Family Camp

Friends invited us to join them on a trip to western Montana where family friends of theirs rent out a Methodist church camp for a week of "family camp". I've been hearing about their Montana trips for years and it sounded just like my kind of family vacation because Chris and I could get our kids into the wilderness without having to camp. I'm not opposed to sleeping in a tent and enjoyed it quite a bit as a young adult, but at this stage in my life with four young children, camping is too logistically-challenging.  However, in order to really experience remote parts of the U.S., you almost can't not camp. The compromise was a summer camp with cabins, beds, flush toilets, hot showers, a laundry room and a dining hall that served three meals a day. I was sold.
The challenge, though, was getting out there. Camp on the Boulder, deep in the Absarorka Beartooth Wilderness, is nearly 15 hours and 1,000 miles of driving, with the last 14 on a poorly-maintained dirt road.  That's two days of driving and a hotel stay in each direction.  I tried to psych myself up by calling it a "road trip" because this term brings up feelings of adventure and nostalgia. But as soon as I found out that Chris had nearly enough airlines miles to get the seven of us to Billings and back, (and that there were direct flights) I decided the great American road trip was overrated (at least if it involves young children).  So we flew - and it was wonderful.

We exited the airport in Billings, Montana and I remembered why the state has the nickname "Big Sky".  The sun beat down on us from a cloudless sky, which somehow really did look bigger than the sky back home in Minnesota. I couldn't wait to get out and see some of state.

We stopped at a coop grocery store in downtown Billings to have lunch and pick up some extra snacks for the week.  The cashier was friendly and chatty, so I told him we were from out of state and asked him what he liked most about Billings.  Without missing a beat, he replied, "Leaving."

At our next stop, Pictograph Cave State Park, I asked the park ranger if he had anything redeeming to say about Billings. He admitted the city is considered the "red-headed step-child of Montana" because of the oil refineries, but he very enthusiastically talked about the city and region's highlights, such as the the arts scene and all the outdoor recreation opportunities. In addition to all the good things to say about his home city, he raved about Minnesota's state park system and gushed about it being among the nation's top three (along with Maine and Montana).

Hiking the short loop trail at Pictograph Cave State Park.

The park was tiny, but it was the perfect spot to get a dose of sun shining down from Montana's big sky and some exercise before piling back in our rental car and making the nearly-three-hour drive west across the Montana plains and into the mountains.  Fourteen miles from our destination, the pavement of the county road abruptly turned to dirt, the Boulder River tumbled toward the Yellowstone River and the mountains appeared bigger and bigger as we bumped along towards camp.

A river literally runs through it.

We turned into camp kicking up a cloud of dust behind us. With the exception of the difference in scenery, it immediately reminded me of my summers at a YMCA camp in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey with its small cabins dotting the property, the dining hall, playing fields and an outdoor chapel.

After spending that first afternoon unpacking in our cabin, getting ourselves situated at camp and meeting everyone, we headed out on the trail the following morning right after breakfast.We joined our friends Kelly and Jim and their children for a hike that started a half a mile up the road from camp, where we crossed over the Boulder River and connected with the Placer Basin Trail in the Gallatin National Forest.

Heading out on our first hike of the week!

The hike turned difficult as soon as we left the road, but surprisingly, the kids were in great moods! I was a little nervous about how my inexperienced little hikers would do, but I think a bit of peer pressure in the form of Kelly and Jim's five-year-old daughter, Claire, kept them going.  The only time we heard any whining or complaining was when they weren't walking beside her.

One of my favorite places to the bring the kids to is the natural playground at the Tamarack Nature Center.  The kids loved this playground they found on the trail.

Kelly and Jim use a tactic Kelly's parents had used on the trail when she and her sisters were little and that was to bribe them with jelly beans to keep walking.  A generation later, us adults had jelly beans stashed in our packs (along with M&M's, Skittles and fruit snacks) and we doled those out during water breaks and whenever spirits started to lag.

The kids were slow making it up the steep trail, but remained steady even in the spots that were difficult for little legs to navigate.  We stopped for lunch at the Lookout, where we had a beautiful view of the Boulder River below.

Snack time for five of the kids, nap time for the sixth.

Kelly, Jim and their kids were our guides for the week at camp. 

I was so inspired by how well the kids were doing that I wanted to push ahead to the end of the trail, but I was out-voted by those who wanted to take advantage of the good moods, not by trying to go to the top, but by making it back down to the bottom while everyone was still in a good mood.  That was a good call because the last half of the descent was trying on everyone.

