For the 4th of July weekend, we finally made it up to visit my brother Joseph and his family in Billings, Montana. Everything we knew about Billings before we went we had heard from Joseph and Maren and it was basically this “Billings isn’t much of a tourist destination.” But here’s the truth: we weren’t really there for Billings. And Joseph and Maren’s house is a glorious family-tourist destination! Every one of us had a wonderful time with good food, fun adventures and magnificent company!
What you ought to know about Joseph’s house is that it has just about everything a kid (or adult) could dream of! Their yard is equipped with a trampoline, zip-line, swing-set, swings hanging from trees, garden, fruit-trees named after Greek gods, ropes course, natural cliffs (known as rims, I have learned), deer galore, bunnies, turkeys, and other exciting wildlife. They also have every electric gadget you can think of, including (but not limited to): Lawnmower, Tesla, bikes, and smart-home devices. And, alas, I was too busy enjoying myself that I forgot to get pictures. Just know that whatever you’re imagining, reality is probably cooler.
And, as if just being with them in their magical every-day-life wasn’t enough, they also took us on some great adventures!
On July 4th, we piled in their 15 passenger van and went to see a firework show that a local arena was providing. We found a great place to watch them at a Target parking-lot. It turned out to be the place where a bunch of people were setting off very impressive personal firework displays as well, so we got to see about an hour’s worth of great fireworks.
Another day, we packed a picnic (Did I say “we”? I mean Maren packed us a picnic, because she’s the best ever!) and drove to a beautiful waterfall hike. The hike was short enough that we survived carrying Bianca 7/8ths of the way, but exciting enough that we felt like we really got some decent mountain goating practice in! The waterfall was really cool too. Instead of all the water flowing over a cliff as with most waterfalls, this waterfall came rushing out of a cave.
After the hike and some delicious local pizza, we enjoyed another thing that makes life chez Joseph and Maren extra cool: the electric bikes. We took a bike ride down the road and then up to the tippy top of the rim that overlooks downtown Billings. This was my first ever experience with electric bikes and it was glorious! Even though we were biking up a mountain, the bike helped so much that I just zipped right up without breaking a sweat. Although, I feel I must acknowledge that Atlas beat me to the top. 🙂 And the view of the valley from atop the rims did not disappoint!
On our last full day, we finally got to visit the “grotto.” To get to there, we walked to the top of Joseph and Maren’s street and started trekking through the brush. We were impressed to learn how Joseph’s family discovered the grotto from above, and then how they cut and mowed a trail to get there from the road. They also added a cool rope swing that everybody enjoyed (even me)!
We had been waiting to visit the grotto until the trail would be less muddy as Billings had received TONS of rain that week. (Frankly, the weather on its own was a highlight of this trip; it was 70s and overcast the whole time!) And while we were playing in the grotto, it started to rain and hail on us! It made for an even more fun adventure.
After the rain and hail cleared (about 8 minutes), we took the over-the-rim route back to the house. Christine had, apparently, heard that you could eat the kind of cactus we kept trying to not step on as we walked and she wanted to try it out. Joseph obliged by picking one and cutting it open with his pocket knife, and my kids are very proud to say they have now eaten real cactus. Call me lame, but I opted against trying it.
Later, we got a tour of the whole city of Billings and enjoyed more hiking up on the rims and more spectacular views. We could even see the Billings Temple from up there! Then we drove down and got to visit the temple grounds as well as see the famed hospital that brought Joseph and company to Billings in the first place.
In between these “official” adventures, there was lots of delicious food (again, Maren is the best ever!), playing of games, enjoying the aforementioned wonders of the yard and house, more electric biking, chatting chatting chatting, reading books, sleeping in, and the making of many wonderful memories. I personally couldn’t get over how there was a whole wilderness to explore right outside the house! I loved the deer, the rocks, the wild growing plants, the rims, and all the natural beauty that was literally right outside the door! It truly was magical.
A topic of repeated conversation during our visit was that of Nicholas’ hair. I get the sense that he is like my boy and would just prefer to avoid haircuts if at all possible. But he was very kind and allowed me to braid his hair twice. Once, it was just to get his bangs out of his eyes for the day, but the second time we tried to see if we could get him some sweet waves by sleeping in braids overnight. That one didn’t turn out so well, but it was still fun to try.
Our final Billings adventure was to church. I love going to church on vacation, and especially with family. It was fun to see Maren sustained in her new calling (good luck, Maren!!) and Lexi leading the music in Sacrament Meeting, and Nicholas pass the sacrament, and to hear about what everybody learned in their classes. It was a delightful cherry-on-top to our stay in Billings.
This trip was certainly a highlight of our summer. I’m so grateful for Joseph and Maren and how marvelously well they took care of us for the weekend. I’m very rarely a house-guest; but Joseph and Maren made it downright sensational for us. If you’ve been considering visiting, allow me to tip the scale for you: Billings was a fabulous tourist destination!