Adventure 526: Good Bye Standish Dude Ranch, hello East Coast

View from the front gate

I was sipping a tall glass of "Boulder Juice" (The cabin's well water) trying to decide what I enjoyed most the last six days. Surely, the propinquity we shared with our hosts, John and Diane Standish, felt good, and of course the tightening of our bond with our friend, Liz Ulmen, felt as warm as a swaddling blanket. And if that wasn't enough, we also enjoyed Jeffrey and Lindsey Steinback along with their two precocious children, Anna and John-John. Another treat came in the form of Tina Standish, who is the bride of John and Liz's brother, Mark. She made the trip from Billings for a night. We spent much of the six days learning about the cabin's history sprinkled with quite of bit of family lore. Time and time again, we felt the love of family. So, it could have easily been the  acceptance that I enjoyed most. But that wasn't quite it. What I really enjoyed was the freedom to enjoy my own quiet time pursuing my own desires. I spent inspired time sitting on the porch bending wire, lulled by the river's rushing rhythm, feeling refreshed by the mile high air. I made five wire sculptures, and best of all, John and I collaborated to make stands for them. So that, I think was the best part. Of course, we ate well. I liked that, too. We hiked. I liked that, too. We tried new things. I like that. We enjoyed peace and quiet. We were thankful to be included, and what a way to continue our Fric and Frac adventures, although technically we didn't have Frac with us. We just lived well in the Poustinia. We're home for a week before darting off to Nova Scotia and then our eighth bicycle trip in Vermont. We'll be traveling with our friends, Ed and Deb Drouin. The four of us have traveled so much together, it's like wearing a favorite pair of fuzzy pants. We're just so glad for the kick off party we enjoyed with the Standish family. Truly, life is good, especially today.

 Even dusty ATV babes look good.

 Up river view.

 This natural bridge, which hides the river during low water, is overwhelmed by the spring run off.

 Pop-Pops John with grandson, John-John.

 John-John helping with the fire.

Tina with her "baby", Freya.

 Lindsey and Anna, a familiar scene during our stay.

 At the trailhead for our hike up to Trinity Falls.

 Some elevation gain required.

 Liz brought a little wine and chocolate to toast her late husband, Dave who is famous in family lore for producing wine after long hikes.

 My Bunny crossing the creek.

 Dancing girl.

 Us dressed in our Standish shirts.

 Brother Jim Standish built and attached this sign many years ago.

Pop-Pops getting a little love from grand daughter, Anna.

I call this: "Just Lovin' on Ya".

John, Liz, Diane.

We spent the our last night alone. The three of us took the "Mexican Train." Judy got off first.

Adventure 525: Standish Cabin/Poustinia Retreat

Little Red Poustinia

In their song, Trucking, the Grateful Dead say, "Sometimes the light's all shining on me; sometimes I can barely see." Well, from the Standish cabin the view is all I can see, and Oh, how the light shines. We've been lucky enough to begin this year's adventure here. Where is here, you say? An hour or so straight East from Big Timber, Montana. Yellowstone National Park beckons from the South. The Standish cabin fronts a large section of the Bolder River. The constant rush of the water over the boulders competes with the gentle currents of mountain breeze that blows just enough to deter the bugs. Paradise, of you will. Judy and I are housed in the Poustinia, a one room sleeping cabin complete with a full bath, a coffee maker, a frig, and a small deck just above the river. Formally a tool shed, the Poustinia is truly a place for contemplation. During our stay, we've been experiencing Montana mountain life as led by John Standish. We've experienced pounding a metal leaf at the blacksmith station. We've experienced driving a four wheel RTV over quite rugged rocks. Most of all, we've experienced these two lovely people, John and Diane Standish,  who have spent each hour of each day loving on us. We feel the warmth of their safe acceptance enveloping us. I'm not sure life can get much better. We're here as the guest of our good friend, Liz Ulmen, who just happens to be the younger sister of John. We feel honored. I was doing my Tai Chi form this morning, gazing mindlessly down the sunlight valley when, invaded by my "monkey mind", it occurred to me that everywhere John, Liz, and Diane look there must be memories. John and Liz spent their youth here. As young married couples, they raised their families here. And now, in the grateful light of retirement, they're all looking forward to passing the aura of this place to their grand children. Judy and I have spent our lives trying to focus on things truly important. I can think of nothing more important that passing the love of place and the sense of belonging to our future. Needless to say, life is good here at the Standish Cabin, especially the last few "todays".

