The Drinking Brothers

The Drinking Brothers, originally uploaded by Edgee.

My brother Don and I are enjoying a big mug of cold beer after a very hot wedding ceremony. It was hotter than the rehearsal, especially in the black tux. The wedding was beautiful and we all had lots of fun. It was good to see my family and it was a nice break from camping.

Congratulations to Steve and Staci Gricius.

The Big Wedding Ceremony

The Big Wedding Ceremony, originally uploaded by Edgee.

Here it is, the big day. My little brother Steve is getting married.

The Wedding Rehearsal

The Wedding Rehearsal, originally uploaded by Edgee.

It was really hot and humid today. I've been spoiled with cool weather until now. Michelle and I picked up my brother Don and his girlfriend from the airport late Thursday night and now he is standing left of me in the photo. Steve was the smart one by bringing a big mug of frozen margarita to the rehearsal for his wedding.

Views from the Wakeboarder

Views from the Wakeboarder, originally uploaded by Edgee.

My brother Steve took us out on the boat today. He let me drive his boat while he was wakeboarding and taking pictures at the same time.

Tubing down the river.

tubing attack, originally uploaded by Edgee.

We're in Winona, MN. for my little brother's wedding. Steve and I are tubing for his Bachelor Day outing. We still fight each other so in the picture I'm getting back at his aggressiveness towards me by being more aggressive. It was a fun day on the Mississippi river.

Milltown to Downtown Flotilla in Missoula

All sorts of watercrafts, originally uploaded by Edgee.

We spent a couple of days in Missoula, Montana. The University of Montana is located here and the town has a great atmosphere. We read about a fun event to participate in. The event was the Fourth Annual Milltown to Downtown River Float on the Clark Fork River. The event is to celebrate the upcoming destruction of the Milltown dam, and the cleanup of the area, which will help restore the river to its natural state. The Clark Fork Coalition planned the event, which will probably be the last because the dam will be destroyed by this time next year. There were all kinds of human-powered watercraft on the river: kayaks, canoes, inner tubes, and row boats. The river runs pretty slowly and there were only a couple areas where there were rapids. At the last rapid, we managed to sink our kayak. Ed said, “Abandon Ship!” and we pulled our belongings to the river’s bank. We regrouped and continued on down the river. This was a fun event to participate in and we got a better idea of what the community is like here in Missoula. It looks like a great town to live in, but the winters are probably pretty cold.

Flathead Lake

Us Paddling Flathead Lake, originally uploaded by Edgee.

After Glacier National Park, we went to Finley Point State Park along Flathead Lake. This is a fairly large lake north of Missoula, Montana. This is the largest natural freshwater lake in the United States west of the Mississippi. We paddled along Finley Point to a small island. Somebody apparently owned the island because there were “No Trespassing” signs all along the perimeter of the island. The water was rather smooth for such a large lake and the sun was shining. It was a wonderful paddling day.

What's Ed Pointing At?

What's Ed Pointing At?, originally uploaded by Edgee.

I’m probably pointing at another bald eagle we saw on the lake. It was the first night we didn’t have rain in a long time and the weather was beautiful that morning. The water was really smooth and clear. We could see large fish below us and large birds above us, surrounded by large mountains on this small lake.

Looking in Two Directions

Looking in Two Directions, originally uploaded by Edgee.

After Banff we moved south to Whiteswan Lake. It doesn’t get dark until late in the evening so we decided to paddle around the lake after we set up camp. Afterwards we warmed up by the campfire. It didn’t get completely dark until about 11:00 p.m.

Slug Eating Breakfast

Slug Eating Breakfast, originally uploaded by Edgee.

It rained all day yesterday and most of the night. In the morning there where these black slugs everywhere. Michelle happened to find one in her shoe, after putting her foot into it. Yes, she was a little disgusted. Later Michelle took this photo of another slug eating mushrooms for breakfast.

Road Trip Map

Road Trip Map, originally uploaded by Edgee.

This is a rough version of our route so far. Click on this photo and then hover the cursor over the squares.