My Early 42's

Last Monday was my birthday, and Tuesday was Monique's. For mine we hiked into the Jewel Basin, a "neighborhood" hiking area with many alpine lakes. This shot is on the way to Black Lake, one of the easier destinations. You can see a little strip of Flathead Lake on the right.

I've hiked into the Jewel several times on my birthday... one year the glacier lilies were in full bloom, the next year there was snow everywhere. This year was in-between, with some snow around and wildflowers blooming on the hillsides.

In the afternoon we went for a float, got pizza, and relaxed, which we're quite good at. Turning 42 means nothing. I'm healthier and happier than when I was 32, and my life is better and fuller. Wisdom -- if I have any -- has come slowly, but then, I've always tried to pace myself.

For Monique's birthday we borrowed a sit-on kayak from my cousin Tom and, with our sit-in kayak, paddled from The "Cabin" to the bridge outside Bigfork. In a little over two hours we saw a huge amount of the river that was new to both of us. There are surprisingly, wonderfully, stunningly large undeveloped areas, so now it's easier to understand from where all the moose might come.

I eventually woulda explored the river, but Monique's wanted to do it pretty much since she first saw it. I appreciate her adventurousness and curiosity, AND the fact that it's responsible adventurousness.

For dinner we went to a nice restaurant in Bigfork and had salmon and garlic mashed potatoes. Garlic + Mashed Potatoes = lovely.

General note to floaters on the river: if you bring refreshments on your float, please think ahead and have a place for the empties. The river and riverbank are really thoughtless, stupid. On a completely unrelated topic that probably deserves its own paragraph but I've already started typing so why bother, I'm thinking of getting a pellet gun. You know, the kind with enough power to puncture... ooh, say, inflatable objects.