Ethan and Janet in Montana

Ethan and I had five days while his mom drove to Jackson Hole to visit her dad. He explored my mountain property and announced that he would live in Montana and “let his mom visit him sometimes,” quite a change from overhearing him tell a friend he was “giving up two-and-a-half weeks of summer to go to visit Grandma Ginny.” 

One sunny day was spent on the National Bison Range, where we were lucky enough to see bitterroot in bloom (many Montanans haven’t caught the right altitude and early summer week). Ethan was much more interested in the bear we watched.

      One highlight of the busy weeks was a 15+ mile ride down the Hiawatha Railroad Trail with a dozen friends and relatives on bikes. We rode through eight tunnels (the first one was 1.7 miles long, pitch black and dripping) with headlamps and fortitude.                                                         Brother Ron’s efforts made possible the bike and horseback rides.  An added plus for Montana’s visit was that Ethan learned to ride a bike on his own. In his telling, “it only took about half an hour” (after several years of trying with Kansas training wheels). He also mastered hand breaks after a few crash and burns, meeting up with barbed wire at least once, and some gravel injuries.  We even tried hills on the last ride before I drove them to Spokane’s airport.

As for me, I’m back to gardening and rattling around in a much-emptier house this week.  Tough choices await me: I leave July 27-August 19 for Kyoto, Japan. I’m missing “Baroque Duel in Paradise”, July 27-29 (www.montanabaroquefestival.org) and a Glenn Miller Orchestra concert, (www.sanderscountyart.org) August 7. “Arigato” for checking the websites. If you come one night for toe-tapping Baroque fiddling, I suspect you’ll fall in love with Montana, just like Ethan did!