Zoo Town Surfers

Hank, Dad & I headed to Albertson Gorge on a day that the temps were higher than ever, 100 degrees for a rafting trip. When we arrived we were greeted by the owner Jason and our guide Zach.  Zoo Town Surfers rafting company was set to take us down the long awaited river. The raft was ready for us and we were soon off for an my first white water rafting trip. We were fortunate enough to paddle a sport boat that darted through the gorge peppering us with water as we went through 15 rapids. Hank and I took the front of the boat as Zach made sure we hit each wave and get as soaked as possible. The rapids increased in size as we headed toward the lower end of the river with the waves doubling. We had the chance to swim along the raft between rapids which cooled things down quickly. The scenery around us was amazing as we spotted 3 bald eagles and a coyote along the river bank. The ride was great from start to finish and Zach & Jason ended the great day with a bowl of chips and salsa. Awesome day!

-Grant

What'SUP on Salmon Lake

Today We avoided the heat AGAIN and drove to a lake 45 minutes away. My dad rented two blow up SUPS (stand up paddle boards), before we left. We arrived at the lake and noticed that it cooled down about 10 degrees. We brought out the SUPS and Jack and dad went first. While they were out, Grant and I made up a game that we could play on the paddle boards. We tried it when they got back and had a lot of fun with it. We had a quarterback (my dad), a wide out (either Grant or I), a corner back (Grant or I) and a football. We played all afternoon. When we arrived back in Missoula it was 85 degrees, "Back to the heat," I said.
-Hank

Missoula's heat wave

This past week has been the hottest week I've ever encountered. Our house doesn't have any air conditioning, so we have been using weak fans to survive the steamy nights. Here is what last week registered:
Sunday: 97º, bright sun, dry
Monday: 99º, bright sun, dry
Tuesday: 93º, bright sun, dry
Wednesday: 94º, bright sun, dry
Thursday: 99º, bright sun, dry
Today:  93º, bright sun, dry
 As you can tell, it is very, very hot and it doesn't cool down until 3:00am. Even though I just got a hair cut, the humidity has me looking like a white Julius Erving (and my dad looks like John Stamos during his prime...it's starting to scare me!). We only have a couple more days left on our adventure and we don't want it to end, but the 100º temps inside our condo are softening the blow.
- Jack

Glacier National Park 4th of July

After stopping in White Fish for a quick alpine slide ride, we met the Steele family in West Glacier for a couple of days over the 4th.  Hiking with the cousins meant fewer complaints as we hiked the 8 mile Grinnell Glacier Trail.  The weather was gorgerous and the views were some of the prettiest I have ever seen...and the kids thought hiking with Uncle Scott was awesome because they could take cover from the sun under the brim of his giant hat.

Arriving in Missoula

view of the city from the M

Hangin' on the M

U of M quad

Arrived in Missoula, MT after stopping in Coeur D'Alene, ID for a ridiculously overpriced overnight thanks to a Hoops tournament in Spokane. Missoula is the most "urban" city we have lived in over the past seven months.  We have had a few hiccups with our rental, but all-in-all it's in a great location and should be a fun place to spend the month.  The city has a lot of breweries, restaurants, and lots of hikes and river excursions to go on.  The University of Montana is right around the corner and they have another mid mountain M to hike to...quick but steep!

Best of Port Townsend

The Pizza Factory, The Farmers' Market, golfing, Joe Coyne, The Rec Center (A.K.A the dropout center), wiffle ball, Grant's 200 yard Happy Gilmore drive, Jaws, Starsky and Hutch, Zoolander, Elevated Ice Cream, Writers Workshop, Phil, the fountain stairs, baseball, haunted bunkers, Fort Worden, sea glass, tennis, the ferry, Victoria, bikes, My lost fedora, Hoh rain forest, fireworks, deer, burritos, successful busking, beach, Olympic National Park, The Forks vampires, Solduc Hot Springs, La Push cabins, Mt Rainier, Mrs. Harrington, Shea, Stevie, sneaking into new courthouse basketball courts, Aldridge Market, Rose Theatre, record store, the Food Co-op, Seattle, Mariners, Dodgers, Red Sox, Sky High, salt bagels, Better Life Through Coffee, The Old Crow Medicine Show Band, Mt. Baker, submarines, Phitten store, fantasy baseball, Crescent Lake, Pike Place Market, rain, drizzle, more drizzle, Father's Day, fish tacos, Nike Town, Ray Ban, Blokus, coffee

Sky High Sports, Seattle

Great night of trampoline dodge ball and foam pit flips before Joe had to jump on his overnight flight. The plan was to wear him out...not sure that is even possible.  What a great week with him!