A whole heckin’ day in Twin Butte
Woke up to this
Made some coffee, ate some breakfast, and packed some sandwiches in preparation for horseback riding! Made it out of the house early and drove into Waterton Lakes National Park to get to the stables. We were three of six riders led by an extremely chatty fella named Bryn. We learned a lot about Bryn that morning. Emily rode Charlie, a very tall horse with a tendency to follow the rules. I rode Tonka, a shorter horse (at my request) who had a tendency to follow Charlie. Ariel rode a big white horse with spots named Big Jim (aka biggus jimothy) who would not stop snacking. Despite all feeling like our legs might come off, the ride was super relaxing.
At Bryn’s recommendation, we drove over to the Middle Lake boat launch. There we found soft grass to take a nap on, a crystal clear lake at the base of a mountain, and dock perfect for jumping off. We ate our sandwiches, laid around, and went swimming.
After warming up in the sun we walked around the Waterton Park town area, grabbed a treat, and checked out the visitors center. At this point we desperately needed a nap. We went back to the silo, did some reading, chilling, napping, and played some zilch.
On the way home we stopped at the Bison paddock to hang out with the bison for a little bit.
For dinner we headed down highway 6 to the Smoke Shack, a walk up window with outdoor seating and a cool country band. We got friend pickles, brisket and slaw sandwiches with sides of mac and cheese, listened to the band and watched the sunset. The food was almost too good, the weather just about perfect. We left feeling really grateful for brisket, summer time, and friendship.
