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!!
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