Family Vaca!
My oldest son’s birthday is Memorial weekend, making it extremely hard to throw him a birthday party (at least if we expect people to show up). We tend to have his party early and plan a family trip for that long weekend. In the past, we have gone to Yellowstone National park and spent a few days exploring. This year, my boys decided that they wanted a new adventure.
We decided this time to explore something in Montana. My daughter found some guides and helped plan this great weekend. First, we found this really fun hotel that had a huge water slide. It was called Fairmont Hot Springs Resort in Anaconda, MT. The kids had a blast on their HUGE slide and warm pools while my husband and I enjoyed a quiet dinner by ourselves!
The next day we drove to Gem Mountain near Phillipsburg, MT. There you get to buy gravel by the bucket full. They have lots of people there to teach you how to sift the gravel and what you are looking for. Now, I know that digging through rocks doesn’t sound like it would be fun, but it was! We went up with another family, so we had kids ranging in age from 8 to 19. Everyone found something and all want to go back next year. We only spent the morning there but we are already planning another day trip and will spend more time and get more buckets!
Next, we drove to Butte, MT to visit the World Museum of Mining where they have this fun little mining village set up. It was a great place to stop and learn about what went on in a town like that. They also have a scavenger hunt for everyone to do which made wandering the town more fun and productive since you had to read the signs and look for different items. It really helped to keep the kids engaged and not constantly asking for their electronics. (Which is a feat in itself with my kids!)
While there, we went on a mine tour. This was amazing! We took the 100ft option which was absolutely worth it, and coming from a big girl, it wasn’t too hard on me. It was just dark and creepy enough for the kids to find it exciting. The guide was awesome! (Wish I could remember his name.) We learned lots of little interesting facts (which my little Aspie loved) and I think a good time was had by all that day.
And, if you’re into geocaching (you should try it!), there is a site right by their sign.
The next day we finished our long weekend off by heading over to the Lewis and Clark Caverns. This tour was a little iffy in places for this big girl, but I made it! We took the long tour, but the short tour is handicap accessible. I have to warn you, there are high places that my vertigo didn’t like and some crawling, but it was beyond beautiful and definitely worth the knee ache I had on the ride home. The kids were amazed by it too and we didn’t have to remind them too often not to touch anything.
None of these places are very far to drive from eastern Idaho, so if you wanted to pick one, it could easily be a day trip. We absolutely plan to go back to Gem Mountain next summer and try our luck again!
