Today we hiked up to Holland Lake Falls here in Montana. Currently, most of the state of Montana is on fire, and for the last few weeks Holland Lake and the mountains that surround it have been smokey and not as majestic and beautiful as it normally is. But the hike to Holland Falls is only 2 miles one way, so we wanted to finally do this hike despite the smokey overcast lake.
Dog fed and watered – Check
Hiking shoes on – Check (we’ve spent most of our summer in flip-flops or in Justin’s case “man flops”)
Healthy lunch and snacks packed – Check
Water packed – Check
Away we go! We got to the top of the falls in hardly no time at all. WOW! The views we know are probably there of the lake, and the mountains from the waterfall are incredible. We can only see an outline through all the smoke. We will be doing this hike again when the smoke clears. We must!! It was too beautiful not to see it crisp and clear on a perfect day!
Justin spread out a blanket on the rocks. We sat down close enough to the waterfall to feel the mist. The day brought mid 80’s temperatures but it was at least 15 degrees cooler sitting next to the falls. Beautiful. Peaceful. Quiet. Well … until a little friendly chipmunk came over. But he wasn’t too bothersome.
A few peanuts were thrown. Then he climbed up on Stacy’s lap and decided to be more persistent. Ok, a few more peanuts. Justin previously watched “Over The Hedge” and decided to throw a few M&M’s. (maybe you folks who have seen the movie will get it?!?)
Mr. Chipmunk’s cheeks started to really fill up. Then poof … he was gone. We started to eat our lunch, talk about the waterfall, and just enjoy the sound of rushing water. All of a sudden Mr. Chipmunk was back. With family! LOTS of family. Pretty soon these overly friendly chipmunks were climbing on our feet, on our backpack, one tried to climb up Stacy’s back, and …
Lunch – Was – Over!
We quickly swallowed what we had in our mouth, and gathered our stuff as Mr. Chipmunk and his family scurried around to see what we might have left.
Note to self …
Don’t feed the cute bait chipmunk that the rest of his family sends in to see what he brings back. All in all, it was a beautiful day, despite the smokey views and interrupted lunch. And we know our kids will be rolling their eyes and laughing at their mom, who can be too much of an animal lover at times. But how uneventful would life be if you didn’t have these stories and memories?
Live Simply – Give More – Expect Less
