On The Road Again

On The Road Again

Montana summers are short and sweet. The snow showers end by the middle of June followed by rain. It’s not until the first of July that it’s safe to say summer is here. When the sun comes out to stay, Montanans are on the move. Camping, hiking, mountain biking, even ridge running are in full swing. By the time mid August rolls around, you can smell fall in the air. Cooler nights and shorter days send the warning that winter is heading our way.

After six months of winter and a short spring, people want to be out and about. Jeans, flannel shirts and boots make way for shorts, tank tops and flip-flops. It’s time to hit the road and take in the beautiful diversity of the Montana landscape. Some even suggest that we take a month’s Sunday church sabbatical in July so as not to disrupt the flow of easy living without guilt.

For the last eight years, during the last week of July, Judy and I pack up the fifth wheel trailer and head to Glacier National Park. Spending six days at the West Glacier KOA with friends is as near to heaven that I can get in Montana. Hiking the Avalanche Trail, floating the Flathead River, eating s’mores around a campfire, gazing at Lake McDonald and driving Going To The Sun Road make big deposits in my happy memory bank.

When winter comes again and our world turns white and cold, I recall those lazy summer days at Glacier. The friends, the fun and campfires melt the snow and warm my heart as I count the days until I can get on the road to Glacier again.

Willie Nelson says it best: “On the road again; just can’t wait to get on the road again. The life I love making music with my friends….Goin places that I’ve never been. Seen things that I may never see again. Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway. We’re the best of friends insisting that the world keep turning our way…”

Summer is nearly over and only a few more months until we get to do it again.