1st Trip To Montana

Leo had his first Hebgen experience. In some ways, it was all new for me too. The "Dad with a baby" Hebgen is a little different from the "Single slacker without a care in the world" Hebgen. The important things, though, maintain their legendary amount of greatness. And, for the record, I can still hold my own in the slacking department.


Holly and her sister Catherine took the kids and drove up a few days earlier than the rest of us. Here, Leo and cousin Charlotte have a staring contest on the table. Apparently no one explained to them that you're supposed to stare at each other.


Due to a solid winter and a wet spring, the mosquitoes were insane. My Uncle Bill, who's been going to Hebgen his whole life [and who rescued Holly and Catherine from a sandstuck car], had never seen a year with so many mosquitoes. So the baby nets were in full force on the beach. My cousin Laura later told me that a few bees had crept inside her baby boy's net. It's debatable whether the nets are more for the kids or for the parents.

Leo started sitting up. Sort of. It's a very endearing form of knuckle-dragging. [Not pictured: the inevitable moment when gravity steps in and the kid tips over.]




We took the Nathan and Joseph [not pictured] out on the big tube behind the boat and even on a hunt for pirate treasure. We stumbled on an old map that some pirate must've given Dutch Henry. It led us across safely past the Hebgen Lake Monster, away from Moose Island, beyond Leech Beach, and to Bird Island, where X marked the spot.



Linda and I drove up late Wednesday night after work, sadly work kept my brother-in-law Joe tethered to Salt Lake and away from the pilot for our new reality sitcom Son-In-Law & Mother-In-Law Road Trip. Grandpa Bowers came up for one of the briefest visits ever. And this photo's the proof. [Do you kinda feel like we're playing the Bumbo version of "Where's Waldo?" There's one in almost every picture.]


One really awesome wrinkle to the trip was that Leo decided to forget how to sleep. Maybe it was the change of scenery. Maybe it was the change of routine. Maybe he was just trying to be like the bats out on the porch. Whatever the reason, we were treated to a week's worth of "Leo Pretending He's A Newborn Who Sleeps In One Hour Increments." Here, the little insomniac gives us a little morning grin. Somebody had to smile.

A couple of sandhill cranes [maybe my favorite birdcall in the world] were hanging out in the field in front of the cabin. I saw a few deer, but it was 5:30 AM, Leo needed some rocking, and I wasn't exactly racing towards the camera.


The ride home involved, no kidding, 13 listens to the song "Sunflower" by Low. It was the only song that would calm (and eventually put to sleep) Leo. Thank you, Low. The first time it came on I was, as usual, really into it. By the 13th time, not so much. Holly has since admitted that she would've listened to it again with no problem. She is, after all, a Song Repeater.

We also finally learned why there are rest stops. Leo got fed. I stretched my legs and took some brutally amateur photos. Holly and Leo chilled on the grass and changed a diaper. It was surprisingly refreshing for a public rest stop.

So that was it. One of us is itching to go back. And hopes the other one isn't too scarred by the lows of mosquitomania and sleep deprivation studies. See you next summer, Hebgen. Right, Holly?