Matteo was so wiped out that he just didn't want to walk anymore, so I ended up having to use my pack as a make-shift Ergo and carry him down on my back.  I hoisted him up onto my back, where he clung to me like I was giving him a piggy-back ride, and then Celina helped me put my pack back on and when I fastened the waist belt, Matteo was able to sit on the waist belt where it met my pack.  I cinched my shoulder straps, which kept him snug against so I didn't have to worry about him tipping back.  He seemed so chill that I kept asking others if he had fallen asleep. I couldn't have hiked the whole way with him on my back, but the backpack Ergo was a heck of a lot more comfortable than carrying him any other way and I was thankful we were able to make it down the mountain and back to camp in a timely manner.

At the end of our hike, we stopped at the Boulder River to dip our feet in the water and cool off.  And cool off we did! I'd forgotten how cold mountain streams are!

At dinner it was clear that my kids were going to need a recovery day after their hike.  Celina offered to stay at camp with them the next day so that Chris and I could do a long and hard hike. We again tagged along with Kelly, Jim and their children, as well as Kelly's parents. I enjoy hiking with them because they always have great stories and they've hiked the trails around the camp so many times that they notice all of nature's influences on the landscape.

We hiked Meatrack Trail, which I thought was ironic given that I'm a vegetarian. Meanwhile, my meat-loving husband was secretly hoping he'd get a steak at the end of the trail. I learned that the Native Americans would hunt up in the mountains during the summer and would dry their game on racks, which is how the trail got its name.

I felt guilty about leaving our kids behind, and it's possibly the first time in my life that I was out of cellphone contact should an emergency arisen, but it was ultimately the right decision because the trail was tough!  Long sections of the trail consisted of switchbacks up the side of the canyon and it was very rocky. It was on this trail that I realized that hiking in Montana is like learning to ski in Switzerland - there are no easy trails.

While the hike was the most difficult one we did all week, it was my favorite. The scenery was gorgeous and completing a hike of that difficulty was physically rewarding.  We stopped for lunch along the Boulder River and could see the end of the Box Canyon and its majestic mountains looming before us. When I imagine Montana, this was one of those views.

After the hike up the Meatrack Trail, Chris and I needed a day off too. So Wednesday was our day to rest our legs and escape the heat to the air conditioning of our car.  Our destination was Big Timber, the nearest town, about an hour and a half away from the camp. 

Halfway to Big Timber, we stopped at the Natural Bridge Picnic Area, which has a beautiful waterfall on the Boulder River. After hiking up mountains, the trails, many of them paved or well-packed dirt, could barely be considered a hike, even for children.

The only reason our kids are smiling for the camera is because we promised them fruit snacks.

Celina, Chris, Oliver and Soren wanted to hike down to the waterfall, which was a very steep hike down. Unfortunately Soren got stung by some sort of Stinging Nettle as soon as he got to the bottom, so with barely a moment to take in the view, Chris hoisted a screaming, crying little boy into his arms and made the steep climb back up carrying an extra 35+ pounds.

Our first stop in Big Timber was The Fort so Chris could buy his fishing license. Our friends had described the truck stop as a small town's version of a very tiny Walmart. You could get anything you needed - or didn't need - there. Groceries, ammo, clothes, fishing gear, lots of kitschy art with the American flag and Bald Eagles, The Fort had it all. I picked up some bison jerky to add to the assortment of prizes for Thursday night bingo.

Some other treasures I found...

The rest of our time in Big Timber was low-key. We stopped for ice cream at an old-fashioned pharmacy with a soda fountain and then visited the Crazy Mountain Museum on our way out of town.

On the dirt road leading towards camp, we had a surprise bear sighting. Where we were in Montana is technically Grizzly and Black Bear country, but none of the regulars at camp had ever seen a Grizzly and Black Bear activity in the area is rare enough that the camp had open trash cans outdoors on the property.  Our bear sighting was brief and from inside the safety of our car, but was nonetheless exciting for everyone. 

We were back at camp with plenty of hours left in the day to relax and read a book, play on the playground or play board games in the dining hall. That's where Soren found his new favorite game, The Game of Life. 

When we arrived on Sunday, the week seemed to stretch endlessly in front of us, but by mid-week, I realized how little time we had. Our simple schedule of meals, hiking and lounging around camp had been deceiving - a week wasn't enough time to do all I had wanted to do.

