After spending 12 hours on the road Wednesday we bedded down at the KOA in Missoula. Western Montana is beautiful country, so it seemed like a no-brainer that the KOA there would be comfortably situated in the most scenic area of Missoula (we stayed at a KOA near Glacier National Park two years ago and it was incredible). And it most likely was… 20 years ago. It was a little disheartening to unwind in an uncharacteristically crowded campsite after being cramped in a vehicle for so long. Not only was each Kabin nearly on top of the next, but the entire campground was sandwiched between a trailer court, a condo development and a shopping mall. It’s like the community had absorbed the campground. For us Midwestern flatlanders who feel crowded with a population density of two people per square mile we couldn’t leave fast enough.
It’s interesting how kids can be oblivious to the world around them. The things that you would think they would be embarrassed about doing in public don’t even phase them… like throwing a screaming tantrum in the middle of the mall. Other times the most ‘invisible’ thing will become the focus of their self-consciousness… like insisting on wearing non-athletic black shoes with sweatpants because white athletic shoes ‘don’t look good with sweats’ (what?!). I suppose adults can be just as unreasonable at times, but certainly our two worlds seldom are in sync with one another. That’s all part of the fun.
I wouldn’t consider myself a world traveler or anything but I’ve flown a few times since the TSA upped its security at airports. One thing I haven’t gotten used to is the demoralizing process of taking your shoes off to walk through airport security. There’s something very vulnerable about being barefoot. In the same breath, I’d rather traipse about in my stocking feet for a few minutes than risk climbing aboard an aircraft with some psychopath who is skilled at concealing weapons of mass destruction in his penny loafers. In the name of safe travel, I guess I’ll unlace.