Montana Reunion and the Rest of July 2021

 With the departure of the family, we washed linens and cleaned the Happiness Hotel in preparation for its transformation into an Airbnb for Kim and Brigham. We hopped in the car and headed north to Salmon, Idaho, en route to the Hansen Cousins' Reunion in Kalispell, Montana. The drive was beautiful, but smokey as the West Coast burned. The reunion started the next evening at Cam and Sheila Calder's lake house on Lake Blaine. The reunion was great, with good food, wonderful visiting, Cdh1 updates, a slide show of the ancestors and previous reunions, and various daytime activities on our own. We returned home to spend a few days with the Marlpit-Hill Boyntons and dinner with Rod and Vic at Sicilia Mia in SLC. The month ended with a Saturday dinner out with Opa and Annie.

Junkyard Bistro for dinner in Salmon, ID

Opa and the ladies headed to the door after dinner at the bistro

Lolo, MT (lunch stop), like the rest of the state, is Trump territory

KayLynn, Millie, Rees, Dorothy, and Kreg

Clockwise: Kris, Hank, Colette, Millie, Sheila, Cam, Becky,

Chris, SKT, Annie, Allyn

Clockwise: Annie, Allyn, Hugh, Rees, KayLyn, Norma, Grandma,

Dorothy, HB, Kris, Hank

North side of the Calder lake house

Lake Blaine through the smoke

Hockaday Museum of Art, Kalispell has lots of nice paintings

of the Glacier Park and the area

The building was originally a Carnegie Library

Visiting at the end of the day on the terrace overlooking the lake

Millie, Kris, and Annie

Kris, Annie, Dorothy, Becky, Dickie, and Chris

Dinner is served: Cam and a selection of meat, and beans

Brunch at the famous Sykes Diner and Market in Kalispell

Huckleberry bread pudding and vanilla ice cream

Back on the terrace by the lake

SKT, AW, Hugh, Kris, Dickie

Allyn's photo of the Dickies

Lake Blaine with most of the smoke gone

Cam and Sheila's lake house

The boat house (guest house)

Kreg and KayLynn

Cam made a clearing in woods for dinner

Cam made the tables and benches

The Orem Boyntons and the Marlpit-Hill Boyntons

at Sicilia Mia

Carbonara 

The server stirred the pasta in a hollowed out

wheel of parmesan cheese

On their way back to AZ - Kim is a superior house guest

Donburi, katsu curry, poke, and Korean beef with the

Taylor/Woodburys

The Hansen reunion was excellent. The Calders outdid themselves! Life is back to normal after a fun summer. This is all for now.

OXO

D.

Early July 2021

The troops gathered for the 4th of July holiday and all the traditional activities were on the calendar, including several in which I didn't participate. Independence Day was split in two, on the 3rd and 5th so that there would be no Sabbath breaking by the locals, as the actual day was Sunday. 

Anna helping Emily to choose some plants

Chom with the Soelbers and Taylor/Woodburys

Traditional 4th nosh on the 3rd at the Soelbergs

The kiddos

Time for fireworks

The boys helped Gavin

Darkness falling on fireworks

Gavin admiring his work on the party lights

Banoffee pie tutorial for Harry

The 5th at Sundance: lift, and zipline for the stout-hearted

View from the lift

Nachos with Nada (Gavin's mom) at Bearclaw Cabin

Citizenship party for Erick at Emily's: these girls can dance

The Youngs' digs in the basement of the 

Happiness Hotel

There was porch sitting every single day

Scera Shell to see...

Matilda

Picnic with the Boynton cousins

Dinner at Strap Tank Brewery with the adultos

The music was just so compelling!

Teaching Beckham how to make...

Tuna-grape salad: his favorite

Passionfruit juice before the storm drove us indoors at...

Asado

Clara post-surgery

Harry's portrait of Beckham

The cousins signing Clara's casts

Headed back to Santa Fe in comfort

The Soelberg cousins running with them to say goodbye

The cousins saying goodbye to the Youngs

There is more from the end of July, but this is all for now.

OXO

D.