Elkhorn, MT Family Connection

So that "feeling" I had when Em, Addi and I went to the Elkhorn ghost town and cemetery, that feeling that I wanted to know more about what happened in this town and learn more about the people who lived there, somehow made sense when my Aunt Moni emailed me after reading my blog and told me that my mother's mother, my great-grandmother, Wilma Charlotte Wood, was born there on August 13, 1913. My mom said the cabin she was born in was still there. I had no idea. I want to do some further investigating to find out if any of my relatives were buried at that cemetery.

Rock Creek Wildlife

On our way to Missoula, Addi and I took a quick drive up Rock Creek. I was looking for something I am pretty sure I left there a few weeks ago. I am so upset at myself. I really don't want to talk about it. The trip was worth it for the beautiful fall wildlife we observed.



There was a herd of 40 or so ewes and 5 massive Big Horn Sheep Rams. It was so interesting watching the rams interact. I could immediately identity the dominate ram. The "smaller" rams would approach him with their bodies stiff and their heads held low. They would stop about 10 feet from the dominant ram and hold this subordinate position until the dominant ram acknowledged them. After slight eye contact or a slight forward moment from the dominant ram the subordinate ram would give the dominant ram a ram embrace, rubbing their horns against each other and rubbing their faces on each other. It was very interesting.

Camp fire, Cemetery, Chicken Chilly & Cranium

We had a great end of the week, full of visitors. First Granny and Aunt Sandy came over for the day on Thursday, Jeff & Deaette came over for the day on Friday and our Dave and Em came over this past weekend to visit us. Addi was thrilled! Addi and Em had so much to catch up on! Friday night we had a fire in our outside fireplace.



On Saturday the boys went fishing and us girls went up past Boulder, MT to visit the Elkhorn Ghost Town and Cemetery. The few buildings that are left are remnants of a once bustling mining town. At it's peak the town was home to over 900 miners, their wives and children. It was a rare mining town in that many families came to live where the miners worked. They mined gold and silver. The ghost town was so weird. There were original buildings, boarded up and abandoned and next door is a newer home that had someone living there. One man was chopping wood outside his home telling us the building across the "road", the old fraternity club, was open and we could go on in. His beautiful wolf dog came up to us to say hello and the man's three-legged wolf hybrid lay in the road. It was not creepy in the way you expect a old, mining town to be. It was interesting how the possible ancestors of this mining town were still living there. I would really like to know more about the people still there and why they are still there.










The cemetery on the other hand was creepy the way I expected it to be. Creepy and devastating. About every other headstone belonged to a child, someone's baby. Several belonged to siblings, some dying on the same day. A sign explained the 1888 diphtheria epidemic which took the lives of many Elkhorn children. One family buried seven family members in one week. I can't imagine the degree of grief that was apart of everyday life in the 1800s. There were modern headstones placed next to very old headstones. People had recently placed flowers and flags at some headstones. Some headstones had elaborate writing and statues of lambs. Bible verses, nicknames and birth dates let us know who was buried there. Others were a simple, faded, nearly rotten, slabs of wood held erect by piles of rocks. No name, no birth date, just a pile of rocks.





On the way home we stopped and had lunch at a little cafe in Boulder. We also discovered that this area of Montana is also somewhat famous for Health Mines. People voluntarily go into old gold mines to soak up the healing powers of deadly levels of radon gas. Apparently hundreds of people come to this area in the summer to spend a week (3 -4 times a day) playing boards games and reading in the gas. Some say it has the ability to heal arthritis and other ailments.

The boys came home after a slow day of fishing, we had dinner and Dylan and I won a game of Cranium! The boys got up early on Sunday and tried to find the famous Helena elk. They did get within 40 yards of a few cow elk, but no bulls were with them.

Grandpa & Grandma Powell Visit

Grandpa and Grandma Powell came over to Helena to visit us for the day! They brought Addi a treat bag, full of treats and craft projects. Addi and Grandma had fun painting, making a necklace and putting monkey stickers on EVERYTHING! We went on a walk around town. We visited the Parrot Candy Store, visited Dylan at work, played at the carousel and went out to eat at the Brewhouse.

Something Sweet from Addi

I knelt down to Addison's level this morning, got all emotional, and said to her, "I can't believe you are almost three years old. Where did my baby go? I don't want you to grow up. You will grow up and leave me." (I know pathetic, but she is growing up too fast and it makes me sad.) She got all serious and said, "But mom, I want to grow up. It's ok, I will still hug and kiss you when I am big." And then she gave me a big hug and kiss!


My beautiful girl...all grown up -- October 2010, 2 years, 11 months

The Little Things

Every once in a while I get a gentle reminder that it is the little things in life that matter the most. The little things, like Dylan walking in the door with lillies (my favorite) and a bottle of wine in his hands. Or Addison climbing up on my lap, giving me a hug and saying, "Mom, you're the best. I love you this much." With her little arms outstretched as far as she can get them.

It is all to easy to get carried away by life. Busy planning our future, stressing about money or worrying about Addison's safety. When I stop, literally, to smell the lillies, I find a fresh perspective on what I am doing and why it matters.

Hills Family Camp-Out

In August, Sara, Ellie and Uncle Roger were in town and we all went camping up Gold Creek! The girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE camping. They love exploring, fishing, looking at the frogs I catch (either of them are interested in touching or holding them!), riding the four-wheeler, walking with Papa, helping build the fire and eating camp food! Dylan and I took a long, long four-wheeler ride by ourselves and saw a beautiful black bear!

(In this picture, Addi is saying to Ellie, "See Ellie, over there is the deer. Do you seem it?" There really was a deer over on the far hill!)

Mom Update #7

Mom finished her Chemo treatments a few weeks ago and has started radiation. If I remember right she will have 8 weeks of radiation and be all finished by Thanksgiving. She had a feeding tube put in as her throat will be very sore and she will be unable to eat. She is feeling ok, considering, and is looking forward to the day when all of this is behind her.

Pumpkin Painting

We are still getting used to Helena and what is has to offer. Last year in Missoula we were able to wander around Bensen's farm, right in Missoula, and let our Addison meticulously choose her very special pumpkin. This year however I am having a hard time finding a local farm to support. So we haven't picked our our pumpkins yet, however, I did pick up a few small pumpkins and let Addison paint them. Dylan and I also got in on the fun!

Impromptu Birthday Party

Addison decided she wanted to have a birthday party. It was nobody's birthday in our home, but she wanted one anyway! She got out her last year's decorations and decorated the coffee table. We cooked pizza and chocolate cake. We decided to celebrate all the children in the world who are unable, for whatever reason, to celebrate their birthdays. We even wore party hats, sang Happy Birthday to them and blew out candles!