The Long Road...Ennis to Varney and Back.

 About an hour outside of Bozeman, passed Norris Hot Springs sits the small town of Ennis. Placed picturesquely along the Madison River against the backdrop of the Gallatin Mountains; Ennis is a portal to time long forgotten by many Americans. 

In 2018 we stumbled upon Ennis with the boys- Rex 2, and Hobie 6 at the time- looking for a bottle of whiskey for camping and something easy to eat. We'd spent the afternoon strolling Main Street, and just letting the boys play. We talk about it all the time, so for Mother's Day this year we made the short trip.

We're not usually proponents of developed camping, but we decided to campervan "in town" as I was running an amended version of the Madison Marathon the following day. We pulled into our campsite along the river around 7pm, still plenty of daylight. Jorge started a fire and we made a simple charcuterie board on the picnic table looking toward the Gravelly Range of the Gallatin Mountains. 

I tend to sleep best in the van, I'm not a great sleeper in general, but for whatever reason I always sleep well in the van. I set my alarm for 5:30am, but we were already starting to wake up to sunrise and sounds of birds. Jorge made coffee and sipped comfortably snuggled in our well used Big Agnes sleeping bags on this cool Saturday morning. I slowly organized my run pack, hydration (Tailwind that expired 2 years ago), nutrition (homemade energy bites, a Spring Energy gel that apparently doesn't do anything- I still like them-, and last Saturday's pancakes with peanut butter... full seed oil), and set out on the long highway from Ennis to Varney....

   

After a sunny 24 miles I found my way back to Ennis and to my guys. We met up at Yesterday's Soda Fountain for a Pattie Melt on Rye, lots of French Fries, and a Chocolate Malt. We spent the afternoon once again strolling the streets and fly shops of Ennis. It wasn't really the hallmark card Mother's Day; there was no brunch, spa, or flowers, but it was perfect...  absolutely perfect.