Thursday arrived and I really wanted to get the kids back into the mountains. I learned that the only trail folks considered easy was the Bambi Trail, which traversed the ridge line overlooking camp. I was warned the trail was overgrown, but that it would otherwise be obvious where to follow the trail.

Overgrown was an understatement.  We bush-wacked our way through the first half of the trail and were never sure if we had found the trail, left the trail or had ever even been on the trail. We were excited to see a blue blaze, only to turn around and see blue "blazes" on multiple trees.  The markings weren't trail blazes after all, but most likely trees selected for chopping down.  I was relieved when we finally heard the roar of the Speculator Creek, because I knew once we arrived at the creek, we'd make a left and follow the "trail" up the creek. 

We stopped at the creek for a snack and I marveled at how lush this area of the mountain seemed compared with the arid landscape around camp.  Moss covered many of the rocks and tree stumps on the banks of the creek and I expected to see a gnome peak out from behind a tree.

Speculator Creek

Much of the trail was overgrown or covered in debris, like this section, which looked like a giant game of Pick Up Sticks.

Even though we were finally on what resembled a trail, the hike up the creek was a scramble as we climbed over lots of blown down trees and other debris.  We eventually found the turn off towards camp and after a little more bush-wacking, we spotted the roofs of the camp buildings. 

Later that night we participated in the camp's Thursday night bingo. The kids were so excited to try to win. Celina ended up being one of the first winners though! She picked out a cool memento from Montana. The kids eventually won and were overjoyed to finally have their chance to look over the prize table.

On our final day in Montana, Chris stayed behind with the kids so Celina and I could hike at our own pace. I was thankful I had this final hike with our wonderful au pair. Our trip to Montana was bittersweet because it marked the end of Celina's year with us. We would arrive back home in Minnesota on Saturday and Celina would leave us forever early Monday morning. But I had this last hike with her where we reminisced about her year amid the peace and quiet of the Montana mountains.

The mountains were just begging me to do a cheesy Sound of Music reenactment.

After all these years hearing about "family camp" in Montana, I'm glad we finally got to join Kelly and her family.  I can see why she loves that place. It truly is family camp. Our children had the freedom to roam and be kids with hours of unstructured time outdoors. Us adults had the camaraderie of other adults ranging from fellow parents of young children and as old as great-grand parents. Camp was like a small town where everyone knew everyone and looked out for each other. It had its own culture that we quickly acclimated to and everyone welcomed our large family with open arms.

Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Bison Roam

It's a shame North Dakota doesn't have a better reputation as a travel destination because folks are missing out.  I'll sum it up my feelings on the topic - eastern Montana is overrated and North Dakota is underrated. 

Years ago, my friend Peter visited me from Germany.  He likes camping, hiking and the great outdoors, so we decided that we'd take a road trip out West and visit states and national parks neither of us had ever seen.  I planned a loop that would take us westward from St. Paul to Glacier National Park, southeast to Yellowstone and then east through the Badlands of South Dakota back to St. Paul.  The problem was that Glacier is a two-day's drive from St. Paul, so I asked a friend who's from Dickinson, North Dakota what she recommend in her home state, and she answered Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  It was conveniently halfway between St. Paul and Glacier.

What was meant just to be a stopover before we made it to our intended destination ended up finding a piece of my heart.  North Dakota, of all places.   It was so special to finally go back with my family. because on that first trip with Peter, we talked about out futures, he with his then girlfriend who would become his wife, and I, with Chris.  We talked about how we looked forward to taking a road trip like this with our own families someday.  There's no way I could have imagined that Chris and I would someday travel back to Teddy Roosevelt with our four children and an au pair to boot.  

Day 1: Drive to North Dakota - We had packed as much as we could the night before and then woke up at 5:00 a.m. to make breakfast for the road, fill the cooler and rouse the kids from their beds.  We were on the road at 6:30 a.m., a half an hour behind schedule.  We had eight hours of driving ahead of us.

Before I make this trip out to be the best we could have imagined, I'll be honest with you.  There was a lot of whining and fighting in the car.  Chris and I had planned to split the driving, but he ended up in the back managing the kids for much of the trip, because he's the more patient one, and I ended up driving most of the way.

