Casazza

The Bloomers Visit! August 4 - 9, 2024	Back to Home Page

Brodie had such a good time visiting us in June that he talked his parents into coming back again! This time Keith came with them and we had a great time.

	They arrived to some unseasonably cool weather. Naturally Brodie headed straight to the lake.
These crazy folks drove overnight to make it here in 2 days. Here Keith shows how good he looks in Desirae's glasses. Note the clever bungee cord fishing rod holders!


Brodie proceeded to being catching fish like a madman once again.	Admiring his catch.


Buddy with his wet bandana. This proves that he isn't neglected.	Bloomers in Montana!


Looking up the lake	Sisters!


	Brodie is quite the talented fisherman. He gets lots of practice!!





His BFF Carter sadly only got to spend one day with us, he wasn't feeling well.


Here Keith improvises a fishing pole out of a stick.	That's one HUGE largemouth bass!

	On one of several visits to The Gathering Place Coffee Shop.
Brodie & Keith took out both the flat-bottomed boat & the canoe for some evening fishing during the week.

Brodie & Desirae slept on the outdoor sleeping porch. One day they were joined by a guest!
	Enjoying sleeping outdoors - it's the best!


Sunrise over the lake	Keith & Desirae took our eBikes out for some exploring around the "Casazza Compound"



Looking back at our house from across the lake.


In one of the meadows south of our house.	Up on the hilltop just south of our house.
Keith is great at panoramic photos. This is a view from the top of that hill.

He was moved to do a little "Sound of Music" interpretive dance.	Desirae in a meadow.


Stopping along the irrigation ditch at one of it's prettiest points.	I tried to get an action shot of their return but they were too fast!


Next up - Canada! We decided to take a trip up to Fernie to see the sights.



	Unfortunately, I didn't know it was the last day of a long weekend for Canadians, so the line at the border crossing was the longest I'd ever experienced.


Finally in Canada, we got gorgeous weather. Excuse Buddy's ear in this photo please.	A traffic tunnel on the way to Fernie.


On the road into Fernie. That circle is a cup reflection in the windshield, not some bizarre cloud formation.	Trying to get a family photo, but one of the subjects wasn't cooperating.

So we decided to take just the cooperative ones instead.
	Looking for lures - we didn't find anything here. The Canadians must pick up their own lures!
	After this outing we decided to let Brodie stay behind and fish!
One of us, who will remain nameless, was quite upset that we wanted him to do anything besides fish on Costich lake. Stupid Canada.
	Next we popped into the grocery store to look at products we don't have here.


I had been told to try these - what an experience! Each of us took one, nearly broke our teeth on it, then were overwhelmed by the extreme cheesiness. After our first one, we each decided we'd had enough. I had to give the bag to a Canadian friend of mine! The Bloomers also tried Ketchup Chips.	Fernie


Heading home so someone can get his fishing fix for the day.	The D-C Ranch, where the Casazza boys grew up and where Dan & Rose still live now.

	Enjoying a nice weather day.
Taking a walk at our house, that's Keith & Brodie in the boat in the center of the photo.

Keith & Brodie out in the boat. With Keith serving as trolling motor.
	We left Brodie to his fish and decided to float the lazy river. a.k.a. The irrigation ditch.

The boys both got cold after one trip, but Desirae and I went again.
	It's pretty darn tricky to stick the landing! You're picking up speed at this point and it's hard to stand up without tipping over. Good times.


On Tuesday we took off for a trip southward. We saw Lake Koocanusa (the name comes from the owners of the land where the lake was formed: Kootenai Indians,Canada, and USA), Kootenai Falls, Ross Creek Cedars, and the Libby Dam.	Buddy & Keith became friends on this trip.

Good friends!!
	Going through the town of Libby on our way to the falls. There are only three real towns in our entire county: Eureka, Libby, & Troy. Libby & Troy are over an hour's drive from Eureka. It makes for some inconvenient county government.


We've hit the restroom and are ready for some falls!	This place is dangerous, sadly many people have died here.


Checking out informative fish facts on our way to the falls.	Stopping for our first glimpse of the falls, which doesn't photograph well from here. Buddy was wanting to get at least one foot on something solid!

	Here we are at the falls at last. They aren't at their most impressive in August, but are always beautiful.
Bloomers in love!

Buddy is photo-bombing our sister photo.



Giving me her Cher impression	Then a real pose.


Happy Bloomers	From here you can feel the mist and get free air-conditioning.


	Keith indulged Buddy in some pebble throwing in the shallow water.

	Here's the swinging bridge now.
Now we explore our way toward the swinging bridge.

	I know that Buddy hates swinging bridges, so I started by trying to leave him here.
Keith blazes the trail


I managed to take this one photo before he started to kick up a big fuss. I had to give in and carry him across & back. Thanks to Desirae for sharing the Bloomer photos with me - of this and the entire trip!





Scaredy dog.	Next stop - Ross Creek Cedars. I didn't do a very good job of being a tour guide here. We were rushed and I lost the trail!


Thankfully the trees are amazing no matter how bad the tour guide!

	Eric always climbs inside this tree, but he stayed home with Brodie so I decided to check it out.
Panoramic photo going up this time!


It's really spacious inside.	The door is a bit cramped though.


Keith decides to just look in from the outside, which is my usual stance as well.

	One of the trees fell and when it hit another tree on the way down, it split in half. They had to saw it to keep the path open, but it's really neat to imagine the boom when that giant sucker fell over.


One of many roots from the tipped over trees.
	The creek that runs through the area.


Me & Buddy being posers.	I was a bit more excited than Buddy was!

Next stop - Libby Dam. All these years and I'd never done the tour, so we did one of the two tours that they offer.
	Taking turns going into the visitor center since dogs aren't allowed.

	And keeps Keith awake at nap time with all his belly-rubbing needs.
Speaking of dogs being a pain, here he pushes in on our driver.


On a walk to the other end of the lake, Mark's horse Gunner was in a state. His girlfriend horse Harmony had gotten into another field" an Gunner was not having it.	Swans - I love them! We had more swans this year than I'd ever seen on Costich before.


The next day we left Brodie at home and visited Glacier Park.	Heaven's Peak.


We got a super early start in hopes of finding parking at Logan Pass. The mist was still in the mountains on our way in.







We got to see a pair of bighorn sheep while we looked for parking.	We admired them from the safety of our car!


	We didn't find parking, but Desirae managed to wedge into a small space down the hill from Logan Pass, so these are sights seen on the walk back up to the pass.







It was a bit cold at the top! Thankfully it warmed up by the end of our Hidden Lake hike.





We saw Marmots many times on the trail. They weren't very afraid.






Great photo, but Keith was uncomfortable with going off the path. It is expressly forbidden.



	Lovely Bloomer photo

Hidden lake
	More marmots

	I've been to Glacier Park so many times, and have never had my picture taken at the pass before. Glad to have this sister pic!




Bloomer pic at the divide	Heading back down the road to our car.


We didn't make any stops on the way in, so we stopped a little on the way out.










We visited Apgar Village for some souvenirs and a view of Lake McDonald.
	Because Keith used to work on dams all over the south, we had to make a stop at the Hungry Horse dam.


The river coming out the bottom.	Dam good friends.

You can still drive across this dam.
	Some parting shots of what Brodie did for the week...



Back at home, the Bloomers start preparing to leave. Fishing poles have been secured into the clever carrying system.	Goodbye!! These crazy kids left in the evening after a LONG day in Glacier Park, drove all night long, and got to Yellowstone National park at sunrise.




Desirae shared some of their Yellowstone photos with me.








Entertainment on the long drive back to Oklahoma!!

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