To be honest, I had been having a “not so great” day last week. Things did get better though – here’s my story. I had a few things to get done in the office in the morning but I was eager for a road trip. I drove east on US Hwy 87 as far as the small town of Windham, then turned south and headed to Utica. My goal – drive south of Utica on … Read more
A few weeks ago, after a nice stretch of spring-like weather, I proudly picked up my snow shovel and marched it back to my garage. That snow shovel was put away for the summer and I wouldn’t even think about it until November. Fast forward a couple of weeks and the words of my late grandmother echoed in my mind – you can’t tell the weather by looking at a calendar. Truer words have never been spoken! … Read more
What a grand celebration idea for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks for their 75th anniversary. Tonight they held a concert at Giant Springs State Park on the east edge of Great Falls. I had seen the information in the newspaper and I really like to support different events like this. But, I was lucky to have overnight family guests all weekend and I had a ton of things I thought I needed to get done before … Read more
This morning I looked at my schedule, then at the weather forecast, and I became a bit grumpy. The morning weather looked good but in the afternoon we were supposed to see clouds rolling in, some wind and a chance of thunderstorms. I had two meetings that would break up my morning with not enough time to drive out to Ryan Dam to do photos. Fortunately, my grumpiness didn’t last long because one meeting was … Read more
I drove downtown in Great Falls the other day to see if I could catch the crew hanging greens, lights and lightpole decorations. It was mid afternoon and there were a fair amount of cars, probably doing last minute errands before Thanksgiving. I finally spotted the crew but had to circle the block before I found a parking space. The weather was absolutely beautiful for November – very little wind and mild temps which, in … Read more
First of all, I’m going to talk about an event I haven’t been to yet. Usually I write about where I’ve been but this one is too good to not give some advance notice to! The Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls will be the site of “Star Party Extravaganza 2012 – Mission to Mars” Friday, November 16. Star “parties” are held periodically at the interpretive center but this one gives a special nod … Read more
Whenever I mention the very little town of Virgelle I can always tell if someone has been there. Usually I get a puzzled look that says they’ve never heard of the place! Well, my favorite expression is that there are three exits to the little spot known as Virgelle. Seriously, if you are driving on US Hwy 87 between Fort Benton and Havre you’ll have three options to turn and travel about eight miles to get … Read more
A few weeks ago I was in Havre and took this photo of a sculpted buffalo in Havre’s Town Square. In case you are wondering, Havre’s school mascot is not a buffalo (its a blue pony) but a local group worked to place this buffalo sculpture in a visible location to beautify the area. Once a rather run-down looking block in the center of Havre, this area was transformed to be a Town Square. Weekly … Read more
As I drove to the post office in downtown Great Falls today I couldn’t believe my eyes! A horseback rider was riding east on 1st Avenue North, then he turned over to 2nd Avenue North and rode across the Cascade County Courthouse lawn. I would like to point out that the rider and his two horses in tow observed all traffic signs and stop lights! What a sight to see! If this was during your … Read more
On a recent visit to the Highwood Bar in Highwood, MT I grabbed my camera and snapped a few quick photos of this iconic bar/steakhouse. If you aren’t from the area and want a geographic description of the location I tell people that Highwood is located between Belt and Fort Benton or you can turn off US Hwy 87 sooner if departing from Great Falls. It’s a beautiful drive, some varied geography and rolling crop and … Read more