Today I drove to Dupuyer (Doo Poo Yer) on US Hwy 89 north of Choteau. It’s about 85 miles northwest of Great Falls and it is a stunning drive.
I saw lots of motorcycles on this highway – think lots of curves, rolling foothills and the spectacular Rocky Mountain front to the west. It’s hard to keep your eyes on the road sometimes!
The annual Dupuyer Grizzly Day was today. We missed the pancake breakfast but got there in time for the parade at 11am. It’s almost like two parades – they go south on the highway, then turn around and go back! Each is a bit different because a little highway traffic manages to get interspersed in the parade route.
I’m not sure how many people live in Dupuyer but it isn’t many. Today the population probably tripled.
Dupuyer is in Pondera County and there were some parade entrants from Conrad (county seat) also one entry from Pendroy (cool looking fire truck).
After the parade the crowd moved over to the park, just off the main street (which is also the highway).
I visited with one young boy who sold me a ticket to chicken bingo.
I didn’t see the chicken but I saw the bingo board and somehow I was sure when that chicken pooped it would land on number 23. Well, that’s where I put my money. And, that’s where I lost my money. Darn chicken.
Oh well, it’s all for a good cause and it was fun watching the chicken and waiting for the moment of bingo.
It was warm today, upper 80s for temps in Dupuyer, and a breeze. That made it perfect weather for the annual Grizzly Day. The community also does an annual play – some fun events in this little town.
Here’s another entrant in the Grizzly Day parade. The stagecoach is really a work of art. And, you gotta love that bright red color!
The stagecoach was pulled by two beautiful Belgian horses. Inn Dupuyer Bed & Breakfast owns the stage and they gave free stagecoach rides all afternoon.
I was pretty impressed that all of the horses in the parade behaved so well – sometimes the crowd gets them riled and they are pretty jittery. Not today though.
I took a bunch of photos of the parade and I’ll show a few more in my next blog entry.
Today was a perfect stroll through life in a small rural Montana town. When I ate lunch I sat and watched people – everyone seemed to know everyone (and their kids), and there were lots of smiles and great laughter.
It was one fine day in Dupuyer.