Thursday-July 27-Day 37-Meeting the Family

Montana days are hot......in the 90's, and the nights are cool....in the '40's....a difference of 40-50 degrees!  The cool nights make for some good sleeping! We awoke from a good night's rest to a gorgeous day! Thank You Lord!

 Christian (14) made German pancakes for breakfast, served on the deck with strawberries and maple syrup.  The food was delicious, the company warm, and the setting peaceful!
What a way to start the day!

Christian entertained us by  making his dog Sprocket do tricks! 

After we were able to drag our bodies away from that morning setting , we got ready for the day, then left in the Expedition
for a tour around the area, and to see Darryl and Rosanne's married daughters that live in the area.

 This is an overlook which is a steep drop-off overlooking the Clark Fork River, and Quinn's Cut, on the near side of the tracks.  Marie, being the ever fun one, pretended to step over the edge!

This is Quinn's Cut from the bottom, where the kids go swimming.

Our next stop was at their daughter Sarah's place, who is married to Nelson Troyer.  Their business is Montana Specialty Log Construction, building real log homes from scratch.  This is their home....It looks small but has a very spacious open floor plan inside.

The Living Area....

Kitchen and Dining....

The Master Bedroom upstairs....

The "outhouse look" powder room downstairs....with rolling barn door.

Nelson has such a creative touch......this sink, and these stairs.....

The view from the loft....

I always have loved log homes....I most likely will never have one (unless there are log home mansions in heaven) but I drool over them whenever I have an oppoirtunity to experience one!

This week Nelson and Sarah are hosting "Silver Lining Youth Ranch", a Christian camp for 12-15 year old boys. When we arrived the boys were just finishing up riding lessons, and then moved on to archery.  Tomorrow they are planning an over-night  back-country hiking/packing trip.

We drove toward Joelle's place of work for lunch, crossing into Idaho!  I was never in Idaho before, so was glad to be able to add this state to my places I have been. (even though it was just a few miles over the Montana border!😉)

We had to smile at this sign!  Never saw one of these before!  Rosanne said they have three seasons here.
Mud Season, Dust Season, Snow Season!
Summer is definately dust season!

The gravel roads are very dusty, someplaces 1/2 inch of dust......the passing vehicles blow up a cloud of dust, covering the lovely green roadside pines with a layer of gray...
Below is a picture of tractor tracks in the dust.

Joelle is a baker at Clark Fork Pantry.
We ordered sandwiches at the deli.....and had lunch on the covered deck!  Marie bought a piece of Huckleberry Pie to share... it was good!

It was a perfect day for ice cream!  My huckleberry ice cream was sandwiched between two dips of mint chocolate chip....my summertime refreshing favorite! There was a warm breeze blowing, so I had to keep licking to stay ahead of the melting!

We stopped to meet daughter Bethany...and her kiddos.  She is married to Jason Mast.

A scenic spot along the road....also a swimming hole.

We stopped to meet daughter Anya, and her little boy Bentley. Anya is married to Nevin Byler. Son Ardell is in heaven.

When we got back around 3:30, it was naptime!

Rosanne served a yummy upside down taco salad for supper. Darryl returned home from work late, so enjoyed his from the living room, doors opened wide to let the outside in.....it was another gorgeous evening!.......and beautiful night!