Jeremy's first trip to Montana

---

Our first trip together ended up being Jeremy's first trip to Montana. We both had 2 weeks of leave planned to go to our respective hometowns. Jeremy decided to cut his visit home by a week and fly to Montana to spend a week with me. I took him to see everything that trip....and I mean EVERYTHING! We started off in Butte so he could meet my mom and sisters. Then we took the scenic route up to Kalispell to meet my dad. We drove up to Georgetown Lake, then took the Skalkaho Pass road to come out around Hamilton, then backtracked to Hwy 93 to up through Polson and Flathead Lake to Kalispell. We spent a few days with my dad at which time we ventured into Glacier National Park and to the top of Going to the Sun Road. Even thought it was August, it was SO cold...and rainy! Plus, the forest fires were so bad that year, the smoke itself obstructed the view. There was a fire wreaking havoc in Glacier when we went and half of the park was closed. I caught a nasty cold and ear infection....and my poor car looked like it had never been cleaned. My dad took us to see the Elk farms, and we drove through the bear experience. Heading back to Butte, we took the back way down through the Swan....beautiful drive with lakes galore! Jeremy had never seen a real Ghost Town before so I had to take him up to Garnet. My step-dad and uncle have a cabin up there that was passed down from their parents. They actually grew up in this town and remember it full of people. After writing the obligatory entry in the Garnet family Journal (every time someone is up there, we write about our trip in a notebook for all to see and add too) we headed back to Butte. A trip to Montana is never complete without taking in the sights of Melrose, so that was our next stop. My aunt and uncle, Doug & Jacque, were still living there at the time, and we always stopped to visit them. I showed Jeremy around my old stomping ground. Took him up to the Charcoal Kilns and Vipond Park. We ended the night parked around a bonfire in Doug's front yard, drinking and telling lies (stories lol). It was a fabulous week! Jeremy made quite the impression on my family, as they did with him also.

---