(07/19/12) Our Anniversary

On this day four years ago, George and I promised to love each other through thick and thin. We exchanged rings, shared a dinner with those who came to witness our vows (the exact same dinner we ate the night we got engaged), ate a few kinds of cake and took some pictures. We have made it a practice to always do something unusual, unique, different, exciting, etc. for our anniversary, close to home or not.

2009 found us travelling with caching friends, Danny and Danielle, up through New York state to Niagara Falls, where we rode the thrilling (and cold) Whirlpool Jet Boats. We also hosted a “Meet and Greet” geocaching event at Table Rock, the very brink of the falls, where we met our friend, “RockHarder” Dave for the first time.

2010 found us at one of our favorite restaurants, The Melting Pot. We always share Fondue for Two: cheddar cheese, house salads, “The Surf and Turf” and finish with milk chocolate for dessert. Inevitably, this leaves us stuffed to the gills.

In 2011, we spent our day in Yellowstone National Park as part of our 19-day trip that summer. We ate a fancy dinner that night in Canyon Lodge and returned to our room to find a surprise gift on our bed courtesy of the park – Huckleberry Truffles. We have carefully rationed them out to last for this past entire year. (Yes, George is wearing a cowboy hat he bought on that trip!)

This year was no exception! 2012 was rung in with equally unique activities. George and I love hot springs. We have soaked in Arkansas and Idaho, and we make twice yearly pilgrimages to Berkeley Springs in Bath, West Virginia for divine soaks just an hour from home. On this trip, we added British Columbia, Canada to the list when we stopped at the hot springs in Radium, but we had something else up our sleeves… Today, on the advice of a local, we drove south toward the US border and turned up a dirt logging road. We were entering the “back way” into Whiteswan Provincial Park, driving about 6-8 miles to get to our stop, the Lussier Hot Springs. 

We parked our car, changed in the parking lot (with the other watching and listening for cars), and then headed down the trail to the springs. Lussier Hot Springs is unlike any springs we have visited before. All of our previous spots have been commercial with concrete involved in the structure. Here, there are four natural pools, one higher and three lower. The spring water feeds directly into the upper pool at a maximum temp of 110 degrees. Gravity makes the water from the upper pool feed into the lower pools. At the time of our visit, the Lussier River, which flows past and against the lower pools, was running very high, making the three lower pools unusable. So, we stuffed ourselves  into the upper pool with some locals. Water temp at the time of our visit was nowhere near 110, but was probably about 85 degrees. We soaked for about 20 minutes, but the low water temp and locals everywhere (with their kids) made us cut our time short.

Back at the top of the trail in the parking lot, we changed back into street clothes and drove off. We were itching to get to Billings, Montana, for the evening, no small task given the ten hour drive! We had to get to Billings, we had to! I had big plans for us! We found a campground, dropped off the Joey and locked it up tight and then went to the Sip ‘N Dip, a bar. That’s right, me, in a bar. I had very good reason – this place was a hoot! I first learned of this spot while reading Distinctly Montana – yup, that magazine again! It is located inside a motel in downtown Billings. You go in the door, up the stairs, get carded, get a wristband and go inside. The inside is decked out like a South Seas tiki hut on steroids. There is a little old lady playing an electric organ (or something) and she is singing Katy Perry and Metallica songs. It was like watching the little old lady from the movie The Wedding Singer (you know, the one who paid Adam Sandler’s character for singing lessons with meatballs) but this was LIVE. The bartenders seemed normal enough but the main attraction was behind the bar. The motel’s pool had two glass walls so you could sit in the bar and see who was swimming in the pool. There were two girls dressed up as mermaids, complete with tails and all, swimming around and going through the hoops placed on stands in the tank. You could tape money to the glass if you liked their tricks and wanted to tip them. I ordered a ginger ale and George had Pale Ale with an orange garnish. Poor guy had one beer and said it went straight to his head. 

I drove us back to the campground where we curled around each other and laughed at the strange, strange world we live in. All in all, another one to remember, surely.