​We've ended our travels and all boys and leaders are safely home. We're also already signing up boys for 2017. This was our first year without the boys packing electronics. I know it was difficult for the boys (and for some parents) and I'm sure their vote would be to return to the old days of bring what you wish (phones, tablets, you name it). But for the first time in years, boys were actually tuned into something else.
 
They looked at the scenery more, they talked with each other more, they played card games, they read, some would even sing. They definitely got to know each other and themselves better. They built more self confidence in that they had to entertain themselves on occasion rather than just turn on their electronics.
 
It was great to see that they still could do all of these things.
 
Leader Andy Lammers said, "Good call on no devices. You gave the kids a gift with that decision."
 
I agree and I think most parents would as well.
 
Here's a link Andy shared that parents might appreciate:
​mobile.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/technology/personaltech/whats-the-right-age-to-give-a-child-a-smartphone.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur&referer=https://t.co/Qy1nrGBNrP

The day started early with our wake-up call at 6. Boys were on time with their luggage and we had rooms inspected and keys collected and check-out completed by 6:40. We were at the airport right when we planned to be (7 AM) and had a smooth processing of baggage and seat assignments. Boarded the plane on time, and then the slow down began.
Apparently there was an issue with the cargo nets and that caused us to have a 90 minute delay out of Jackson. We made it to Minneapolis-St. Paul late, of course, but they were holding the plane for us. That’s a major advantage of having a group. The Charlotte arrival wasn’t too late, but about 25% of the boys and leaders didn’t have their luggage. It will arrive tomorrow, delivered to our homes. All but a minor inconvenience.
 
But that’s the boring stuff.
 
We had an incredible trip. This group of 25 boys have had experiences that will leave them with memories that will last a lifetime. They’ve hiked in some of the most incredible country in the world. We went on a trail ride by horseback, rafted a river, observed natural features that couldn’t help but impress. They went to a rodeo, had tours at museums, visited historic sites, and ate a lot of food. Yes, a lot of junk food…but some healthy stuff too! They went swimming, experienced a chuck wagon dinner along with a cowboy music show, saw wildlife they haven’t seen before such as elk, black bear, moose, antelope, and more.
 
Some learned how to keep motel rooms neat, others not so much. Most kept up with hotel keys, but a few are still looking.
 
They did a lot of souvenir shopping. They bought a lot of knives. They made some new friends and learned a little more about some of their older friends. They also learned a bit about taking care of themselves without parents along. For most of the boys, this was their longest time away from home.
 
Oh, and they learned to live without electronics. It wasn't easy, but the boys found other ways to use all that time: playing cards, reading, talking, looking at scenery, being funny.
 
And boys learned a lot about themselves. They all gained in self-confidence.
 
They also practiced common courtesies such as taking their hats off for dinner, saying please and thank you. They earned some treats for compliments from strangers.
 
And of course, they had a good time. We all had a good time. A trip like this can only be appreciated by those experiencing it, but we hope these Facebook and blog postings have at least given you a taste of what the MTA life is like.
 
A huge thanks to Howard Yarborough, Andy Lammers, Don Silleman, and Andy Clack for their devoted help in making these trips work. And of course, thanks for your friendship. You guys made it all come together.
 
Hope we’ll see a bunch of these boys next year!
 
And now, enjoy the rest of your summers.

Click the link to see photos from the past summer:
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/

​It’s time to slow down a bit after being on the go for the past two weeks. We let the boys sleep in today. They’ve been up late most nights though we really haven’t gotten them up all that early. It will be different tomorrow as we head to the airport.
 
After our late wake-up and even later breakfast, we drove over to the National Elk Refuge Visitor Center to get passports stamped. And then, finally, the boys were given some time to explore Jackson (which means shopping) in small groups. The only other time they were given this was for a 30-minute period when we were in Cody. Boys got money for lunch and could choose their own “dining experience.”
 
