Playing With Our Food

To be honest, it was their turn. Most of Lori's family lives in Utah so when we gather, that's where we go. For two of the family members, Lori and her brother Jon, we have a long drive or flight to get there. Having said that, we have visited Jon, Lisa and their family a couple of times over the decades in Tennessee. They had not made it to Montana, granted an even farther journey for them, but when they finally did, we took advantage. They needed to experience a real Montana adventure so we took them 90 miles west of home to the Route of the Hiawatha Scenic Bike Trail.  I had ridden the trail three or four different times previously. On one outing, I took Lori and a camera there during my TV days where I shot, edited and produced a story about it. (See the video below to learn about the trail's amazing history.) My most recent visits were to serve as a volunteer for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. That's a pretty cool  story as well, but is one for another day. I ...

Family time, friends and food. Yes indeed, we had a great time in the Salt Lake Valley during a week-long visit. In addition to spending time with Lori, my daughters, their husbands and their combined six fun-loving kids/cousins, I also got to hook up with a couple of longtime friends with ties from the other side of the world that date back more than four decades. John Stabler and I became friends when we entered the Utah Missionary Training Center. We quickly found out we had a lot in common and became friends before leaving the U.S. together with other missionaries in 1982 for southern Italy and Sicily to serve a year and a half in the Italy Catania Mission. And when we finished our service, we capped off our time abroad by touring Europe for a couple of weeks in northern Italy, Austria, Germany and France. After some post-mission racquetball as BYU students, our encounters were few and far between over the years, so it was great to catch up for an extended lunch. John suggested we ...

It was Doug & Shellie's turn to pick the location for our once-a-month dinner date and Doug followed through on a longtime threat. "Ever been to Lindley's in Seeley Lake?" We had heard that line several times but we would hear it no more because that's where we were headed. Seeley Lake is a small town of about 1,600 between the Mission Mountains and Bob Marshall Wilderness Area about 70 miles from home in western Montana. It's a winter haven for snowmobilers, cross country skiers and other lovers of wintertime fun. In the summer, it's about hiking, camping, fishing, canoeing, paddleboarding and other recreational fun. I'd visited Seeley several times and eaten there too but only at burger and ice cream joints after camping in the Mission Mountains.  But on this evening it was about friendship, a beautiful drive along the Blackfoot River corridor and a stop at a lakeside restaurant with one, yes one choice on the menu - a very large menu. Say hello...