We left to go on our boat trip at about 11:15 in the morning, and arrived at the Yellowtail Dam at about 1:00 in the afternoon. On the way there, we saw wild pheasants and turkeys. The Yellowtail Dam and Bighorn Canyon are on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, and the Canyon and River go into Wyoming, as well. The Bighorn Canyon had a railroad running at the bottom of it, before the Yellowtail Dam was built in the 1960s. Now there is a very deep lake running through the Canyon (except when it's a dry season, like now!), with huge, fascinating rock formations surrounding it, and hills covered with fir trees. Here is a picture of the Yellowtail Dam: it's the white structure in the distance.
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As I mentioned in the title, this was Andrea's first boat ride! She didn't like the life jacket too much, so she was a bit whiny, at first; but about 2 minutes after the boat started moving, and she felt the wind in her face, she LOVED the boat ride!
http://media.putfile.com/MT-First-Boat-Ride
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Andrea was SO GOOD the whole time we were on the boat. Grama said she'd never seen her smile so much! She was giving everyone huge smiles, chattering away, and making "Weeeeee!" noises when Grampa made the boat go fast! Andrea loves the wind in her hair. :))
http://media.putfile.com/Mt-First-Boat-Ride--Daddy-2
http://media.putfile.com/First-Boat-Ride--Wild-Hair--Tongue-Out
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We had a picnic lunch on the boat, soon after we got there. Grampa stopped us in a pretty place, and we all had something to eat. Andrea had a special treat: she tried cheesies for the first time! And now she's hooked!
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At one point, we thought it looked like rain, so we put on the boat cover. Luckily, only a few drops fell. It got cold and windy for a bit, so we just snuggled up together until the skies lightened.
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Grampa even let Andrea sit on his lap and drive the boat for a few minutes, on our way back!
By the way, we did about 37 miles of the 71 mile length of the Bighorn River (55 miles of the River are in the actual Canyon). It was quite a long ride, but Andrea loved every minute of it!
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On the way home, we saw lots of animals in the hills and valleys, because it was dusk: a small herd of antelope; several deer; and even a fox ran across the highway in front of our truck!
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We got home around 8:00 in the evening. Andrea napped in the truck on the way back, so she got a second wind. We all sat outside by the fire while supper was cooking.
We were talking over the day when we suddenly noticed Andrea was sitting there, quietly doing the actions to Patty Cake (pat, roll, throw it in the pan!) all by herself, with no one even singing the song. I guess she was practicing. Too cute!
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Anyhow, Daddy didn't get Andrea to sleep until about 11:00; but then he joined Mommy in the hot tub for a restful soak before bed. :))
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