After a couple of hours in downtown Jackson, we headed out for our afternoon activity which was our ever-popular bowling tournament. Bowling has just returned (last week) to Jackson after a fifteen-year absence so we were some of the first to use the lanes.
 
Nicholas Stanier was the overall bowling winner and takes home the big bucks. Other first place winners for winning in their lanes were Tres Bauknight, Cullen Jorgensen, Jackson Lammers, and Hayden Waters. They also came away with some extra dough. And second round lane winners were Bennett Slosman, Tom Moser, James Morton, and Sam Odom. They too took home some bucks! It was a fun afternoon.
 
We enjoyed our last seated dinner tonight at Sidewinders American Grill, which Mac and Weston saw featured last week on “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” Everyone gave it two-thumbs up. We had a light ice-cream treat to finish our meal and then returned to swim and pack up.
 
We hope to get boys to bed early tonight. This time tomorrow, they should be safely in their own beds. And they’re ready!
 
It has been a wonderful trip filled with experiences these boys and leaders are sure to remember for a lifetime.
 
Thanks for following our journey.

Click to see photos from today's activities:
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157668455465554

​Heading Home…with a stop in Jackson
 
We left Dubois this morning after a later than usual wake-up call. Actually, the wake-up call was the friendly MTA staff handing out “deluxe” and “regular” breakfasts in bed. There was a lot of excitement as the boys were delivered their breakfasts. They were laughing and smiling; so were the leaders. Deluxe meant it was more of a civil delivery whereas the regular breakfast was more of a “catch this” method of delivery. Boys earned the deluxe breakfast by entering the third contest of the season.
 
After room inspections (we do this after every stay) we packed the luggage and loaded the vans and headed back toward Jackson.
 
Our first stops were just a minute down the road. We had to experience the MTA tradition of taking photos of the boys (well, all but one) riding one of the famous Wyoming jackalopes. A jackalope, in case you haven’t heard of this, is a cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope. The boys actually enjoyed this chance to pose! The next stop was next door as the kids posed for a group photo in front of the world’s largest bison skull. We were having a lucky day finding these famous roadside attractions.
 
We pulled out of Dubois and headed toward Jackson. We went adjacent to a forest fire that has been burning for several weeks. The boys were fascinated with all the activity including seeing two large helicopters dipping water out of the Wind River.
 
The drive to Jackson was absolutely stunning. Virtually all of it was wilderness with incredible views of the mountains. We stopped twice for photo ops – one of a view of the Grand Teton National Park and another of the Park with the Snake River in the foreground. We made one more stop at the Grand Teton National Park visitor center to get passports stamped before continuing into Jackson.
 
We checked into our hotel after lunch and the boys had swim and hot tub time before it was time to load up for our evening activity – a visit to the Bar J Ranch. The Bar J is a working cattle ranch that serves an authentic cattle drive kind of dinner. This place has been a favorite of MTA since our very first days and we enjoy coming here with each trip to Wyoming. The Bar J serves up beef and ribs and can rustle up a mangy chicken for those who want that. The place serves hundreds in an orderly fashion that would amaze you. The cowboys who are checking you off as you arrive, will also be seen serving food, and when the plates are cleared from the tables…they are the entertainment! Five of the cowboys are “singing cowboys” and they put on one fantastic show including cowboy music, cowboy poetry, and cowboy humor. They sing in three-part harmony, yodel, tell jokes, and more. You might not think a bunch of 12-15 year olds would like this, but they loved it!
 
And that’s the end of another amazing day. 

Click to see photos from today's activities:
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157670622635861

​Lots of small adventures today that added up to a lot of fun. We started with a short drive from Riverton to Lander, WY for a visit to Sinks Canyon State Park. We had a really neat (and short) hike down to where Popo Agie River drops through a cave and disappears. And then, after taking a another short hike we could see where the river re-emerges in a pool filled with huge trout. The boys could purchase fish food for a quarter and managed to add a pound to each of the waiting trout. It was a really beautiful park and a nice find. We had lunch in Lander and then started our drive toward Dubois.
 
