Take the opportunity to tent it

I know how you're feeling...Spring is here! Mountain Bluebirds have returned. Robins are prominently flying around town. A few early-season bugs splattered on my windshield on a recent drive. The weatherman has even forecasted some early rain with a possibility of some rolling thunder. Within the next couple weeks, the ice will be off the lakes and lawns and trees will be sprouting new green growth. And as with previous years, social media and personal conversations will be filled with people looking for recommendations and ideas for family vacations, or road trips with friends.

It's easy to fall prey to tourist traps, bright lights, and man-made amusement. We are bombarded by clever marketers who tell us what's "the cool thing to do". You've heard every multi-millionaire sports hero say where they are going after winning the big game; you know they are paying them to say that right? I wish one of them would buck the trend and say, "I'm going camping!"

Every Spring I read young parents inquiring on social media about fun family vacation ideas while staying on a tight budget. Social experts, doctors, and scientists agree that the most powerful and formative experiences in the memory banks of adults and children are those that are centered around the wonders of the outdoors.

The biggest mall in the world is just like the one down the road, only with more stores and more people asking for your money. Every motel (hopefully) has clean beds, a bathroom and towels. Some just cost a little more than others. Every major theme park operates by trying to get you to spend more money than you planned. They are selling overpriced trinkets, snacks, and the same ride concept that is packaged in different colors or cartoon character.

Families will spend thousands of dollars on a family vacation to a theme park only to return from those vacations with memories of fighting heavy traffic, paying absurd amounts to park a car, staying in a typical motel, standing in lines for hours for the precious three-minute ride; and they return home tired, stressed, and broke. Try a new idea on for size and see if it fits you.

Camp in a tent. Most of you already have sleeping bags (although that's not even essential as some just throw a pile of blankets and quilts into a tent and sleep in a comfortable pile of their favorite blankets). If you don't have a tent, maybe you can borrow, rent or better yet buy one because its an investment that will pay for itself in no time. Don't forget to check out what you might be able to purchase at garage sales right here in town. There are bound to be some great deals on camping gear that still has a lifetime of use left.

I understand if you don't want to camp here in your "own backyard". I tell friends, family, and acquaintances from out-of-state and Eastern Montana to come visit Seeley Lake. Stay in one of our campgrounds, go canoeing, hike to a fire lookout, pick some berries, take pictures, buy a Seeley coffee cup or T-shirt, eat at our restaurants. I give them my guarantee that they will go home feeling refreshed, happy, and have money left for a future return trip.

So, what are some good options for those who live here and want to get away for something unique? How about sleeping in your tent at campgrounds while you make stops along the Montana Dinosaur Trail (yeah, it's a real thing look it up). Camp out at Makoshika State Park (Montana's largest State Park). Visit Medicine Rocks State Park. Go visit the Bighorn Battlefield this June and witness the annual reenactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Visit Chief Plenty Coups State Park or the third weekend in July is the annual Bannack Days event at Bannack State Park.

Are you looking for something a little farther from home? Get your passport and drive to Canada up the spine of the Rocky Mountains and check out the Athabasca Glacier or the Columbia Ice Fields. They are incredible glaciers over 1000 feet thick with normal functions that you probably aren't aware of. (Some of the ice there is thicker than the elevation distance between the town of Seeley Lake and the Double Arrow Fire Lookout! Maybe you should visit the redwood forests between Oregon and Washington. While you're there, take some side trips to dig for ocean clams, charter a boat to help you catch some crabs to cook and eat the freshest crustaceans of your life.

Every year people come to the Seeley Swan Valley to camp, play, patronize, and have awesome experiences that keep them coming back. Take this opportunity to experience something for yourself. Do it for your family. I guarantee your children will make better memories looking into an ice crevasse, tasting fresh seafood, listening to the redwoods, the feeling of dirt surrounding the horns of a Triceratops dinosaur, the action of real battle reenactment, and both the joy and misery of searching for gold in 1800's Montana.