WHEELIN' !!!

My mother came to visit for a couple days and brought two of her favorite pals with her, Pat Bridwell and Marcia Seitz.  (Both are women from my childhood and our church, so I have known them for a long time - it was fun to have them!)  They just didn't know what I had planned for them.  We started out with a drive up the side of Maverick Mountain Ski Area to one of my favorite places to photograph lupine.  On our way up Pat was paying attention out the window and saw a bear!!!  So we stopped to snap a few photos.

 Now that was something extra on my tour, for sure.

 This is high up on the side of Maverick Mountain.  Often at this time of year this field is full of lupine, but I'm thinking this year it might still be a little early.  But it's a beautiful place to take pictures - something like "Sound of Music."  We can see our house from here.  Love it.  I do think these lovely ladies may have wondered whether or not we would make it up the mountain as I made the wrong turn at one point on our drive up and ended up on the wrong road - a high, winding, narrow road - straight down on one side in some spots....  I think there might have been some white knuckles as I backed down the road!!!  But they were good sports about it.  (I think!)  No screeching or screaming.

 We headed up to the Sawtooth Trailhead and walked in to this tree where I love to take photos.  Cool, huh!

 Marcia Seitz, Pat Bridwell, Lois Thornhill - my mother.

 Now.  On to the REAL adventure.  Four Wheelin' !!!  No.  None of them had ever ridden before.  But they were good sports about even this - even she who was designated novice driver!  Somebody (who shall remain nameless) did mention several times that she was scared - I told her not to cry or pee her pants!  Oh, me of no sympathy - this is an adventure after all!  Live a little.

 They did.  They had fun.  I think they may be telling this story for awhile - there's lots to tell!

 I finally did find a field of lupine and I made them sit in it!  (Oh, me of no sympathy - anything for a photo - right???)

 I gave them a break the next day and I drove them over into the Bitterroot Valley and to Hamilton.  I love that area and it's a delightful little Montana town - lots of fun shopping - and we stopped at the yarn shop.  A GREAT yarn shop.  I will be going back there.  Then I took them to my favorite restaurant, The River's Edge, and we sat outside and had an absolutely delightful lunch.  The waitress even brought out a bowl of water for my little Chico!

 This was our view as we lingered over our lunch.  It doesn't get much better than this.

 Well.  It's pretty nice at our house, too!  We love having guests to entertain (any excuse to set a table, you know!)  We enjoyed wonderful, fun conversation and they taught me to play Hand and Foot (a card game), which I actually enjoyed - especially when Marcia and I won the second evening. . . .  (We sort of got trounced the night before.)

 I'm going to be making this breakfast entree again.  It's peanut butter and banana - yes! -  it was delicious!  With a light coating of maple syrup.  YUMMY.

Beautiful wild flowers this time of year.