Along the way we stopped at a Native American cemetery that includes the gravesite of Sacajawea, the Native American who helped guide Lewis & Clark in their explorations of the West. The boys were fascinated by the gravesite and the memorial. Sacajawea’s grave was covered with all kids of small trinkets that people left as a tribute.
 
We returned to Lander for lunch and then continued the drive to Dubois for our night’s stay. Before checking into the hotel we visited the National Bighorn Sheep Center where we had a docent waiting to give us an introduction. After her intro and a video, the boys toured the museum and of course, visited the gift shop.
 
We checked into the Stagecoach Motor Inn and made arrangements for dinner. A crew of leaders scouted out restaurants that could handle us and we ended up with a nice place right across the street. We got their menu, took orders, and then boys got to swim or use the hot tub until time to go over for dinner.
 
There was free-choice time after dinner. Some boys went swimming and using the hot tub, others played basketball, a handful chilled in their rooms, and some loved making a dam in the Wind River right behind our motel.
 
It was a great day. Lots of boy fun. I can’t believe we’re down to our last handful of days.

Click to see photos from today's activities.
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​Started our day with a docent-guided tour at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody. Our group was divided into two groups with one half starting with an overview of William F. Cody and the other group hearing about the Plains Indians. We then joined together for a group discussion of early firearms of the West. The boys got to handle several classic guns and they loved this. After the guided tour, boys were able to go explore one of the major sections of the museums including the Cody Firearms Collection, natural history of the West, Western art, and more. Three boys spent their free time at a “birds of prey” program that included live raptors that are non-releasable because of injuries, etc.
 
After this museum we went back to the Buffalo Bill Dam. Eight of the boys had visited it yesterday but today we went so that some boys could buy a “passport book” for the National Park System. We now have a bunch of boys who have a copy of this great souvenir. All units in the National Park System have a dated rubber stamp and boys can stamp their books each time they visit a park. We weren’t able to find them in the big parks like Grand Teton & Yellowstone because this special 2016 NPS Centennial edition was sold out. I have a version I purchased over 20 years ago, but I too wanted this special edition.
 
After lunch we departed Cody for Riverton. We drove through the Wind River Indian Reservation and the Wind River Canyon. The views were amazing. It wasn’t all that long of a drive, but as usual it takes our group a long time to travel just because a simple bathroom break takes a lot longer than you might expect. There is virtually no broadcast radio signal along many of our drives and we only have one CD to listen to that camper Andrew Cooter brought along. So now that we’ve listened to it about ten times it’s really cool to hear many of the boys singing along to the CD. And actually, singing in tune!
 
We arrived in Riverton around 5 PM and checked into our hotel. Boys had time to just relax and a handful went swimming in the indoor pool. A couple of boys discovered the hotel guest computer and were happily checking baseball scores and stats. That’s fine with us…after all, they had to give up their electronics. And how’s that going? Pretty well actually. Boys are talking with each other more, playing games, inventing games, etc. I know the first thing many of them will do when they get home is check their phones for texts. But at least for this two weeks they have learned to leave it behind.
 
It was another great day.

Click to check out photos from today's activities.
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157670537900961

​This was a day of variety. It started with a choice activity between trail riding by horseback or visiting the Buffalo Bill Dam. Seventeen boys chose to go on the horseback ride. I mean, this IS cowboy country! They were matched with a horse and got saddled up. We found out that the head wrangler was also a rodeo cowboy and there was a chance he would be riding in the Cody Rodeo later that night. (He didn’t.) All the boys enjoyed their ride up into the country above Cody. We’ve used this same outfitter since 2006 and have always had good rides.
 
The other group of boys enjoyed a visit to the Buffalo Bill Dam. The dam was originally built to provide water for irrigation for thousands of acres of farm land in the Cody region and was eventually outfitted to provide electricity. At the time it was built (around 1910), it was the tallest dam in the world. A couple of boys were finally able to buy their US Parks Passports and I bought one too.
 
