Last City, Missoula...Last Post

(There is a video in this post.  Email folks may want to go to the web version.  Click HERE.)
 
These shots are all in and around Missoula.  We took a short day trip south, but in town mostly.

Missoula is the home of the University of Montana Grizzlies. Their boosters & the shops that feed them are everywhere.

Here's the ultimate biker Grizzly fan.

The mountains seem to be pouring in towards town.  Here's the inevitable "M" from downtown, above the pedestrian in the crosswalk.

And the mountains also pouring in out in the neighborhoods as we go for an apres-sushi dessert.  It was a lovely evening, cool after several weeks of a heat wave (for Montanans, that's temps in the mid-90's).  Families were driving or walking the dogs and the kids, loading them up with DQ goodies.  Small doggie cones are free, good marketing.

Our hotel b'fast is so bad & the internet is so slow (we're moving to our apt. tomorrow) that we're breakfasting at the local Einsteins.  So I'll try to upload that Yaak Falls vid.  Sorry for the downstream lack of focus.  This is only a point & shoot camera.  A videocam would do a better job but this little pocket critter (a hand-me-down from Susanne) is the most photographic equipment I'm willing to lug on trips.

Back to Missoula.  This is most definitely GOP/NRA country but here's a lonely petunia in the onion patch.

That day trip south took us to Hamilton.  The road parallels the Bitterroot Range and the Bitterroot River.  The mountains seem to be just over there.  Susanne has been taking mountain & sky photos for weeks.  Now she's interested in old out buildings.  But those are the Bitterroots behind.  You can still see the Glacier fire haze.

One last small town Montana main street shot...Hamilton, Bitterroots backdrop.

Everywhere in MT are art and pictures with scripture quotes.  Once in a while, we see a more modern take...this sign in a Hamilton cafe where we had a snack.

 
We left the motel & moved to our last digs b4 we leave on Tuesday.  It's called Rattlesnake Cottage, named for the neighborhood & a creek that flows a couple of blocks away.  The mountain is also a few blocks distant, but every time I step out of the place & look at them, they seem a little bit closer.

The door has an entryway leading to another door into the cottage.  I think it's a winter coldlock.

Directly beyond the 2nd door is the dining area.  The low portion on the left is the kitchen & behind the kitchen is the bathroom.  On the right is a very nice, high-ceilinged bedroom/living room combo.  In photos the cottage looks old, but it is fresh & well kept up.

The decor & furnishings take us into a time warp, the 1950's or so.  Wicker furniture, chrome & Formica kitchen table/chairs.  Our own private elk antlers.  Without them, you ain't Montana but we're grateful the rest of him was dispersed elsewhere.

In the kitchen, I reached for this smallish white box wondering if the landlady put a fresh block of ice in it for us.  Found no ice, but some warmish coils attached to the back that somehow keep the contraption cold inside.

To see the rest of the cottage before we added our clutter, click HERE and take a tour at the rental website.  Click on the many thumbnails below the big photo.

As we settled in, Susanne found a use for the antlers.  Okay, we're being a bit goofy.

Took a walk in the 'hood.  A neighbor would rather put up with a driveway obstruction than cut down an old tree.  Yaaay!

That's an awfully realistic looking front yard statue.  Wait!!  It moved.  That's not a statue!

We are constantly impressed by the kindness & courteousness of Montanans.  They're easy to chat up & full of smiles even if only eye contact is made.  At the Dairy Queen we visited with a mother & son, he's studying mechanical engineering at NAU, home for the summer.

The restaurant servers knock themselves out to accommodate us with such cheerfulness.  The other night in a very nice but crowded Italian restaurant we were seated under an AC vent blasting chilled air...even I was uncomfortable.  When we asked in as nice a way possible to be seated at another table, the hostess & the server formed a committee to personally take charge & find us a table we liked.  All with smiles & dedication.  At restaurants, every request is filled with amazing good nature.  (One of my failings: When the server is at the table asking if there's anything else we need...mind freeze!   A moment later when they're gone...mind thaw...we need something.  But it's always done happily.)

And those Montana drivers...  First of all, they take pedestrians crossing the street (whether in a crosswalk or not) very seriously.  Step off the curb & the traffic stops.  It's almost embarrassing.  When I'm backing out of a space, whether on a busy street or in a busy parking lot, they stop & wait.  Try THAT in the Costco parking lot

Last night in a very nice French restaurant five ladies at the next table were obviously having a wonderful time.  As the group finished dinner and was getting up to leave, Susanne mentioned to them that they seemed to be enjoying themselves.  While the others happily acknowledged the comment, one lady hung back.  She asked us where we were from and where we'd been, said she worked at the University, mentioned that she was from Tucson years ago and kept telling us how glad she was that we were in Montana and Missoula. That's Montana for you.

Love this state!!!

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Several times during our stay, we've walked past this forlorn but weather-protected piano out on the sidewalk but tonight after dinner, a nice young man was making beautiful music.  I wonder if his name is Sam.

Last day in town.  Couldn't resist this sign.

Montana is loaded with craft breweries.  Many restaurants have only a beer & wine license which probably contributes.  So lots of these beers on tap.  We found a particular brew, Scotch Ale we really like.  It's dark, darker than Negra Modelo or Newcastle Brown Ale, but not as dark as stout.  Has a rich flavor, not bitter...hope we can find it in AZ.

We like Missoula, third largest city in MT.  But still like Bozeman better...smaller, more compact, less traffic, accommodations right downtown.

This is it...last post, last comment.  Hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride.  We're looking at returning to Bozeman for two weeks next summer, staying mostly in town.  I'm thinking of us also taking a long weekend in the spring (maybe around a Bozeman tango event), since the airfares and travel times are so reasonable.  Susanne thinks I'm nuts to consider a trip during the cool & rainy season, but then we may be among the few tourists in town.

Bye for now!!!