Family time.....

 7:19 am - Friday - June 27th - Deer Lodge, MT - 53° F, humidity 48%, wind ZERO mph out of the southwest......a few clouds today with a forecast high of 76° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were in Keystone, SD (Mt. Rushmore) having lunch with good friends Tom and Darlene McCloud....

Thursday began with an ominous influx of storm clouds from the northwest....

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....but is was a beautiful Deer Lodge kind of day anyway.  As I wrote yesterday I strained, or pulled a muscle in my right forearm Wednesday playing golf, and by 9 am it was pretty clear that I should forego anymore golf until that soreness abates (as I write this morning it is much better), so all of us took the day off from golfing.  I took a long nap after composing my latest missive, and just about the time I headed out to the living room it began to rain....

.....in earnest.  Bob and Philip had been outside sitting by the outdoor fireplace when the rain began to go sideways, and right into their corner, which forced them to retreat indoors while the storm lasted.  Eventually the squall passed, and order was restored.....

.....it was the perfect day to sit around talking, and while we talked the rain came and went for a couple of hours......

Jeannie and Hilary

Philip and Jeannie

Richard and Liz....Liz is the daughter of my Uncle  Bob, my mother's oldest brother....she is the spitting image of her mother. 

......we had kind of a late dinner consisting of elk sausage (like ball park sized hot dogs) and a watermelon salad, then retired to the outdoor fireplace for the balance of the evening.....

......talking endlessly about everything under the sun, including many travel stories.  Finally, around 9 pm we all began to drift back inside to our rooms to wind down, and get ready for bed.  It was a wonderful day filled with interesting conversation, a lot of silliness, and laughter, and a perfect conclusion to our time here in Deer Lodge.  TLE and I will be off to Missoula Friday morning around 10 am to return our rental car, and then to the airport to catch our 1:15 pm flight to Portland.  We should be back in Medford, and our VW before 4 pm, and on our way home to LPG&RVR.

Thanks for stopping by!