Lunch at Arby’s was next and then we drove a few minutes to Heart Mountain Interment Center. We watched an orientation movie and then had a docent answer questions and get us started on a tour of the center. Heart Mountain was home to over 14,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II. The boys were so attentive and had such good questions that the docent gave them a compliment…which means a treat is coming their way. The group picture was taken in front of a guard tower.
 
We returned to our hotel around mid-afternoon for either chill time or swim time. Two of our campers, Nick Browne and Cullen Jorgensen, had a reunion with Neil Adams from Red Lodge, MT. Neil was with Nick and Cullen (and me) last summer when we were in Europe. It was great to see him again.
 
We went to downtown Cody (just a couple of blocks from our hotel) and the boys finally had time to do a little shopping in small groups. I know they enjoyed this first taste of “freedom.”
 
Dinner was at a Chinese buffet and the boys loved it. We got our money’s worth there.
 
We finished the day by going to the Cody Night Rodeo which takes place every night of the summer. During the break, kids 12 and under have their own rodeo event. They get to run after a calf (poor calf) and attempt to get the ribbon off of its tail. There were dozens of kids participating including several MTA boys. And…our own Tripp Teague won. He got gift certificates for a trail ride and a treat at Dairy Queen. It has been over 25 years since the last MTA campers snatched the ribbon.
 
It was another fun and fulfilling day.
 
Click to see photos from the day’s activities.
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157668326055934
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​This was a travel day as we “broke camp” in Gardiner, MT to head for two nights in Cody, WY. Yellowstone National Park is massive, covering nearly 2 ¼ million acres so of course we only scratched the surface. But we wanted to make our four days there last, so we stopped at Mammoth-Hot Springs on the way out for a walk along the boardwalk to get some views of various geothermal features. Then we boarded our vans for our trip toward the east entrance through Lamar Valley where we were treated to a view of an estimated 1,000 bison in the valley below. It was absolutely stunning to watch. Pictures can’t begin to show the views we experienced. I only hope the sights and sounds of Yellowstone will resonate in the boys’ memories for their lifetimes.
 
We left Yellowstone and traveled along the Beartooth Scenic Highway up to Cooke City, MT and then turned toward Cody on the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway. We made a few stops to enjoy the scenery. This was the weekend of a huge Harley-Davidson bike rally in Red Lodge, MT so we encountered hundreds of bikers along the way.
 
The highlight of the Chief Joseph Scenic Highway was stopping at Dead Indian Pass – 8,000 feet above sea level. There we saw some amazing views and a bunch of chipmunks. It was 59 degrees F up there and with a stiff wind…it felt much colder.
 
We arrived in Cody around 5 PM, checked into our hotel, and made arrangements for dinner. We enjoyed an “all-you-can-eat” buffet of “country food” and then returned to the hotel to chill and/or swim. During this time, a brave group of camper volunteers (Robert, James, and Andrew) helped leaders Mark and Howard do all the laundry for 30 people. It was no easy task, but it’s done!
 
And that’s the story on another MTA day!

Click to see photos from today's activities.
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​It’s the half-way mark of our trip, but we’re just warming up.
 
Today we decided to focus our energy on choosing activities close to our base in Gardiner, MT instead of driving two and a half hours to the more well-known attractions of Yellowstone. It was a wise decision. We left the crowds behind.
 
We stopped at a convenience store first to gas up the vans and to let the boys get their lunch from Subway to take with us. They definitely like this as a big change of having a trail lunch.
 
Our first stop was at the Petrified Tree, just about 30 minutes out of Gardiner. Some boys read the interpretive sign about how the tree came to be petrified and others just enjoyed walking around the fenced-in area.
 
Our second activity stop was at Tower Falls where the group hiked to a view of the falls. That was only about 175 yards. Then most decided to continue to hike to the Yellowstone River below and followed the trail along the river for a couple of miles. A big treat was getting a chance to see mountain goats high up on the side of the mountain. The group included four babies. It was a perfect time to pull out binoculars and a few boys got some amazing photos. They had that Subway lunch down by the river.
 
