Paradise Valley, MT
Sunday, September 8
Our day started at Pine Creek Campground, about 13 miles south of Livingston, MT. What a beautiful campground this was, full of fir and spruce trees! A trailhead to a 3-mile waterfall hike in the Absaroka Mountains was literally steps from our camper door, so Andi and I felt like we had to take advantage of it that morning before we headed on our way … despite my back still being out of whack. I could barely pull on my own socks and shoes, let alone hike, but darn it! I didn’t want to miss out on the experience.
Andi woke the kids up at 6:30am and we dressed them quickly so that we could hit the trail early. "
“What are we doing, Dad?” Tory asked.
“We’re thinking of taking a hike, would you be up for that?” Andi responded.
“Hmm.” Tory said.
I think she would have rather slept in!
We had to wake up early because later in the day, we had plans to visit a work friend of Andi’s who lives half-way between Livingston and Big Timber. In order to be there on time, we needed to leave the campground by 9:30am.
The forest was beautiful and so peaceful that time of the morning. We didn’t see another person on the trail.
Andi and I both had some good one-on-one time with each of the kids. The boys quickly moved ahead of the girls, but sweet Tory, concerned about my condition, walked slowly beside me the entire way. She talked about anything and everything, and I focused on not crying. Ha! My back was really hurting.
We’d almost made it 1.5 miles to the waterfall and my back started to seize up again. I told Andi I needed to turn around. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to walk out of there on my own. Even though we didn’t make it to the waterfall, the woods were still so beautiful. The hike was a nice way for the kids to burn off some morning energy, too. They were in great spirits when we finished.
After the hike, we returned to the RV and packed up to leave. We had a few errands to run before going to Andi’s friend Sophi and Taylor’s ranch. First, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up sides for lunch. (We already bought pulled pork for a main dish from Follow Yer Nose BBQ yesterday)
Sophi and Taylor are ranch managers for a large piece of property between Big Timber and Livingston. Andi once did a photo shoot for work at their ranch. We thought it would be fun to get together with them while we were in Montana because they have two young kids, Ella and Hunter, that are about Tory and Aden’s ages.
It’s always nice to meet people Andi’s met while traveling for work. Sophi and Taylor welcomed us into their home, and we all had a nice afternoon together. Unfortunately, it was a cold, rainy day or we may have gone horseback riding.
Andi and I didn’t feel like driving far for a campsite that evening. My back was killing me and it was starting to rain. We decided to head back to the Paradise Fishing Access location we’d tried to stay the previous night.
On the way there, we stopped by Andi’s new favorite store — Murdoch’s Ranch and Home Supply — to pickup a different light set-up for the e-bikes on the back of the RV. This was the fourth time we’d been to this store in two days, and it’s always interesting people-watching from the parking lot. As we drove to the campsite, I said, “There’s a lot of 10-gallon hats in Montana.”
“That’s because you were sitting outside the ranch store!” Andi said.
After we set up camp at Paradise, Andi worked on the supplemental RV lights again while the kids built a fort in the rain. I laid down inside and caught up on blogging.
The rest of the evening was uneventful. It never stopped raining. We ate leftovers for dinner, and Andi and I did some trip planning for the next few days while the kids watched Netflix. We decided tomorrow we’re heading to Bozeman.
