Last Sail Together

I was so impressed--the entire family arrived in the Many Glaciers Lodge lobby by the dot of 4 p.m., July 7, 2017, as instructed and promised!  The boat tour was our last Reunion event together, since Camille's and Jonny's families began the drive back to SLC after the boat tour ended, while the rest of us returned to Whitefish for one more day.

Wandering the Many Glaciers Lodge was an adventure, itself.  "It reminds me of the hotel in that horror movie, 'The Shining,'" Dave said.  Many Glaciers Lodge was more than 100 years old, and was built when railroad companies constructed huge, classic lodges to house the new, upscale vacationers who traveled by train.  It is open only four months per year, in the summer, and is overseen in the off months by one couple, all alone in that moldering building.  Scary!

We traveled in a vintage wooden boat across two lakes, linked by a 15-minute hiking trail.  

Our boat pilot told us about the history of the area and the animals who live here.  Grizzly bears are bigger than black bears and have flatter noses.  Black bears aren't necessarily black--a family of blond black bears lives near one of the Glacier campgrounds.  Our boat was originally dragged to the second, remote lake across the snow, in the winter, winched from tree to tree.

The scenery was so breathtaking that Dave and I later bought a photograph of this lake to remind us of the Reunion.  Mike and his varsity hikers were familiar with the chain of lakes we sailed across.  They had looked down upon them from the ridge trails they hiked along.

We said fond goodbyes to the Eberts and the Jonny Spendlove family, and resolved to meet again often, including at the 2019 Spendlove Reunion in Vancouver!

Iceberg Lake and St. Mary's Falls

Mike found a list of the eleven best hikes in Glacier National Park.  He went on more than half of them during the Reunion.  On Friday, July 7, 2017, Mike led Heidi, Spencer, Bryce, and Naomi to Iceberg Lake, where icebergs floated in deep green water on this hot summer day.  Our family had 4:30 p.m. boat tour reservations at Many Glaciers, in the far east end of the park, so family groups made their way separately along Going to the Sun Highway, stopping for hikes along the way, with strict instructions to appear in the Many Glaciers Lodge lobby by 4:00.

Lisa, Kirsten, and Alyssa drove with Dave and me along Going to the Sun Highway, with Jonny's family leading or following us all the way.  Steve had meetings in the morning, so Camille's family stayed in Whitefish, and then joined us at Many Glaciers Lodge.  The views along Going to the Sun Highway were jaw-dropping.

Our caravan paused for a two-mile round trip hike to St. Mary's Falls.  A forest fire had left the trees black along the trail, but that made a dramatic backdrop for the pink wildflowers and blue mountains.

 Lisa has two beautiful daughters who love their mom.

The falls were cool and refreshing on this hot day.  Glacier National Park had record-breaking temperatures while we were there--climate change?

Jonny and Jenny soon arrived at the falls with Sam and Henry, and we basked in the cool spray together.

At the Rodeo with a Canon Mark III

Mike is a fine photographer with a fine camera.  He showed his skill with these first eight rodeo pictures.  On July 6, 2017, after our boating day, the Spendloves hung out together at a small town rodeo near Whitefish.  It is held weekly, for the tourists in the area, with locals doubling as bronc riders and calf ropers.  The bronc riders fell off after just a few seconds, and the calf ropers missed a lot of horns and hind legs, but it was still great theater and great fun.  We are spoiled by the Oakley, Utah PCRA rodeo, and we got more than our moneys-worth in Montana for our $15 tickets!

And these photos are mine:

Boating on Flathead Lake

The favorite day of the Spendlove Reunion, for most family members, was Thursday, July 6, 2017, when we rented a 22' deck boat with 250 hp and a tube to drag along behind.  We spent the whole day, from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., on Flathead Lake, taking turns driving the boat, riding on the tube, and just vegging, watching the blue water melt into the blue mountains.  Between turns at boating, we sat on the grass above the shore, eating our picnic.

Some people liked their tube ride mellow, coasting along in the center of the boat's wake.

Others preferred a wild ride, scooting back and forth across the wake and, for the greatest of pleasures, flipping over!

Spencer, Jonny, Mike, and Steve were all great boat pilots, but only Steve zigged and zagged ferociously enough to flip the tube over.

Sunning on the deck and taking photographs were great pastimes for our boating day.

 Henry and Sam live in Florida, and love the water.

Jonny loves driving a boat, as well as riding in one.  

The Flindts also love the water, after their years of living and boating on Lake Sammamish and Pine Lake, in Washington.

Spencer was another of our pilots.  "This reminds me of our Young Men Young Women activities," Spencer said.  Spencer and Kirsten rode on deck boats many times during Church activities for youth in Seattle.

Heidi looks better in a swimsuit than most of us!  She coasted along in the tube with Mike, and lounged on the boat deck with Alyssa.