We returned to the trailhead to continue our van journey down about five minutes to Tower Junction where we made a stop at Roosevelt Lodge. This is probably the smallest “lodge” accommodations in Yellowstone National Park. I’ve stayed in the tiny Rough Rider cabins that have been a part of this “lodge” area for more than half a century. That always brings back fond memories of the many trips I’ve taken to Yellowstone. We bought the boys an ice cream treat for having such great attitudes during the Tower Falls hike. I was treated to a group hug from the boys, which was a much-appreciated surprise. Actually, it’s never happened before.
 
From Roosevelt Lodge we drove a few more minutes to the trailhead to Wraith Falls. This was just a ½ mile hike each way on relatively flat terrain. The 90 ft. falls were beautiful and we were very excited to see otters playing in the pools below the falls.
 
Finally, we drove the final 20 minutes back into Gardiner and stopped on the way to the hotel to have dinner at the “famous” K-Bar. Pizza is the specialty of the house and the boys enjoyed the atmosphere of the old west in this well-known local establishment. Many played a game of pool while waiting for their pizza. Stopping here has been a MTA tradition for at least the past four trips.
 
Finally, we let the boys walk around the shops for a few minutes before having them pose for a couple of group photos.
 
On a side note, today we challenged the boys to get to know someone they didn’t really know before this trip. They had to interview their person and learn at least five facts about him. This was their meal ticket for dinner. We had the boys tell us about their new friends before we allowed them to eat dinner. It was great to see the boys at least try to get to know someone they didn’t know before. We may do this again.
 
And finally, we saw lots of animals today to add to our life lists. Today’s sightings included: bald eagles, elk, pronghorn antelopes, mountains goats, bison, otter, mule deer, and a coyote.
 
It was another wonderful day.

Click the link below to see photos from today's activities.
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157668234273584

Our big activity for today was rafting on the Yellowstone River. We used Montana Whitewater as our outfitter as we did on our last trip here in 2012. The boys and leaders suited up, fitted helmets and life jackets, and boarded the bus to the put-in, about a two minute drive away. There we received a briefing on basic rafting strokes and had their safety talk.
 
The river was mostly in Yellowstone National Park. Along the way, the group enjoyed lots of easy bounces and a few major bumps including one class 3 rapid near the end. One boy did get ejected but was quickly rescued. He loved it. In the quieter sections of the river, our guides made it more interesting by playing some “water games” such as spinning the rafts, splash wars, and had chances to swim in the water which was a bit too cold for most boys.
 
The group did spot two bald eagles flying overhead, which added to the beauty of the rafting trip.
 
The trip was a big success and the boys loved it. Some had never rafted and others were old pros. I feel certain all will want to take a future raft trip.
 
We walked back to the hotel, dried off, and then walked back to the market across the street to buy some snack food. We were planning a large and early dinner and didn’t want to be too full. Unfortunately, most of these boys when given the opportunity to go through a grocery store with some money to buy some snacks and they went immediately to the junk food aisle. They loved it, but that was a one-time experiment!
 
After our “light” lunch, we returned to the hotel for some rest and recreation. A few boys went swimming and others chilled in their rooms.
 
We enjoyed dinner at a diner within walking distance. Hamburgers, elk burgers, and bison burgers are house specialties and many boys chose one of the three. They also had chicken and other choices.
 
Finally, we capped the day with our first drive of the day … this one being a near-dusk ride back into Yellowstone to look for wildlife. We headed for Lamar Valley which in itself is a spectacularly beautiful expanse of wild land. We had eyes opened (even if mouths weren’t shut) looking for wildlife and we weren’t disappointed. We saw dozens of pronghorn antelope, at least 20 elk, hundreds of bison, and….wait for it…a black bear!
 
What an incredible day!

Click the link below to see photos from today's adventures.
www.flickr.com/photos/mindstretch/albums/72157670397309291

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