NW History Trip

The eighth graders take a NW history trip every spring.  I was able to drive with Brooke's class this last week.  We saw several very interesting sights between home and Missoula Montana.  It made me wonder how much a person could learn if they took every off ramp on the freeway and explored a bit.  We visited the Campbell House in Spokane, a silver mine in Wallace, ID; the Old Mission Church in Cataldo; Traveler's Rest in Missoula; The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; The US Forest Service Smoke Jumpers Headquarters; Fort Missoula; Fort Fizzle; Lolo Pass; Canoe Camp; Kamiah, Idaho; The Heart of the Monster; and then landed back at school.

We had some nippy weather, and a fair bit of snow.  We ate a couple of lunches outside in the rain.  We did get to go to the mall and have pizza, what eighth grade trip could be complete without that?  The class had a great time playing Frisbee, throwing snowballs, and eating their weight in sugar.  They are a great bunch of kids, and the parents that went along added to the fun.  One dad is a history expert in the area, which made for some really great dinner conversation.

I was wiped out when we finally got home.  Eden and Karsten had a choir concert Friday evening.  I went to bed before they performed, but Rick recorded it for me.  It was an amazing concert.  For our little town in the panhandle of Idaho we have some very talented musicians.  We had an open house on Saturday which made for a busy morning of getting the house to look presentable.  Now I am getting down to the laundry and grocery shopping of the day.

Here are a few highlights of the trip:

The Campbell House

The Class in front of the Old Mission Church

The traditional snowball fight at the summit of Lolo Pass


#380-394

Lost teeth, signs of growing up and moving on.

Excited boys headed on well deserved adventures, our prayers are with them.

Good conversations with friends.

Supper Clubs.

Lilac blooms, with their heavenly fragrance

Quiet mornings to sort out my thoughts.

Prayer, bringing my friends before the Lord.

Joint church services, seeing familiar faces and singing God's praises together.

Hot tubs, nothing else warms you up quite the same way.

Dancing, fun exercise.

Seeing little boys become men.

Playing catch with the boys in the backyard.

Overcoming piles of laundry, those organized stacks of clean clothes make me happy.

Grocery stores, sometimes I dread them, but I am very thankful for their faithful presence.