We had also planned to hold out as long as we could before popping a movie into the DVD player, because once the kids tired of watching movies, we would have had no more cards left in our back pockets.  I don't think we made it to St. Cloud before we gave in.   Unfortunately, one kid was terrified of an opening scene in A Bug's Life, another kid (who shall remain nameless) taunted his sibling over his fear and the other two couldn't follow the plot line and quickly lost interest in the movie.  We were nowhere near the border with North Dakota and I didn't think we were going to make it.

I also underestimated how much we would need to stop.  If we stopped for gas, we tried getting the kids to use the restroom, but let's just say, public restrooms aren't their thing.  One is terrified of the automatic hand dryers, one insisted that anywhere else was a better place to relieve himself that an actual toilet, so a bush behind the public restroom building got some extra watering and another has a bladder of steel and if he isn't about to burst, why bother going? So we'd pile back in the car and make it 10 miles down the highway and one of kids would announce a need to use the restroom. Sigh.

A friend who has taken road trips with her kids suggested we eat meals in the car because it gives the kids something to do and then when you make a stop, the kids can run around and burn off steam.  I had been feeling pretty proud of myself as I doled out homemade egg sandwiches for breakfast, but by the time lunchtime arrived, I realized that we had so tightly packed the car that we could reach the cooler.

I'm just happy we found room for the kids amidst the luggage!

So we made lots of stops.  To eat, to go to the bathroom, to fill up with gas, to buy more coloring books, to see a giant fiberglass cow and to play at the playgrounds we found on the Playground Buddy app.  (A shout-out to Mapleton Elementary in Mapleton, North Dakota for letting us use your playground even though your kids were having recess and for letting us use your bathroom, which thankfully did not have an automatic hand dryer.)

"Salem Sue" on the outskirts of New Salem, North Dakota

We continued westward and 10 and a half hours after we started, we finally rolled into Medora.  The formula that Chris and I go by - add 15 minutes to every hour of scheduled driving time - was a little off due to the longer-than-expected-stop to see Salem Sue, but there was a little surprise for us in Medora.  We looked at the clocks inside our rental house and realized we were on Mountain Time and had "gained" an hour. Ultimately, getting up so early had worked out well for us.  We arrived before dinnertime with enough time to unpack, cook dinner and sit down together for a warm meal. 

Chris was relieved to see s robust sunflower crop. 

Day 2: South Unit - Our first stop was the visitors center, where we checked out two Family Fun Packs that included field guides and binoculars from the visitor center and then set out on the 36-mile loop through the South Unit.  The accessibility of the park is one of things I love about it.  The drive was manageable to do in a day and offered plenty of opportunities to enjoy the park no matter what your skill level is.  Because of the age of our kids, we stuck to the scenic overlooks and short walks.  The walk up Buck Hill was doable with the kids and the views from the top were incredible.  We saw tons of prairie dogs, a coyote stalking prairie dogs and a loan bison here and there.

Chris finally got to see why I suggested we come to Teddy Roosevelt National Park.  It's beautiful!  

After dinner, while Chris put the kids to bed, Celina and drove part of the loop again in hopes that we'd have better chances of animal sightings at dusk.  We were in luck!  We saw a small herd of bison on the side of the road.  Celina was so excited that we spotted some, until a bison started walking towards our car.  She couldn't roll up the window fast enough! 

Day 3: Horse-back riding, Painted Canyon and an evening hike - Celina grew up around horses and is an expert rider, so I took her on a trail ride so she could experience horseback riding in the wild West. We may have been in the wild West, but our horses were pretty tame.  Where they lacked speed, they made up for in dexterity though.  As we climbed the switchbacks to take us to the top of the ridge overlooking Medora, I was amazed that such big animals could navigate steep slopes while carrying people.

It was fun to see Celina so happy and in her element surrounded by horses.

Rawhide and Pepperjack were supposedly best friends.  Except Rawhide nipped Pepperjack in the rear!

After a lunch back at our house, we drove the seven miles east on I-94 to the Painted Canyon, another section of the South Unit.  I had wanted to hike along the plateau, but something stood in the way of our trail - bison. 

This is as close as Celina wanted to get to the bison.  Can you tell she's nervous about what's behind her?

Our plan B became a one-mile hike on the Painted Canyon Nature Trail, which ended up being a lot more strenuous than the distance makes it sound.  It was sunny and blazing hot that day (but thankfully low humidity) and with canyon hiking, it's so easy to get down, but then you've got to get back up again.  The kids did great in the beginning, but then we needed more and more frequent water breaks and by the end, all three of us adults were carrying children. Despite the tears at the end, I'm proud of the kids for completing the trail and I'm happy they got to see spectacular scenery up close instead of from a scenic overlook.

