Seeley Lake, MT - Day 2

Friday, October 7, 2022

Today was our second and final day in Seeley Lake, Montana before Janie and Jim travel back to MN. The forecast called for another beautiful fall day in the 70’s, so Andi suggested we canoe a section of the Clearwater River which connects to Seeley Lake this afternoon. Tory and I weren’t sure this was a good idea since neither of us really wanted to get wet. Plus, neither Jim or I had waterproof shoes to wear. But, Andi assured us that none of us would get wet and we’d all have a great time. He booked us a canoeing session at 2:00pm. It was settled then.

Leading up to our afternoon adventure, Tory, Aden and I did school work in the rental cabin and Andi worked in the RV. This arrangement has worked out really well for us the past two weeks. Jim and Janie decided to go for a walk together in the rural neighborhood surrounding the airbnb.

I made egg roll in a bowl for lunch, and then we all loaded into the RV and drove to Tamaracks Resort. Andi arranged for two canoe rentals and a shuttle to the canoe trail landing. The employees there were so friendly. “A little late in the season to be out of the water, isn’t it?” the owner said. “Beautiful day for it though.”

He was right. We had the entire canoe trail as well as Seeley Lake to ourselves on this gloriously warm fall day. Aden rode along in Jim & Janie’s canoe while Tory hitched a ride with Andi and I. Together, we paddled the 3.5 mile canoe trail through a dense willow marsh and enjoyed the sunshine. The whole excursion took us about an hour and a half. Best of all, Andi held true on his promise. No one got wet and Jim and I’s feet stayed dry. Fun was had by all.

Afterwards, we made our way back to the airbnb for dinner. Earlier today, Andi purchased some fresh Alaskan salmon and halibut from a roadside stand in town. The seller said he recently returned from working in Alaska this summer. The filets Andi bought from him looked amazing. We couldn’t wait to grill them up for dinner.

The six of us enjoyed our last dinner in Montana as we sat together at the table on the on the outdoor patio. What a great two weeks it’s been with Janie and Jim here with us in Montana. We hiked, we played board games, shared great meals and spent time lots of quality time together. Tomorrow, we’ll drive back to Missoula so that Jim and Janie can fly home to Minnesota.