Springtime in the Rockies

It was Lee's good fortune this spring to stumble upon the exact type of truck he had been hoping to find to use up at Sigh-Bar. Just one obstacle...the truck was here in Houston. No problem!! He bought the truck and went to work getting it ready to make the trip to Montana. After lots of man-hours, plus some help from a friend and a trip to Telge Automotive, it was ready to pack up and head out. Lee had several items that he had been wishing to take up there that wouldn't fit in a suitcase, so this was a great opportunity to load up all kinds of "stuff."

We hit the road very early on the morning of Thursday, April 25th, and made it to Albuquerque to spend the night. Another early start on Friday allowed us to arrive in Salem in time for supper with Dad & Mom and Teral & Lisa before spending the night with Janice & Hal. Another 5:00 a.m. start on Saturday got us started on the final 700 miles to Whitefish. Twelve hours later we unlocked the gate at Sigh-Bar and startled three deer standing in the front yard!
Lee was excited to pick up the horse, LiviBelle, at the Bar W and bring her home for a few days. He had brought a saddle that he has been working on, restoring and reconditioning, and was anxious to try it out. He spent most of the few days we were there out by the corral, building shutters for the barn window, and working with LiviBelle. He registered the flatbed truck in Montana, and readied the GMC to make the trip back to Texas.


Tara had spent the week working in Banff, Canada, and decided to spend a few days relaxing with us before heading on to her next adventure. Although she was relatively close in proximity, it took 3 flights to get to Glacier Airport: Calgary to Vancouver to Seattle to Kalispell. Whew! We picked her up Sunday afternoon and had such fun enjoying a few days together. We slept in, sat on the porch wrapped in blankets with hot chocolate and muffins for breakfast, rode the ATV, roasted hotdogs over Lee's bonfire, spent a day in town, watched the wildlife, and went hiking in the forest (in fact, got a little lost but finally made it back just as it started to snow!). Tara got acquainted with LiviBelle and did some riding, and got some target practice shooting at the groundhogs in the meadow. By Wednesday afternoon she was on her way again...this time heading to meet the Cosbys at Disneyland in California.

All too soon it was time for us to pack up the the truck, Hurlee, and embark on another trek. We decided to take a different route home and see some new country. We went down through Helena to West Yellowstone. We hoped to drive through Yellowstone Park, but the south entrance was still closed because of snow, so we went around and made it to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the night. The next day was a beautiful ride around Bear Lake, then down to Logan, and finally to Salem. We arrived early enough to enjoy dinner with Mom & Dad, then spent the night with Janice & Hal again. Once again we decided to take a different route, so went through Durango and Santa Fe, and finally arrived in Lubbock quite late. One more day on the road and we were finally home.


Of the twelve days we were gone, seven were on the road, 83 total driving hours, 4227 miles, through seven states! We had a great time enjoying springtime in the Rockies!!!