Class News

Tony Lavely ’64 flies to Montana to escape COVID-19 in Georgia

September 30

As COVID-19 cases in Georgia got worse and worse, Wanda and I accepted the invitation of our daughter and son-in-law to join them in Big Sky, Montana for two weeks in August. Our other two children were there, too. We were extremely cautious on our flight out. I traded in some of my frequent-flier miles and we went first class. We were last on the plane and first off, wearing K95 masks and goggles the whole time.

Once we got to Big Sky, we were in a single-family ski lodge the whole time, just ten of us. We were right next to the original Crail Family Ranch, circa 1900. We took day trips around Montana (my 48th state) and Wyoming. We spent most of our time in the beautiful outdoors, and mask protocols were much better than they are in Georgia. We sent four cases of our favorite wines ahead of us and cooked all of our own meals, taking turns, and ate them on an outdoor deck.

Every day was some kind of outdoor adventure: hiking, Yellowstone, Ousel Falls, Wade Lake, Big Sky ski lift, rafting on the Yellowstone River, ziplining, and horseback riding. Of course when you’re super active during the day, you gotta eat and drink at night! Rather than describe them all again from scratch, here’s a montage of Facebook posts.