Big Day for Lydia

Yesterday was Lydia's baptism and a wonderful day it was. The church had a very good turn out and the service was extra nice. Lydia was dressed in 130 year old christening dress which was the one Louise King was baptized in, and didn't even fuss when the water and oil were placed on her head. Jake and Jerilyn were God parents and Polly and Rob and the grand parents were beaming. Coffee and cake were served at the church and then everyone returned to Linda and Chuck's for a celebration. They planned for 50 and that must have been about the number. The food was great and plentiful, and everybody had a great time.
The smoke situation was not bad at all in Alberton, but as we headed back to our spot in Missoula, the smoke became worse. It was mixed with some clouds and smoke from the local pulp mill which made an ugly soup. About 200 people NE of us were evacuated from their homes. The high sun, heat and wind have made things so dry it's hard to describe. One of the big fires, the Milepost 124 Fire, they believe was started by a vehicle with a bad wheel bearing which disintegrated and the pieces started a number of fires in the grass along the road and it was off the races.
When we got back, our cell phone came to life, and I had a message from Dave Mangold who lives up in St. Ignatius, Mt. Dave lived across Schoolhouse Rd. from us back in Milton and did some baby sitting and dog sitting for us years ago. He and his wife, Marci, are both Physician's Assistants and have allergy practices in Missoula, Kalispel and St. Ignatius. We hopped in the truck and drove the 35 miles north on Rt. 93 to their ranch. They have a couple of dogs, a couple of horses, garages for vehicles and trailers, and a beautiful home on 50 acres at the base of the Mission Mountains. The smoke was so bad up there that the mountains were barely visiable and believe me these are real mountains. They had just returned that day from a trip back to the Jersey shore and Milton. We had not met Marci before. She is a Wyoming girl who has climbed Grand Teton Mountain, so she's right at home in the Montana environment. It was great to catch up with them and see how well they're doing.