Skills

We were at the farmer's market a few weeks ago and the noodle bowl Rich got for dinner came with chopsticks. Hayden was enthralled and with that 3-year-old-determination-to-do-it-all-by-himself, he grabbed them and started working on his chopstick skills.

He didn't give up, and eventually, a single noodle strand did make it to his mouth. . .

And of course, little bro had to do what his big brother was doing!

He quickly decided it wasn't worth the effort and went back to working on his fork skills.

This eating stuff takes some talent!

Everybody loves the swings. . .

Garnet Ghost Town

My sister said that since she was in Montana, she wanted to see a ghost town. There are no shortage of them around here and we found a perfect one to explore about halfway back to Bozeman. It's called Garnet and it is actually the best preserved ghost town in Montana. The BLM manages it and is working to keep the buildings that are there from crumbling or burning. They've put together info about the town in it's boom days (around 1890-1900), so you could really get a feel for what life was like back then.

We wandered through the town, exploring what we could. Just like in Glacier, Ben had to take good 'ol Grubby along. . .

And look, I actually got them to pose together (for a split second!)!

Ben was thoroughly fascinated with all the old stuff. Hayden was a bit scared, but liked looking around as long as I was close by.

It was a fun way to end our fabulous trip and get a glimpse into Montana's rich history. If you're ever near Missoula, I definitely recommend a trip to Garnet!

Lake McDonald

After spending the previous 6 nights in dated Park lodging, it was great to pull up to this awesome house we rented right outside the west entrance to Glacier.

The kids loved the pool table. . .

And Hayden enjoyed watching some shows on the big screen. . .

But I think they loved the master bedroom closet the most. It was Hayden's special little retreat for the 2 nights we were there!

And after a busy day of hiking and driving the day prior, we went back to the park on Thursday to just relax at Lake McDonald.

We rented a small rowboat and headed out as a family on the lake, armed with a big bag of rocks for Ben and a fishing pole for Hayden!

When we got off the boat, Ben decided to give fishing a try!

After being on the water, we decided to get in the water!

It was a fun way to spend our last day in one of America's most beautiful places!