Road Trip to Montana

The kids and I loaded up the van and spent all day Sunday driving from Bellingham, WA to Deerlodge, MT.  This was the first time I have been on a road trip for ten-years.  My drivers license expired over three years ago and since we didn’t even own a car I didn’t bother to get a new one until we landed in Washington a few weeks ago.  I have enjoyed the feeling of real speed of movement since then.  Remember, I have been driving boats at speeds just a little faster than you can run for a long time now.

It was pretty great to see and smell the mountains again.  I sat outside the van in a rest area just smelling for a while.  It’s kind of funny but there is no real smell offshore.  The smells of the sea are all land related.  When you are way out there, there is a notable lack of smell actually.  It was pretty cool to watch the faces of my kids as they stared at the wide open spaces, winding rivers and curvy mountain roads.  These things that I grew up with were a novelty to them just as land kids would stare at Big waves on wide open seas or jungle harbors and impossibly aqua colored waters.

When we passed through Spokane the interstate was closed because of a terrible accident.  We were detoured for quite a while and once we were back on the road we were surprised to see yet another fatal accident on the mountain pass just past the Idaho border.  Two fatal accidents in one stretch of highway.  I couldn’t help but think  again of the folks on Rebel Heart who were dragged over the coals for taking their kids offshore but had they been taking their kids on a drive across the USA in a mini van those same people would not have had a problem with it.  I am certain that my kids were at far greater risk on Sunday’s drive than in the entire 78 days we spent offshore between March and August this year.  People are afraid of what they do not understand.

I have been getting quite a kick out of the response to my last couple of posts.  I wrote that first one very quickly and with very little thought.  In a moment where I felt very low I just took my feelings out on my poor Mac.  I feel much better now, mostly because of those of you who encouraged me and said, “Chin Up Mister!”  I wasn’t really surprised that there were a couple of people who decided that my feelings were invalid.  The first guy I respected and answered because he had read the blog for a while and knew enough about us to merit a response.  The second comment was deleted because by their own admission it was the first time they had ever read it and so they were getting that post as an introduction to the blog... (that’s a scary thought actually!)  I don’t really mind the negative feedback but the name calling was uncalled for especially from someone who has never even read the blog before.  I have considered removing the posts altogether but I decided not to partially because this blog is not just for you, the reader, but also for my own use much later when I want to go back and reread my thoughts and feelings at this time.

The boys and I will be heading down to Jackson Hole with my Mom and one of my brothers this week.  We will be camping out and riding four wheelers while my brother hunts.  I’m sure my boys and Emily will LOVE the mountains and it will be great for me to have a chance to just decompress and smell the mountain air again.

I will take some pictures and post them later on.

Good Night From Big Sky Country!

Captain Tofer