Lewis & Clark Days Celebration
Each year the people of Cut Bank, Montana commemorate and celebrate the fact that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark spent time in the area in their exploration of America (an expedition which, fittingly enough, began in Pittsburgh, PA); and this year's celebration was this past weekend.
The fact that they named the spot where they camped in the Cut Bank area "Camp Disappointment", or that the only armed conflict that the Corps of Discovery had with natives occurred here (I have it on good authority that Meriwether shot a native in the back as the native attempted to steal Meriwether's horse) is not the sort of thing to get in the way of a fair and parade ~ at least 203 years after the fact.
The entire affair is quintessential Americana ~ and to those of you wags who would look for the humor in that statement I mean it in an entirely positive way ~ with neighbors and friends coming together for some fun. A couple of pictures from the parade to give you an idea of what I mean:
No self-respecting parade neglects to include horses, and to the credit of those who organized this parade these were not the only horses who made an appearance.
This was the first fire truck in the history of the Cut Bank fire department which began as, and continues to be, an all volunteer force.
Each year the city bestows on one of its residents the honor of "Citizen of the Year." The 2009 winner just happens to be our financial advisor Mike Bruch. Despite being a Cleveland Browns fan Mike is a great guy (his wife Linda, who is seated beside him in this picture, is a Steelers fan). And yes, our financial advisor lives in Montana.
The Cut Bank parade featured a number of mammoth pieces of farm equipment which, despite knowing nothing about farming, I found very cool. Of course nothing goes with heavy-duty, potential lethal farm equipment quite like Bud Light (look closely).The fair portion of the celebration included, amongst other things, a tattoo artist (the airbrushed variety) and the kids decided to get tatted-up:
Their mother would be so proud!Our Co-pilot flies the coop
It would be just like me to openly question just how much of a role my "co-pilot" has played on this trip ~ after all the hotels have all been pre-arranged, as have many of the other specifics ~ but without Christine who would have ensured that my glove compartment is still filled with napkins and pre-moistened hand wipes?
Despite having gobs of vacation time still available, Christine had to head home to go back to work for about ten days. So, this past Friday I drove her to the airport in Great Falls. She made it home safely, and after having worked for most of the day Saturday she took Sunday off. I received a text message from her a short while ago indicating that she is feeling a little neglected.
Fortunately for all of us Christine will rejoin the vacation for its final days ~ a celebration of her birthday in San Francisco.
Two Medicine Lake
Prior to Christine's departure we took a trip to "the park." At home when people speak of going to the park it typically features a swing set and slide. Here in Montana when one references "the park" it features Ponderosa Pine, numerous lakes, and some glacier ice. In Cut Bank "the park" is Glacier National Park.
Whenever we visit in the summer we never fail to take a trip to the park, and this time we visited the Two Medicine portion of this beautiful area. We had a picnic lunch, took a boat tour of Two Medicine Lake (a name which has native origins, as you might expect), and drank in the natural beauty and the preternatural quiet which I could have wrapped myself in for hours. Here are some pictures from that visit:
There is more to tell (e.g. the Puppies, baking, etc), but this post has gone on much longer than I had originally intended. I'll save the rest for an update later in the week.
As always, thanks for checking in!
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