We have come to the end of our week of family vacation at Mandorla Ranch about an hour outside of Missoula, Montana. One of my clients offered me a week with all my children and grandchildren at her lovely bed and breakfast in the mountains, so we were all together for a vacation for the first time in nearly 5 years–the Gawliks: Gretchen, Randy, Owen 5, and Simon 2 3/4, from Portland, Oregon; Erin Glanz from Portland, Oregon, and the Glanz family: Garrett, Ashley, Gavin 12, and Kinsey 9, from Seattle, Washington and me from Sarasota, Florida.
The whole family in Montana
(Just a note: This was an interesting barter situation. My client is the Executive Director of the Educational Travel Association. She asked if I would be the keynote speaker for the Travel Learning Conference’s 25th anniversary in February of 2011 in exchange for a week for my family at her ranch. It was a win/win situation for everyone, and a creative idea for all of us during these tough economic times!)
I had asked each family to plan a family activity that would be fun for everyone, so the first morning Ashley and Garrett organized a “Family Scavenger Hunt.” We were placed in teams, and each team had to either find and put in their bag or take a picture of special things around the ranch, including a stuffed badger, a gold rooster, a man with a funny mustache (Randy!), an old wagon wheel, different colored rocks, 3 horses, and so on. We all had lots of fun, and the competition was fierce!
The family room at the ranch
The bar in the family room
Randy, my son-in-law is a skater, so after lunch we went to a skate park in St. Ignatius, then for huckleberry shakes (a specialty in this part of the country), a gorgeous scenic drive through the national Bison Range where we saw a black bear and elk but only ONE bison.
A stop at the bison range
The only bison we saw!
That evening we went to “Good Old Days” in St. Ignatius where the children had fun on many bouncy rides and later we watched a wonderful fireworks display. We were amazed that one of the churches in the area (a very small town) donated everything, so the rides, bottles of water, and glow sticks were all FREE!
The people here have been lovely. The next day we drove to Missoula and did a little shopping and had a fun lunch at a local brewery. Erin was sick with the flu and had to stay back at the ranch, so I wanted to get her something special. Coco’s, a darling little shop in the main part of town, had a wonderful sale, and I found a beautiful dress for Erin. However, I was worried about it fitting her when it was a “final sale.” Mattie, the salesperson, said, “Just let me write down your credit card information, and I won’t put it through until you let me know if it fits. And if it doesn’t, just bring it back on Monday.” I was amazed at the trust level and caring service. Even though the dress did not fit and we took it back, I will never forget their outstanding service!
Shopping in Missoula, we met this big bird!
That day we we all went on the fastest carousel in the world, and Gavin even got the “gold ring” for a free ride!
Gavin on the carousel
The children played on a wonderful playground called “Dragon Hollow” which was constructed by volunteers of all ages from the city, and then we went on a tour of the Aerial Fire Depot and SmokeJumper Center, one of only two in the country and the nation’s largest training base. Smokejumpers are highly trained specialists who parachute into remote areas of national forests to fight the spread of wildfires. We saw how they sewed all their own equipment, packed their parachutes, and kept everything in open lockers so that they could be ready in all their gear in 2 minutes and on the plane in 5 minutes when a fire alarm is called.
Smokejumper's gear
We were very lucky that they had just returned from a fire 2 days before, so we got to tour the plane they jump from with one of the spotters. How blessed we are to have such brave persons (75 there with 19 women) to protect our forests and our lives! That evening Gretchen made pizzas, Ashley and Erin did an art project with all the kids, and weplayed family games.
On Sunday we all drove the 2 1/2 hours to Glacier National Park. What AWESOME beauty!
Glacier National Park
The roads were filled with hairpin turns and lots of thousand foot dropoffs. You would NEVER want to drink and drive! 😉 We stopped by the side of Lake McDonald for a picnic and the children could not resist a swim. Amazingly, the water was very warm; however, we were at a low level at the time.
Our picnic by the Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park
We drove up to Logan Pass, the highest point, on the Road to the Sun where there is a lodge. The kids loved being able to throw snowballs in their shorts!
Owen throwing a snowball
We saw big horned sheep, deer, and mountain goats. Some of the interesting spots were the “Weeping Wall” and glacier overlooks. On the way down we stopped at a fast running glacial stream which had a small enclosed pool along one wall. All the guys HAD to jump in in their shorts. It was so cold that they all lost their breath when coming up!
The COLD mountain stream!
This gorgeous park is being desperately affected by the impact of climate change. In 1850, there were an estimated 150 glaciers in the park. Today there are 25. Scientists predict (at current rates of warming) the glaciers in Glacier National Park will disappear by 2020! On the way out of the park, I bought each of the children a souvenir. The boys all chose cowboy hats and wooden guns while Kinsey wanted a stuffed racoon and a pooping mouse!
The western Dudes!
We stopped for burgers at Five Guys in Poulson (could not believe they were in such a small town in MT!), and everyone was exhausted when we finally arrived home about midnight.
On Monday we slept in (after another of Mara and Lisa’s phenomenal breakfasts with frittatas, cinnamon rolls, sausage, andon heart shaped pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries) and then drove into Montana to a wonderful water park called “Splash Montana.” Admission was $5 for adults and $3.50 for children which amazed us! There were 3 large slides several stories high, a lazy river, lap lanes, a children’s play area with a bear slide that Simon must have gone down 200 times, and other fun things like buckets of water that dumped on your head every few minutes.
Simon on the bear slide
Kinsey crossing the log
Lunch at the water park
We spent most of the day there as there was something for everyone -a separate pool with lanes for lap swimmers. Afterwards, all the kids and Randy went to yet another skatepark. It is wonderful that nearly every little town around had its own skatepark-something free for all the children to enjoy. That evening we celebrated Owen’s fifth birthday with presents, cupcakes, and his choice of dinner — corn on the cob and steak. He loved the dragon hat I gave him and wore it nearly all the rest of the time we were there.
Owen in his dragon hat!
Tuesday morning, our last day, was “Family Picture Day,” one of Granna Barbara’s requirements (which was not too popular with the kids! 😉 Gavin, at 12, is at the age of “making faces,” so one day he will laugh at how he looks in most of the pictures….yet they are a treasure for all of us, thanks to Mara and Lisa who were the patient photographers. The last family picture I had was taken 5 years ago, so now I have an updated family picture for my computer screensaver, my anchor when I travel, and all of us have our Christmas card photos for 2010.
GrannaBarbara and the grandchildren in Montana
Later that morning (after an unfortunate accident with the electric gate), we drove into Poulson to another skate park. Randy kept all the kids there while the rest of us went shopping in their cute little downtown. I was awarded “Montana Moose Poop” in honor of my ongoing game with Gavin of finding “Poop of the World!” Afterwards, we all met for lunch at a fun, pirate-themed place. Ashley, Garrett, and the children left early that evening to break up the drive home, and the rest of us did laundry, packed, and enjoyed our last night together. Randy, Erin, and the boys left the next morning, while I stayed on for a day to have some special time with Mara. Thankfully, we all arrived home safely.
We owe a huge thank you to Mara Dellipriscoli for inviting us to such a beautiful, peaceful place with the most spectacular cloud and sunsets. We now know why Montana is called “Big Sky Country!” Family memories were created that can never be replaced, and we all feel even closer as a family unit. I encourage each of you to share what you have done to celebrate your families.
To learn more about Barbara’s Family Life and Work, go to www.barbaraglanz.com.
