這真是個美好的星期假日，經過了雖長但平穩的飛行，我們終於在星期二抵達了蒙他那(Montana)。爸媽先飛到舊金山與我們會合後，再經由西雅圖(Seattle)到卡利斯佩爾(Kalispell)。 第一晚，我們輕鬆自在的在白魚(Whitefish)享用木頭烤的比薩餅。第二天，我們先去幫每個人(包括女士們)辦釣魚執照，然後在冰河公園(Glacier Park)麥當勞溪(McDonald Creek)的瀑布旁享用了第一個美好的野餐。兩年前，我們也曾和摩爾斯(Moehls)在這兒野餐過。
星期四是到平頭湖(Flathead Lake)釣魚的大日子。我們租了船，有船長兼嚮導。7:30AM開船，爸在7:45就釣上了第一條23吋長的鱒魚。幾分鐘後，媽的魚也上鉤了，是條和爸的差不多大的鱒魚，佩特(Pat)隨後拉上了當天最大的鱒魚，長約24吋，魚還灑了她滿身血水，我們笑她像是剛下晚班的護士。不多久艾利克(Eric)也釣到一條不小的魚，這之後就釣不到多少魚了。大約十點左右，我(Don)才釣到，就在十一點準備開船回來時，第六條魚也上了鉤。這時父親已小睡了至少十五分鐘，我就自動幫忙收取這最後一條魚。當天所釣的六條魚都在20到24吋之間，佩特釣的最大，爸的最早上鉤，而我是釣得最多。
這次釣魚的訣竅是用一種矽做的烏賊釣餌，由40英呎長的重力舷外支架沈入水中，船以1.5英哩的時速緩慢航行。雖然我們放了五條餌，有一釣竿釣了五條，魚似乎比較喜歡紫色的餌。船長的解釋是引魚的顏色都不同，甚至連白色的深淺都可能造成很大的區別。
接下來的幾天，我們每晚都享用甜美的魚，在離開前還可以把剩下一半的魚送鄰居。
我們下一個探幽是經高速公路到太陽路(Sun Road)上的路根(Logan)小徑，在那兒我們充分享受了壯觀的高山景緻。媽、艾利克和我沿著小徑往上走到草原上，爸和佩特在遊客中心附近欣賞風景。我們開媽的玩笑說她走得不夠遠以致於錯過了一群漂亮的山羊，稍後，我們也錯過了一對大角山羊。不論如何，我們對這敞開的高山景色和山林中的松鼠、花粟鼠的自由穿梭，印象真是深刻。
這幾天不但天氣好，我們也著實享受了整天輕鬆的滋味，女士們去逛手織品，男士們在購物中心看表演。大部份的時間我們在看書、看人打高爾夫球，充份的享受這分難得的清閒。雖然北邊有森林火災仍在燃燒，我們這兒只在早上見到一些煙，大約在十點左右，風又將煙吹往北邊去，卻帶來整個下午的豪雨。
星期六，我們特意在人少的傍晚才去打九個洞的高爾夫球。媽也沒先去練習場，就出人意外的，幾乎每球都能打到正中央，爸在最後兩洞才加入，坐在球車上以表示他對打高爾夫球的興趣。
星期天，我們再訪冰河公園，並在森林管理中心參加當地的主日崇拜。是由一位華盛頓州 Tacoma, Wa.來的大西洋路德會大學二年級的女學生主持，與會者有許多是當地人，他們大多住在公園的西邊，很好奇想知道我們從那兒來，並彼此分享故事。在回家的路上，我們停在一個禮品店，買了一些紀念品以茲紀念這次的旅遊。
整個行程都非常愉快。最後一晚，在愛須離(Ashley)湖邊野餐，觀賞野鹿，天南地北的閒聊。我們有充份的時間到處走訪，閒談休息或作一些有趣的事，如爸幫艾利克為下一學期要修的中文作好中文發音的練習，晚間看些錄影帶，聽爸鈙說孩提時的故事。這些回憶將會長久存留在我們的腦海裡，雖然你不能與我們同行，但願這篇文章能讓你分享我們的歡樂。
（本文作者是魏德凱牧師長公子，為美國聯合航空正駕駛）
翻譯/俞一康
What a wonderful week it has been. We arrived in Montana on Tuesday after an uneventful, if long series of flights. Dad and Mom flew to SFO and joined us for the two flights to Seattle and then to Kalispell. We relaxed the first night with wood fired pizza at Truby's Grill in Whitefish. Then, the next day, we set about getting fishing licenses for everyone, including the women, and had our first visit to Glacier Park, with a fine picnic by the waterfall on McDonald Creek, where we picnicked with the Moehls two summers ago.
