4am and a Cloud of Dust

I thought briefly that it was Christmas morning. 4am and two young children scurried, giggling around the Purvis home in Colville. They may have been excited for the start of their big trip, but 4am was a little too extreme for their father. They were chased back to their beds for a couple of hours and by 9 o'clock, the mini-van was fully loaded and ready for action.

We may made it a mere 50 miles before our first "potty stop." No more mochas for Marci while under way. The kids enjoy the ride by following along on maps made special for the trip, playing games, watching movies, playing travel bingo (thanks to Grandma Linda) and looking out at all of the cool sights to see

We ate lunch out of the back of the mini-van on top of 4th of July Pass. We pulled over at the Mullan Trail Historical Marker and ate our pre-made treats. A nice gentleman took our picture standing below sir Mullan himself, followed by several longwinded, but entertaining tales of Custer's Last Stand. The weather was warm and the break from the road was nice.

We rolled into Helena, Montana around 5:30pm, not bad time considering going over three mountain passes (the car is a bit loaded down for 4 cylinders and steep hills). Uncle Punk and Aunt Ag put on a great spread of burgers, corn, potatoes, and amazing spicy, pickeled green beans. After dinner, cousin Justin put the kids on a horse and the kids spied an egg that had been laid behind the 4-wheeler.

It was a great first day to our trip. Tomorrow we plan to have fun around the farm and finish the day with some great fireworks that we picked up yesterday. I will tune back into the FROG then. Seeya, Brent