After the Painted Canyon, Celina was game for more hiking, so Chris dropped us off at the Big Plateau trail head and he headed back into town to get dinner with the kids.  After being subjected to heat and sun all day, it was a relief to hike when the sun wasn't as high in the sky.  Plus, we got to cool off in a river. 

I had been looking over a map of hiking trails with a park ranger earlier in the day and when I saw the trail she was suggested crossed a river, I asked her if there was a bridge.  She assured me it wasn't very deep and we could wade across.  That evening we stood at the edge of the river and peered at the trail marker on the other side. I hesitated for a moment.  We were in the wilderness with not a soul around and the woman who is usually responsible for my children was now my responsibility. Us host parents ask a lot of our au pairs and I wondered if I was asking too much to hike into a wilderness full of bison and wade across a river.  I asked her if her parents, who are big into hiking and camping, would be okay with her doing this and she said they'd be proud of her. 

With that off our shoes and socks came and we sunk our feet into the squishy clay river bottom and slowly shuffled across.  The river was as shallow as the park ranger had promised and only came as high as my knees.  Once on the other side, the most challenging part was getting our shoes back on without planting our feet in the clay or slipping on the riverbank.

We never did see the bison or wild horses we had hoped to see on that hike, but reaching the top of the plateau was nonetheless rewarding.  Not another sole was around as we gazed cross the prairie and North Dakota's Badlands and listened to the chirps of the prairie dogs and let the gentle prairie breeze dry the sweat from our skin. 

Day 4: North Unit - The North Unit is over an hour's drive from Medora and its out-of-the-way location was the reason I didn't make it up there on my last trip. 

It was a little too early for lunch when we arrived, so we decided to walk along the Little Mo Trail, which is a paved nature trail less than a mile long.  After our canyon climb the day before, I assumed this would be no problem for the kids. It was already really hot and Matteo and Kiera wanted none of it.  That almost ended up a complete parenting fail except that Oliver and Soren were surprisingly pretty into it.  We weren't far from a campground where we found a picnic table under a large shade tree and has a pleasant lunch.

After lunch, we played a couple of rounds of Monopoly Deal before heading back out on the trail.

Getting food in everyone's stomachs must have been key to generating a second wind, because the kids were in much better moods after lunch.  Chris took Oliver and Soren on a hike up a butte, while Celina, Kiera, Matteo and I explored the area around the base.  We then continued along the 14-mile scenic road that winds its way into the park. 

Day 5: Chateau de Mores and the Petrified Forest - Each day was hotter than the day before, so by our last day in Medora, we had the kids take it easy and instead of hiking, we went to Chateau de Mores, a hunting "cabin".  We went because only because we heard about a reenactment of a German immigrant's life, played by a university professor from Dickinson.  The whole thing was completely lost on all the kids, but I certainly enjoyed it.

After lunch, Celina gave us the best gift of all by watching the kids for a couple of hours so that Chris and I could go on a hike that was more than a mile.  We drove out to the Petrified Forest trail head, which is accessible by dirt road.  From there it's about a one-and-a-half-mile hike.  We continued past the Petrified Forest, to the top of a plateau and then hiked along the ridge line for awhile.  The temperature topped out at 100 degrees that afternoon and there was zero shade.  It was hot for sure and we needed to take a lot of water breaks, but the hike in those conditions were surprisingly manageable.  As hot as it was, the humidity was thankfully low and there was always a light breeze. 

That hike was probably one of my favorites since it was just Chris and me in a rare couple of hours of just the two of us. 

Day 6: Drive home -Our drive home was a repeat of our drive out to North Dakota.  We packed as much as we could the night before, woke at 5:00 a.m. and ate breakfast in the car.  We made more stops than planned, (the return trip's shout-out goes to Tower City, North Dakota for their lovely city park) the kids argued over which movie to watch and all four never managed to nap at the same time.  With seven people packed in a car, the drive wasn't always pleasant, but we made it.  Without stopping at Salem Sue on the way home, we cut a half an hour off our trip and made it home in a mere 10 hours. 

Our family's first big road trip was a success.  My kids are so young that they will remember little if any of this trip, but I'm nonetheless thankful for the trip.  I don't know when we'll have the opportunity to travel again, but that just gives me plenty of time to dream about where we should head next.