September 1st – 7th, 2022
I got back to Montana on September 1st. Our friends, the Entwistles flew in just before I did so they picked me up and took me back to the house. I was so happy to see our landscaping finally going in. And I could ‘ground’ so that, hopefully, I wouldn’t suffer from too much jet lag.
TT, Chase and TT’s friend Caulder flew in the next day. They got extremely creative with their fun pulling each other with the jetski down the blow up dock propped up into a ramp into the lake.
They also had a contest carrying a giant rock underwater – across the bottom of the lake – over to the point. I didn’t think that sounded as fun as some of their other shenanigans. Dave E also learned how to surf this year.
We had a really fun weekend with very few photos being taken. The boys were super helpful getting everything packed up for the winter. We have to take the boat and jetski’s out, clean the boat, move all of the outdoor furniture and cover it. B and I can’t do it ourselves. It’s so nice of them to help us out.
The last day we were going to be there, I woke up super early. I walked almost every day this summer. There is a loop that goes around Finley Point that’s about 6.7 miles. The longest walk I went on was 6 miles, but when Jake’s dad was there, he ran the entire loop. I made a goal I would walk the loop before I left, so I decided I’d walk it that morning. The sky was absolutely beautiful!!
I got all ready to go with Cinco, my bear spray and water bottle. The sky was so awe inspiring, I stopped to take a bunch of photos. My photos don’t even come close to capturing what I was seeing.
I am convinced that taking these photos saved my butt. I came around the corner about a mile out from my house and a school bus was coming towards me. The driver stopped and opened the door and said “There’s a mama bear and her cub about fifty yards ahead on the left.” I asked how far off the road and as I as talking, the mama and her cub crossed the road about twenty-five yards behind the bus. Cinco was on high alert but not barking (thank heavens), but right after she crossed the road, she came back into the road, maybe fifteen yards from me. She pushed her cub behind and then faced us down in a challenge stance. At that point, I almost pooped my pants and I jumped up onto the bus stairs. The driver told me he would follow me as I went back the other way towards home. I did not even think of pulling out my phone to snap a photo. Cinco was freaking out, turning around watching the bear watch us until we got around the corner and she went back off the road into the trees. Phew! But I was not going to be deterred from getting my 6.7 mile loop in. I decided to go the other direction. I went past my house and got about another mile and a half when Cinco started freaking out, sniffing the air, hair raised, ears perked and super nervous. I couldn’t see, hear, or smell whatever it was he was sensing, but I decided to turn around and not press my luck. When I got back to the house, our builder was there and I told him and B about it. He said, “Oh yeah, there’s a juvenile grizzly hanging out around there that people have spotted.” B and I actually spotted a small grizzly the night before. He ran across the road not too far from where I was, so I don’t doubt that grizzly was what Cinco was warning me about. If I had not stopped so many times to take photos that morning, I know I would have missed the school bus that warned me and ultimately protected me. I carry bear spray, but I feel like if I pull it out and have to use it, I’m in really BIG trouble. Apparently, September is the time of year the bears come out to start eating a ton before hibernation. They are out and about early in the morning and evening. Next year, I’ll just have to do the loop when I first get up there.
On our way home, we stoped in a gas station in the middle of nowhere with a cute little gift shop and this saying in the women’s bathroom.
