Wrapping Up Our Trip to Montana

We were the first ones at the pool (happened a lot) so Ryker swam the rope across and asked if he could go off the diving board.  They let them if they have life jackets on.  I told them they couldn't until they passed their tests for the deep end, but since there was no one there and our time in Wibaux is coming to an end, I let them do it one more time.

Let me tell you, it was worth it.  They loved it!

Running and jumping into the pool with his summer friends.  Savanna looked over at him after about 5 jumps and said, "hey you're not a girl."  Ryker just shrugged, grinned, and yelled "go."  They all jumped so I guess he's safe to hang with the girls for now. 

On our way out of Montana we stopped at Canyon Ferry for some boating with the cousins and Ty and Nikki.

Shannon converted them all into bandana wearing yahoos by the end of the day!  Who brings that many spare bandana's on a camping trip?!

McKenna, Macy, and Kya hugging it out.

Kya fell asleep about 5 minutes away from the campground and about half way through her sandwich.

Ryker wasn't far behind.  It was a nice quiet drive from Helena to Missoula.

This smelly wet guy kept me company.

Made it to the hotel.  It was nice to leave from Missoula instead of Billings.  We had a much shorter last leg of our trip.

I didn't have my camera in the boat so I didn't get any tubing pictures or pictures of the group we were there with.  It was great to see every one though and we'll have our tent ready for next year.  It will be much easier without Cosmos.  He's too old to get in the boat and gets too hot if left tied up at the campsite for long.

Let's Show this Guy the Town

Keaton and Kara came back to Wibaux for the weekend and the kids were excited to take him out and about again.

South of the Arena playing at the creek.

In search of some sticks that have good beaver teeth marks in them.

Keaton actually fell asleep on the way there, but he's up and ready to party now!

Ryker showing him how to eat a rock filled clam shell....yummy!

Ryker's croc floated down stream and we couldn't get Cosmos to fetch it up.  In his defense, he couldn't see it.  He kept going after the rocks we were throwing at it, but he just can't see like he used to.

Makeshift shoe for the rest of the day.  Thank to Amazon, we had some new Crocs in a couple days.

Reptile Gardens

Ryker played with this snake for quite some time because it would follow his finger.

The gator show was good, but they don't wrestle them anymore like they did the last time I was there.  Now they give you a lot of stats about them and show you how they lay on them to check their teeth and health.

Baby gator!

These turtles have always been my favorite part of Reptile Gardens.  This big guy was named Tank and around 70 years old, I think they said.

This one was between 55 and 60 years old and named Quazi.

 

Ryker was disappointed that you can't sit on them anymore because he's heard our "riding tortoises" stories, but he understood why.

 

Kara and Ty back in the day.

Cam in his fashion forward flat bill.....it all comes back.

I asked one of the gals about Methuselah.  That was their old tortoise when I was a kid.  Apparenly, he died in 2011 at the age of 130!  They now just have the 2 big ones and some much younger ones that will take a long time to get big.  I was very curious what they did with his shell as it is probably worth a lot of money.  Luckily, they kept it and it's on display.  They also made an exact replica bronze (I think) statue of him for display.  I think that is a fitting tribute for an old tortoise that spent 57 years giving piggyback rides to delighted children. 

This ugly guy was part of the bird show that was pretty funny.

Ryker giving the parrot a donation.

Waiting to touch the snake after the snake show.  Kya's observation:  "He looks like he's made of corn kernels when you get close to him."

What a trip!  The kids were so disappointed that Keaton couldn't join us.  They forget that he still needs naps and doesn't really want to sit in the bleachers and watch shows.  I told them in a couple years we'll go back with the little man and they can show him all the cool stuff!  In the mean time, blame your Aunt Kara and Uncle Ty for waiting so long to have kids.  I tried to wait for them, but they just drug their feet too long!  On the bright side though, you'll get to be the cool, older cousins.