Lee Creek Campground, MT

On the morning of July 1, my mom and I left Pullman and headed east through Idaho and into Montana along highway 12. Here's a picture of the end of some rapids on the Lochsa river. My dad, for whatever reason, likes to raft this river in the spring when it's in flood stage. He's always been a little crazy.

We ended up camping at the Lee Creek campground, just a few miles from Lolo Hot Springs. The campground wasn't too shabby, just off the highway.

While we were setting up camp, we were greeted by a ferocious mountain lion.

That night, we went down to Lolo Hot Springs to soak in their pools. On Wednesday nights, they have a late session, from 9pm to midnight. We learned that this session is "swimsuit-optional," which in English translates to "everyone goes naked." My mom and I were the only non-naked people there, and it felt backward to be ostracized for wearing clothes. But, whatever.

The hot pool was in a steam room, and I spent an hour slowly drifting on a rubber raft, listening to Bob Dylan on the loudspeaker, and surrounded by naked strangers. At that moment, I felt about as far from my days in grad school as I could possibly be, and it was simultaneously wonderful and a little disturbing.