Camping in Montana (and the King's living room)

The upwards view from our campsite. It was even more incredible at night. I've never seen so many stars...

On August 21st-24th we went camping in Montana at Lake Alva with our friends The Andersons, The Kings, and Mr.Syris Trahan. We had a grand old time sitting by the fire and sharing stupid/embarrassing stories (I think that Jon King took the cake with his "poop can" story. Honestly) singing, and playing guitar. We also spent a good amount of time eating, and eating some more, and then eating s'mores. We played at the lake and let the kids get as dirty as possible. Gemma had a great time sucking on rocks and Ben spent a large amount of sitting on a box next to a cooler, holding the handle of the cooler and pretending like he was riding an "ice ta-box." (I'm pretty sure he was trying to say ice toboggan)

After two very chilly nights we all decided that we had spent enough time being at-one with nature so we packed up our camp and headed to The King's house in Missoula. We ate delicious pizza and played a super fun card game called "Bang." Ruth King (who made the most amazing marshmallows) made some to-die-for cinnamon rolls for breakfast. She even made a tiny batch for Gemma without eggs. I was so touched that she considered Gemma's allergy. Anyhow, we had loads of fun and hope to go camping again next summer.

The few things that I would change would be:

The amount of nasty aggressive bee type-things attacking our food and us. Colin got a sting and so did little Naomi King. That was not okay.

Also, the toilets were REALLY NOT OKAY. I've never been in a toilet that smelled so pungent. Try to imagine this: A cheap knock-off perfume factory explodes and takes with it the neighboring sewage treatment plant, causing the two overpowering, acrid aromas to mingle and swirl about in the same airspace. That is precisely what these wretched pit toilets smelled like. I almost added some puke smell to them. I didn't. But seriously, it was so strong that I held my breath in them. Yet, despite my best efforts, after I had run 10 yards from the defiled area, I would breathe out only to find that my nasal passages had trapped "the reek" and I was forced to inhale the offending fumes. *shudder*

Okay, enough about the toilets-of-wretch... Here are some pictures!

Our epic tent "The Cave of Wonders". Yes, that's a hinged door.

Ahhh, nature. Now, where do we put our massive amounts of stuff?

The King Family. (From left to right: Jon, Naomi, Ruth)

A happy Colin. He's happy because the ancient percolator worked (I had serious doubts.)

Syris in his ottoman-equipped camp chair reading Wired Magazine. Because, it's important not to lose touch with technology when you are in the wilderness of Montana.

Ben driving the "ice ta-box."

Gemma enjoyed sharing her special rocks with Aunt Theresa(Anderson).

Gemma and Uncle Jon(Anderson). Jon King pointed out that Gemma closely resembled a tiny ewok. I heartily agree.

Naomi King peeking in on Caleb Anderson. Adorable kids!

Naomi. Or, as Ben and Gemma called her "Maoni." Same letters, wrong order.

Colin made this percussion instrument with an old guitar string, flattened beer caps, and a stick. We saw some at a street fair and he got inspired.

Ben playing the back-woods percussion instrument.

Syris in his awesome Costa Rican (correct me if I'm wrong please) hammock. How cool is it that Syris slept in a hammock? (I'm glad that a bear didn't lumber into the camp and eat him)

Montana. The happiest place on earth.