On Thursday was the big fishing trip on Flathead Lake. We chartered our own boat, with Shorty's fishing service, and had Norm as our captain and guide. We were on the water by 7:30, and by 7:45 Dad had pulled in the first lake trout, a fine 23 incher. Mom's came just a few minutes later, about the same size of fish. Then Pat pulled in what was to be the largest of the day, a 24 inch lake trout that splattered her so thoroughly with blood that we joked that she had just come back from a night of nursing. It wasn't long before Eric had a nice one, and then things slowed down a little. It was perhaps 10 when I got mine and finally, just before we had to motor back, at 11 the sixth lake trout bit.
Dad was catching a nap in the fore-quarters, so I magnanimously pulled in the sixth and final fish. All told, six fish were caught between 20 and 24 inches, with Pat catching the biggest, Dad the first, and I snagging the prize for the most.
The technique for catching was to use silicon jigs called squids, which were held down by heavy outriggers at about 40 feet while we trolled at 1 1/2 miles per hour. Although five lines were in the water, five of the six fish were caught on one pole, the fish preferring its purple jig. Norm explained that the colors which attracted them varied from day to day, and that the tiniest distinction, such as a shade of white, could make the difference.
We ate wonderfully sweet fish most nights for the rest of the week and still had half left to give to our neighbors when we left.
Our next adventure was a trip to Logan Pass up the Highway to the Sun Road, where we enjoyed the spectacular alpine scenery. Mom, Eric and I walked the path up into the meadows, while Dad and Pat enjoyed the scenery closer to the visitor center. Mom was teased by not making it quite far enough to see a beautiful family of mountain goats, and later, we just missed seeing a pair of big horn sheep, but we were all impressed by the open mountain scenery, and enjoyed the many alpine squirrels and chipmunks that scampered about.
These days were followed by a down day of relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. Pat and Mom visited the quilt shop and we caught the Dahlia show at the Kalispell Mall, but mostly we read, watched golfers and took it easy. Although a major forest fire was burning between Columbia Falls and Polebridge, we only got a bit of smoke in the mornings, and by 10 AM, the wind would shift and blow the smoke back north. We only got rain on the day we left.
On Saturday we golfed, playing the first nine in the late afternoon when things were slowing down. Mom was the wild card, and she surprised all of us by hitting balls straight down the center much of the time, without even the benefit of hitting off a practice range. Dad joined us for the last two holes to ride the cart and show his interest how the game is played.
On Sunday we went to Glacier Park and enjoyed a fine, folksy service at the Ranger Center, lead by a Sophomore young lady from Pacific Lutheran College in Tacoma, WA. Many were locals who live in West Glacier, and they were eager to hear where we were from and to share their stories. A bit of shopping at the Huckleberry Patch on the way home helped to fill the need for souvenirs of the trip.
It was an all together enjoyable week. We had a picnic at Ashely Lake, watched deer in the evenings, and sat and talked by the Flathead River on our last night. There was lots of time for visiting, relaxing and having fun. As an example, Dad helped Eric with tones and diphthongs as he readies for his Mandarin Chinese class this quarter. In the evenings we sometimes watched videos, and we had plenty of stories of when Dad was a boy. The memories will last us a good long while. We only wish all of you could have been with us, but, hopefully, this little message will help you to enjoy the time as well.
Love,
Don
（The author of this article is the eldest son of the Webster. He is currently a pilot with United airline. The Plane he flew, the 767,is identical to the one flown into the twin tower on 9/11/01, but God spared him that he was on vacation at that time.）
