tess williams

Most people don’t plan a vacation around wildfire season… but when your brother gets assigned to a fire suppression helicopter in Libby, Montana, and it happens to line up with your one weekend off call, you take the stars as a sign. 🚁🔥

My parents (freshly relocated to Spokane) tagged along with the camper my brother lived in last year at a Washington helibase while flying cherry drying missions last year. Because apparently our family vacations come with a side of aviation stories. 😂

Watching my girls crawl around that pop-up camper was pure nostalgia as I spent nearly every weekend of my childhood camping in one with my parents. Full circle moments hit differently.

Also… pretty cool watching my brother live a dream of flying helicopters for firefighting.❤️

Highlights include:

-witnessing my brother's "on-call" life, swinging in a hammock- to blades up in less than fifteen minutes.

-catching the sound of his helicopter from the splash pad and watching him head back to base to refuel then back to the fire- all while Cora screams excitedly waving at her "Cha Cha Ian".

- exploring the Koocanusa and the Kootenai for "toddler-friendly" beaches.