"Facetiming" with Sophia

I was staying in a small town in Montana (I realize I have spent a lot of time in Montana) called Thompson Falls and I came across a very quaint state campground right on the river.  After a brief conversation with the camp hosts (they are seasonal hires who live in the campground in motor homes and usually average around 75 years old) regarding potential mountain biking spots and they recommended a 20 mile bike ride to reach an amazing water fall called Graves Falls.  Given the amount of time I have spent on a bike, I figured this ride would be relatively easy – though they neglected to say that the final five miles were uphill!  Ugh!

When I’m riding in the mountains, I often wonder if the residents worry as much about fires as I would, if I lived there.  On this particular ride, or half-way up the hill, I noticed that the entire side of the mountain was charred black.  I came across a guy walking his dog and stopped to ask what happened.  He said the fire happened about three weeks ago and lasted almost a week!  I was flabbergasted!  The devastation was overwhelming, particularly given all of the wildlife that must’ve lived there.

The ride was awesome and the falls fantastic!  However, one of the best parts of the ride was cruising downhill on the way back and “facetiming” Sophia about the ride, the fire and the falls.  As I was on the phone a couple of deer were on the side of the road looking at me.  I was able to reverse the camera so both she and Eli could see the deer.  Technology made it easy for both kids to really feel like they were on the road with me.  So cool!!