Exploring Montana with Robyn and Jeremy

A month or so ago our friends, Jeremy and Robyn Chancey visited us here at Wayfarers state park. We first met them in Pahrump, as they are part of our”Pandemic Pickleballers” group (read that post here). We all left Pahrump the same week, and coincidentally 3 of the couples are all working within 100 miles of each other, with Robyn and Jeremy in the middle. They are doing their best to explore Montana, better than we are, and they came up to see our little neck of the woods. The following weekend we met up in Libby Montana, and then a couple more weeks later we met up again with the whole Gang in St Regis.

Whitefish, Montana

Of course we had to fit in a couple games of Pickleball, but more than that we explored our little town of Bigfork, and Kalispell. It was Robyn’s birthday and as a surprise Jeremy had ordered a German Chocolate Cake to the local grocery store, so we ventured out to see Kalispell.

Jeremy spent 20 years working in Brazil and therefore had to become an accomplished griller, and so we let him cook us Burger for the Birthday night. The following day they wanted to visit friends that are work camping up in Whitefish at the Whitefish Bike Retreat. We tagged along, and had a lovely day with newish and brand new friends, and Jeremy grilled us all steak.. It was fabulous.. Very welcomed by the friends, happy to get to know them.

Ross Creek Cedars

While Robyn and Jeremy were here, they suggested that they wanted to plan an outing to see Ross Creek Cedars, just south of Troy, Montana.. Mike piped up that that was on our list to see also. So we decided to join them and decided on the next weekend to go. We pulled the RV out to stay in, which was a great excuse, since it had sat here 2.5 months anyway.

It was a 2.5 hour drive for us, and we went over Sunday morning, seeking places to fish (to no avail) Sunday afternoon. Monday we drove on another hour to meet up with Jeremy and Robyn coming from the other direction.

The trees were wonderful. Big old trees, a walking path that meandered among them for a couple of miles.Jeremy is an arborist by trade, so he was a running comentary! Really fun.

Kootenai Falls & Swinging Bridge

On our way back to the RV, parked in Libby, Montana, we considered stopping at the Kootenai Falls. In the end decided it was too crowded and we were too hungry, as we headed back for a repeat of Jeremy’s grilled steaks. We vowed to get up early the next morning to go to the falls.

So the next day we headed out at 7am, we hiked down to the falls, which were amazing! Then hiked over to the swinging bridge, which was also an adventure. AND because it was early we were the only ones there. what perfect planning.

We returned to the RV’s for Breakfast, then in the afternoon went up to the Koocanusa Dam on the Kootenai River before Mike and I had to leave to get back home.

We really ought to take more advantage of our “weekends” and now that I am no longer working I suspect we will.

Pandemic Pickleballers Reunion

In fact two week later we met up to have a Pandemic Pickleballers Reunion at the place Robyn and Jeremy are work Camping this summer, Savenac Historic Tree Nursery in St Regis, Montana. We took the RV again and joined them, Ric and Lori from Sandpoint area, and June and Gene from Colorado for three fun filled days. It was quite special.

We hiked a bit, went rafting down the Clark Fork, and or course visited, and ate. And eating on the rafting trip was a bit of a challenge as the guide forgot the silverware…. Some found two stick to use as chopsticks, Jeremy used a piece of driftwood as a spoon. I opted to use my fingers, because, well, I KNOW where those have been!

We enjoyed our evenings around the campfire. Robyn spoiled us with a North Carolinan Low Country Boil one evening… What a treat.

And Next…

Mike’s commitment at Wayfarer’s State Park comes to a close this week. Saturday (of Labor Day weekend) is his last day of work. Jeremy and Robyn are also finished at Savenac this weekend. So Tuesday, they are coming up to camp here again and we will explore Glacier National Park, a jewel of Montana, before heading off to our next commitment in Tucson for the winter.

The blessings from our quarantine in Pahrump just keep giving. Robyn and Jeremy being in Montana with us was sure a blessing to us. I hope all of you found ways to enjoy the summer, even if I’m sure it is not exactly what you planned.