For our summer vacation, we all chose an activity that we wanted to do. We're not fancy people and our ambitions were nothing too extravagant. I wanted to go see Bannack- check. Sven wanted to hang out in town and get coffee- check, check, check and check. Em wanted to ride horses- hmmmm..... and, Nik wanted to fish (of course). At home, Nik is quite self-sufficient in the fishing category. I think he clocks more time at our neighborhood lake than he does at home (and yes, I am calculating sleeping into that equation). We were coming up empty with good ideas on where to take him to scratch his fishing itch. It shouldn't be that hard, right? After all, it's Montana and my family has always fished the Bitterroot (and beyond). But, factor in the family that no longer lives there, the family that does live there but works (hey, it's not everyone's vacation) and making it feasible when there's a little sister involved, we found ourselves running slim on ideas. An idea came to me that I acted on..... last year, we watched an episode of "Living Big Sky" where a couple from Utah went house-hunting in the Bitterroot and ended up purchasing Angler's Lodge just south of Hamilton. It was so neat to watch my hometown on tv and see this landmark property transfer hands to such a seemingly nice couple. I was 14 years old all over again (the summer of '88, right?!) and the only place to be was down at Angler's Roost watching Lou Diamond Phillips in the filming of Disorganized Crime. Ahhh.... the glory days! Anyway, I distinctly remember the show highlighting the fishing in the pond there at Angler's Lodge. On a whim and a chance, I called Angler's Lodge and spoke to the (new) owner. He graciously heard my request and allowed us to bring our kids to his property to fish for a few hours. It was awesome. It drove the point home about the perks of small town folks and their hospitality. He could have easily told me to buzz off or book a cabin, but he instead said that he always encourages kids to fish. At the beginning of our visit, he gave us a tour of one of the cabins (at our request). And, yes, it looked just like it had on tv! Sven and I were in vacation heaven daydreaming about coming back in the future and spending quality time with our family in one of those neat cabins with a fishing pond just feet from the door. Yes, that is definitely on our vacation bucket list. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were so welcoming. A small gesture on their part was a huge act of kindness in our minds. Thank you so much!!
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| Emalie caught the first fish! I hadn't even had time to take my camera out yet! |
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| How sweet to see brother and sister fishing side by side. |
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| And Nik is evening up the score.... |
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| .... but Emalie is determined. |
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| Ah! And Nik lands another! |
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| The competition is on! |
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| What a beautiful, beautiful sight. |
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| Is this now on your vacation bucket list, too? |
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| "Honkers" as my Grandpa used to call them. |
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| I can imagine spending time here with a fire in the pit and a beautiful sunset over the mountains. |
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| The valley is surrounded by mountains-- unsurpassed beauty. |
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| And the fisherman who could draw a fish out of a mud puddle has caught another one! |
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| The beautiful Bitterroot. |
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| And there he goes-- fishing, walking, fishing, walking. He could have stayed here indefinitely! |
Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Johnson! Thank you for sharing your treasure with us! If any of you would like to discover the accommodations at Angler's Lodge, visit their website:
