always out on the deck, where the sun warms you up for the day. It's lovely.



Alexander loves this place and he runs free like all the wild animals out there.



The dog Pepper is beloved



Here is the amazing home that Mom and Dad have created for themselves. We love it.






Here I am, first official fly fishing trip....and I look good!



real good








We took Alexander to his first fishing pond, thanks to friends of Mom and Dad's Alexander was able to catch his first fish with help from Daddy







Daddy was lucky too and caught his own fish



This is a great view, however, I was no so lucky



Here he is bringing the fish in...












Here is Alexander's first fish, a big old rainbow trout. He was scared to hold it and so was Mommy but I had to do what I had to do if I was going to get a picture of this moment.



The mountains above the Madison river on our camping trip.



Gary it telling me something here, but I have no idea what it is.


Early morning fishing on the Madison river.




The level of focus required is...obviously enormous.




Here we are all dingy from camping.




The opening to the Madison River Valley...looking west.




Inside the cramped compartment of the Suzuki Samurai...it's like a small jeep.



Apparently the cows here do not care about breast feeding in public.




Beautiful view of a lake by the Madison river. We drove down to the lake, and walked in bare foot. It was...FREEZING...but wonderful.




Speaking of FREEZING, we both fell in a river together. This is Zac posting this so you're gonna get my side of the story. We had been fishing for about 2 hrs, and I asked JJ to walk with me through some swampy brush to get to a good spot on the river. It was a difficult hike, and JJ had heavy boots on, so we were both getting tired. We got to a spot where we needed to cross the river. I found a shallow shot, 2ft, and jumped in first. I stood at the bank and told JJ to use my shoulders to lean on and to step down into the river. She misjudged the distance... ...and we both went in. Here we are dumping water out of pockets and making soaked clothes faces.





Family Photos here and below. Note, the 4 Generations photo with the boys above.















JJ Fighting her first fish caught, ALL ON HER OWN, with a fly rod. She is a natural, which is a bummer because she only kind of likes fishing. I'll keep working on her though. At least she looks really good out there on the water. It was funny though, she got the fish on the hook, and was screaming for about 2 minutes. All the boaters coming down the river were staring at her, as if she had ruined their nice, peaceful, pristine trip down the river. The fish was a big Brook Trout, kind of a cool fish to catch, rare in these waters. Google it.













We got some cool photos of Alex downing this weird green soda we got from the Mexican Bus resturaunt. He loved this drink.












This is the Taco Bus. It is the most authentic mexican resturaunt we've ever been to, and it's located in Montana. Go figure. It's run by a mexican family, and the food is great. I have a theory, that they were comming up from Mexico, on their way to Canada (for reasons unknown SB1070) and this is just where they happened to break down. Either way, I'll bet this little town is grateful to have this wonderful local resturaunt.




This was the camp site, along the Madison River in the Madison River Valley of Montana. Population...ZERO.






So far, my favorite of JJ's fishing outfits. At this point she was like, "who the heck cares what I'm supposed to wear, this is what I am going to wear." Sooooo...here we have JJ sporting the wonder blanca de bustos dress from the spring line accompanied by a lovely pink top garunteed to scare away any fish, our beautify visor to keep the harmful rays off the high cheek bones, and the wonderfully sheek rubber boots that seems to shout, "hey, I'll step where ever I want." Any of the lovely ladies this summer would be hard pressed to miss out on this ensemble, so act fast, product is moving quickly. Note: Pole and tackle bag sold seperately.



The master, with fish on...


JJ and I at our favorite little river in southern Montana. This is the same little river we fell in. We left for AZ the next day.


The last catch of the trip, a nice rainbow caught under the bridge.




On our way home, we came across this sign near Orderville Utah. JJ, being the ever enthusiastic dessert person, we had to go in and get one. The sign says, "Home of the Ho-Made pies." The best pies in the world!!!... ... ...NOT!


5 comments:

Matt and Beth said...

We enjoyed looking at all of the fishing excursions that you guys went on. Beautiful land that your parents live on. We are excited to spend some time with Alexander tomorrow and in the next 2 weeks. Thanks for posting the great pics! Love you all.

Cathy said...

This was hilarious. Fun to read Zac. My favorite was the description and picture of the best JJ fishing outfit.

Pam said...

You work those waders, JJ! It looked like a really great trip for you and your family. Montana is beautiful! Stop by and say hi next time you're in UT!

Amber said...

The pictures are gorgeous. I love the video you showed us on Sunday. So funny!

Jill said...

i love it!


so happy to see you with uncle bob. so beautiful, in montana! you look great! xoxo