The term “unschooling” was coined in the 1970s and used by educator John Holt, widely regarded as the “father” of unschooling.^[1] While often considered a subset of homeschooling, unschoolers may be as philosophically separate from other homeschoolers as they are from advocates of conventional schooling. While homeschooling has been subject to widespread public debate, little media attention has been given to unschooling in particular. Popular critics of unschooling tend to view it as an extreme educational philosophy, with concerns that unschooled children lack the social skills, structure, and motivation of their peers, especially in the job market, while proponents of unschooling say exactly the opposite is true: self-directed education in a natural environment better equips a child to handle the “real world…..”^[2]

Just as soon we finished up on Tuesday afternoon, let me tell you, we hit the jeep to go exploring faster than a bolt of lightning!  We totally lucked on to a rafting outfit just a few miles down the road and asked if it was too late to rent a two man ducky and get a shuttle down the “Middle Fork Flathead River”. I told them i was going to go on my personal sup and they looked at me like i was CRAZY!  🙂 They eagerly said sure.. but wanted photos of the sup portion lol  The river was lower, but still running swiftly and plenty of water for some solid class II’s and lighter III’s during this 9 mile stretch of pure, sheer beauty.  They said we had 30 min to get back before the cut off for the shuttle.  We hauled butt back to the campsite and donned the wetsuits, life jackets, booties and gear.

We hit the river just before 4pm. The scenery was so picturesque with the warm colors of the sun on the mountain back drop that was painted with Autumn colors along the river. The water color was right up there with turquoises you see in the Caribbean islands with the most fantastic swimming holes you ever saw! The river was exceptionally clear and a cool 52 degrees of glacier fed refreshment!   The first stretch was mild flat water section with small rapids and swiftly running waters going across a kaleidoscope of colored rocks beneath us. An absolute show of earth and water at her finest. About a quarter of the way into the river, we started seeing some significant drops in elevation which is sure to make a fun section of rapids.  Most were readily navigable and super fun fast moving deep rapids. I initially went first then would pop out at the nearest eddy to film Savannah and her Dad coming down in the ducky.  What a site and tons of laughs!  Further down the river the class I’s were quickly graduating to II’s and light III’s which certainly got my attention since i did not know the river!  The sun was in my eyes and it was tough to read until you were right on top of where you needed or NOT needed to be!  I ate it on one boulder drop, but it was so exhilarating all i could do was laugh and laugh and then watch S and her Dad do the same.  Well they didn’t eat it being in the stable ducky!.. lol We hit a few more solid rapids that i managed to stay up on, turned in on one eddy to film and it was so strong it threw me right off the board! The water was realllly cold even with a 5mm wetsuit.   Towards the end of the paddle we crossed under two bridges with one being a fabulous reflection photo opportunity.  After more than two hours, my body temperature was dropping as quickly as the ambient air in the mountain shadows.  We arrived just after 6pm and  9.3 miles of paddling. We saw our smiling shuttle guy and i think he was as stoked as we were!  I made a video of the river.. and will copy the link to the fb page.. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152660551701083

The following morning we caught up around the RV and did some house cleaning.  You can only imagine with 2 dogs, 2 cats, a kid, the entire 7th grade curriculum and Jim’s office! Then we were out the door to explore the Glacier National Park, via the “Going to the Sun Road”.   But not with out stopping at the Ranger station to pick up Savannah’s Jr. Ranger packet for the park.  She’s getting quite the collection! Note: My dream through my elementary years was to be a Park Ranger when i grew up…so this activity is very intriguing and yes i am going to dress up as a Park Ranger for Halloween!

What was supposed to take 2 hrs to get from West Glacier to East, took a littttttle longer since there were so many photographic opportunities! We arrived on the West side just after noon time and enjoyed a delicious bison burger at the famous and historical “St. Mary’s Lodge”.  Then back tracked through the mountains for some hiking.  As soon as we re entered the park we got to stop for an adorable bear crossing with a Mama and her cub. I was hanging out the window with my camera like a true, full on Florida tourist!  About 45 minutes  back into the heart of the mountains we pulled off to admire the views, both up and down with a stream, forest and towering glacier above.  We were parked at trail head of “Lunch Creek” which meandered up  and down the gorgeous glacier fed water feature.  Really impressive with the erratic boulders, small waterfalls, lichens, moss, small pools of crystal clear water, and flat rocks to enjoy a peaceful moment.  There were a handful of tourist in the nearby vicinity.  Of course, all i could think about was climbing to the top and suggested we do so.  The trail took us in and out of the forest along the creek, but once we reached the top of the waterfall of the creek, the trail also stopped.  I couldn’t resist not going further and climbing the rocky, bouldery  20ft wall.  This didn’t necessitate rock climbing skills per say, but you definitely wanted to be in shape. After ascending the wall we continued our near vertical climb with a lot of  hand over foot on loose terrain until we reached the first glacier.  Over the ridge were two very healthy mountain goats that kept us in their sites, but didn’t seem bothered and continued their pre winter calorie intake the alpine grasses.  We made it as far as you could go without needing to take some additional gear and safety equipment to climb the very high and large butte above, towering just under 9000 ft.  I have suggested we stay another day to mark our small claim on the top of the butte before leaving.  Having to restrain my “Christopher McCandless” spirit coming out in me…. (In to the Wild – John Krakauer)…

Note to self… “What goes up.. must come down”.. It took us considerably longer to navigate back down, but totally worth the experience! Savannah did awesome as she was in utter bliss and distraction playing with the snow patches outside of the glacier. I still can’t get over climbing up and over and around rocks with out the fear of poisonous snakes like we had while growing up in Missouri.  Instead i was waiting to come face to face with a wild cat!

Post climb we stopped by the visitor center up the road but it was closed for the day, but had a wonderful up and close mountain goat encounter.  She and her baby literally walked right by us on the path!  The tagged goats seemed very tame and used to the overly excited tourist and their cameras.

The ride back to camp was exceptional with the mountain views, sunset lighting and fall foliage which is absolutely stunning right now.  The leaves turned even more brilliant in just a day’s time!  We also had a few more black bear sitings.. they are hard to miss because of the pile of cars stopped on the road like a train wreck with everyone out of their cars filming and taking photos.  NOTE TO TOURIST…. you are supposed to give Bears 100 yards (length of a football field) of space and 25 yards for all other animals…  All of my photos have been taken hanging out of the jeep window and we gave plenty of space to the mountain goats on the hike.  This time of the year the animals are packing in calories and even the smallest disruptions of eating or stress can make a negative impact on their wintering abilities. Not to mention we didn’t feel like being bucked by a goat!

Enjoy your day and happy trails!