As for 2018, we're heading back to Montana next week with posts to follow a few days later when we arrive, Missoula first.
See ya then!!
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Hope you all had a great 4th. Ours was super, read on.
It began with a yoga class in Bozeman at 6:30am. Done in an hour, we changed into travel clothes & hit the road to Ennis, a small town about an hour south. The ride is very scenic, typical Montana. It was early so little traffic & no activity.
Arriving in Ennis for our first activity, a community breakfast, we joined a long line. The first food event ran 6:00 to 10:00am, we got there around 8:30. The line moved quickly.
The place seems jammed but there were open places. Three more long tables off camera to the right.
We went through the line and joined the crowd. Food & wifie pic:
Not exactly gourmet, but this breakfast is a fund raiser for the fire & rescue folks, so we're glad to chip in.
Next on the program is the 4th of July parade. Here are a few of the many shots I took.
The crowds are large.
Some of the entries.
Lots of clowns, mostly Shriners.
The inevitable political statement. I don't think he realizes what his multi-colored shirt represents.
And poke fun of California.
Must include this pristine '51 Chevy convertible; back in the early '60's I owned the hardtop coupe version.
OK, parade done in 35 minutes. What's next on the program? Oh yes, the car show.
The car below deserves special mention. Every Wednesday the Wall Street Journal publishes a piece, with photos, of a unique car. The choices are eclectic. About three Wednesdays ago a gorgeous old Buick was the subject. The owner lives near Bozeman. A thought: It would be nice to meet up with this car & its owner, Jerry.
Well, here it is in Ennis, a 1952 Buick two-door sport coupe. That's Jerry back on the right.
Rear view
Under the hood is a modern, super-duper V-8...454 cubes, passes everything on the road but a gas station. (Buicks had straight-8's back then). I don't think Marilyn was part of the original. Jerry is taking the family in the Buick to California next month.
Two more & we're done. A '49 Buick convertible with original straight-8. There was a gorgeous elegance to the late '40's/early 50's cars. But it was all swept away in 1955 when the new styling and V-8's for the low priced three came in.
Some pickups.
OK, we've done breakfast, the parade & a car show. What's next? Lunch! The Lions Club picnic back in town, in the park, also a fundraiser.
The chow line. A burger or a hot dog, beans, potato chips, a watermelon wedge & a drink.
The burger & hot dog production area, manned by Lions (different from "lions").
Nice crowd.
The next activity was in about four hours, the rodeo. By now were were ready to head back to Bozeman so we did.
The road to Bozeman runs along the Madison River for a few miles. If you recall from last year's posts, the Madison is one the three rivers that join to form the Missouri. Those rivers were named by Meriwether Lewis in July 1805. The Jefferson, named after President Jefferson who authorized the expedition. The Madison, after James Madison, Secretary of State (not yet president) and the Gallatin, after Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury (he funded the expedition, also wrote the $3 mil check to Napoleon that bought up this hunk of real estate). By 1805, these guys were all out of office.
(I'm going to digress because I love history. After the Constitution established the presidency, it turns out there was a shortage of top people to serve in the executive branch. We all know Washington was the first president; what we don't think about much is that John Adams was the first VP and both Jefferson & Hamilton served in Washington's cabinet, at that time only four members. When Washington retired, John Adams was elected the 2nd president. His VP was Jefferson. Those two became rivals philosophically & in a bitterly fought campaign, Jefferson beat Adams to become the 3rd; Aaron Burr was Jefferson's first term VP, hmmm. James Madison became our 4th president. Meanwhile time marches on and John Quincy Adams (Adam's son) who gained much experience as his father's assistant & protege in Europe with his father during the Revolutionary War and as Monroe's Secretary of State), became the 6th president and the first of the post RevWar generation. Back to regular programming.)
It turns out the Madison is one of the great recreational rivers in southwestern Montana. It flows from south to north, beginning in Yellowstone National Park & heads north. Rivers usually flow the other way, north to south...the Mississippi, the Missouri. Schoolkids know the major exception, the Nile. Several others are in Montana.
The Madison has two sections, separated by Ennis Lake, near Ennis of course. The section to the north is the lower Madison & the southern section, the upper. Crazy, no?
OK, enough talk, some pics. At this place, flowing through a narrow valley the Madison takes lots of curves, so a long shot up or down river isn't possible. It's a fast flowing river.
It turns out Independence Day is a perfect day for tubing on the Madison and we saw hundreds.
BTW, by the time the Madison joins the other two to form the Missouri, it's down to not much more than a creek.
After returning to Bozeman, we rested up a bit, then went to another farmer's market; this time only 70% arts & crafts. That gave us the opportunity to buy some carrots, huge radishes, lettuce & green onions. What I missed were the lovely farm-grown tomatoes. Turns out it's too early in the season. Years back we did Montreal in late summer & hit the harvest season right on. They have a wonderful farmer's market (no crafts, thank gawd) and if you think Canada is only ice & snow, think again.
That's it for now.
Next post in about two weeks.
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