September 15th-20th , 2015
We had a visit from our North Vancouver friends Mat and Michelle as they had spent the last few weeks driving around North America, and were now on their way back home. They had noticed our location on the “Live Tracker” and so we setup a date to meet-up. They brought some beers from across America with them, and the five of us had a great evening.
What happened…
Andrew writes: What a wonderful week it was with Mr. Wolf! The two of us were thick as thieves, like peas and carrots, like long-lost brothers. Gary is not only a gracious and generous host, he is also such a big, excitable kid. Every day it was something different, and my “rest” days were usually spent running after Gary, just trying to keep up with him! Gary’s wife Mimi is away hiking the Dolomites in Europe for five weeks, so our timing was perfect. While the wife is away, the boys can play! Except of course, my wife was not away…but she likes to play too!
The first two days were pretty low-key because of weather. It was raining. Our timing was perfect really, to be able to just spend time recharging indoors, enjoying Gary’s well-stocked kitchen, and his 200″ projection television. Then the weather changed for the better, it got windy! We spent an afternoon kitesurfing at Freezeout, about 30-minutes away from Great Falls. I met his friend Mike, and the three of us had a really great time out on the water. Freezeout is a great location because at its’ deepest depth, it is about knee-deep.
The next day, Gary and I drove about two hours out of town to the Tiber Reservoir, which is such a beautiful place for camping, trekking, mountain biking, or in our case, kitesurfing. The wind wasn’t as good as the day before, however, we still had fun, and Mike came out and joined us too. Billy Bob, who I had met at Keho Lake a few weeks ago came out as well with his wife Krista. Tiber is quite different terrain from what we have been accustomed to in Montana so far, more desert-like, and the reservoir was carved out of a series of canyons which gives the area a very distinct shape. I really enjoyed it. I also found myself coming to know Gary a lot better on the drive there and back. Little did I know that I should have been calling him Dr. Wolf this whole time!
We are really lucky to have met, and made friends with people like Gary, and his wife Mimi, with whom we share passions for food, travel, and exciting adventures!
Amanda writes:
I was looking forward to a roof over our heads for a couple of nights in Great Falls. Gary was very accommodating in allowing us to stay warm for a few days and do some much needed laundry. It was too bad that Mimi was away but I’ll catch up with her in Mexico near Christmas hopefully.
A few days turned into a week after Gary mentioned the wind forecast. This is the beauty of hanging out with retired people. No schedule and the freedom to do whatever they want, when they want. It was great to play in Gary and Mimi’s kitchen for a week and clean up our gear, practice yoga, stretch, and watch some football. And while I wasn’t that keen on staying for an entire week, I enjoyed it a lot.