The Standish cabin.

Down valley view.

Up river view.

John in his happy place.

Monkey see, monkey sort of do.

Miss monkey.

Miss monkey showing off her finished product.

My leaf.

Happy 73rd for Judy.

Latest wire sculpture 1.

Latest wire sculpture 2.

Four wheeling.

Big rock creek area.

Liz Knieval.

Bray's lake, our lunch spot.

Our adventure leaders, John and Diane.

They even let septuagenarians drive these things. 

John and I collaborated: his iron cross; my wire Jesus.

Adventure 524: From Priest to the St. Joe

Rosaila Bay; Eight Mile Island

We've been blessed in recent summers to be able to enjoy Priest Lake at my cousin's cabin in Rosalia Bay. This year, one of the best, had us together at some point of the week with nearly every member of our family showing up for a little while. The weather smiled, the huckleberries thrived, and the water beckoned. There was a wildly successful salvaging operation that recovered both the deck umbrella and its metal base, both of which had tumbled unnoticed (last season) into the lake. Several of our lakers spent time on the stand up paddle boards. We made the tye-dye t-shirts. We ate several meals of "thin gruel". Everyone took a turn preparing and serving; it was all good. We gathered over three gallons of huckleberries, which are very prolific this season. We had so many that Liz Ulmen made a large huckleberry pie instead of the usual cobbler (Which we had, too). In all the week was refreshing, and we're ever grateful to Douglas for his sharing. On Sunday, the kids went back home and Judy took Sawyer to the airport. From the lake, the old folks followed with yet another adventure down along the shadowy St. Joe. Liz and I pull our RVs the five hours from Priest to the Joe, where we found a perfect spot for our five member crew (Ed, Deb Drouin, Liz Ulmen, Me and my Bunny) in the forest service campground called Turner Flats. The St Joe is an awe inspiring river rushing from the peak of Gold Creek down to St, Maries, Idaho, is an area few places on earth can match in majesty. Ancient pines trees fill the steep hillsides in a thick blanket. Eager fisherman catch and release trout in the world class river, and the rest of us camp, enjoying fresh air, fresh smell, plentiful bird calls, buzzing insects, the sound of the rushing river, and a breeze that falls out of the mountains in the morning and rushes uphill in the evening. It's truly a magical place. Over the years we've stayed in sites all along the Joe. This year we spent four nights. We rode bikes, played dominoes, ate more "thing gruel' than we needed read, napped, poked the fire, and even did a little hike. We also ranted a little bit of our displeasure at the state of or country, which echoed a little hollow, much like a feeble excuse a young school boy might fabricate. We are indeed privileged, and regardless of whether we earned our lot through industry, grace or fate, we cannot deny our good fortune. So we choose to enjoy and support each other and the people we love. There are less noble pursuits. The bottom line is: Life is good, especially today, and we're most assuredly grateful to spend some time in the woods of North Idaho.

 Liz and Sawyer loved the twenty feet  to recover the umbrella. The "Liz Mobile".

 Cleaning the umbrella; taking a turn in the kitchen.

Jumping, paddling,  and sitting: the lake good life.

 Tye Dye fun.

 Yo, Momma and Papa.

 Huckleberry pie: Yum!

 Thin gruel: Low Country Boil.

 Then the St. Joe with friends that are also family.

Thin gruel: Ribeye shish-k-bobs.

Electric biker babes.

 Reading.

 jibber-jabber.

 Deep thought.

 Cool tent sight.

 Brownies, cherries, and red wine, Oh, so fine.

 The crew.

 One of the views.