Returns

The towns string together like the wooden beads of my childhood rosary: Missoula, Deer Lodge, Bozeman, Billings, Sheridan, Casper. Today is our long, hard day, with ten hours of driving on heavy hearts. The green mountains lining Salmon Lake were hard to leave this morning. The biting air and clear view to glacier-ground stones on the lake bottom taunted us as we took the pontoon boat from the Montana Island Lodge toward our dusty car. Harder still to leave the many dear faces and waving hands on the docks, some misty-eyed at our departure. I cried my tears of gratitude and sorrow at our sing-along last night, where we gathered in the great room to sing all of the Clavadetscher family favorites: Willie Nelson, The Big Chill, and especially John Denver’s “Wild Montana Skies.” The songs that my parents played for us on countless road trips to Montana are now the soundtrack of my children’s and their cousins summer travels. To be connected, to be part of something larger than yourself – what greater gift to give our kids? Except maybe the sweet mountain air, clear cold lake water, and endless sunshiney days of outdoor activity.

Yesterday’s athletic pursuits included a long canoe trip for me and Rob, north on the lake and into the feeding river. We paddled upstream for a bit, sighting blue herons and hawks along with the yellow and red-winged blackbirds. A spider sat in the middle of his web just in front of my feet, distracting me from the scenery. I couldn’t bear to destroy his masteripiece with my paddle, though Mr. Spider freaked me out with his fat red/brown body and baleful glare. Somehow the web reminded me of the strands drawn between each member of our family, 17 members present and the few absent. Strong and often invisible but reinforced over time by repeated effort, the tensile strength unquestionable.

When we returned my sister was towing William on her water bike and Mike and James were fishing. As twilight fell, Rob, John, Mike and I paddled our kids across the lake to try a rope swing. Each kid had 3 great jumps before the injuries mounted – Rob with a gigantic rope burn on his arm and my nephew Sean with a scraped-up knee.  All this before ending the night with the sounds of this summer and summers past, all singing together out of tune but so in touch.