Back from Vacation

Yep, that's right. We are back from a great summer at our little place in Choteau, MT. We got to meet a lot of nice, new friends, did some fun stuff, and worked our butts off fixing on the house.

I was very excited about Montana in the summer since I don't like Virginia's hot, humid summers. But this turned out to be an unusual summer in Montana with record setting heat most of the time we were there. And wild fires were springing up all over the place. One, the Fool's Creek fire, was just 35 miles west of Choteau. It was often smokey, the sky was hazzy, and many mornings we woke to ashes and burned pine needles on our outside funiture and car. But hot Montana in the summer is still better than hot Virginia in the summer.

Our new neighbor, June, welcomed us with open arms. She'd lived in her house on Main Ave. many years, and was looking forward to having some nice neighbors like us, from Virginia. June filled us in on a lot of the history to our house, took us out to dinner, and got misty eyed when we left. She's a jewel.

The best purchase I made, early in our stay, was my Montana tractor that I used to irrigate my yard, which was greatly in disrepair.

A lot of construction and changes were made to the house while we were there.

July 4th is the big holiday in Choteau. Activities include a boxing "smoker" (women too), beer keg hockey, a free Willie Nelson concert sponsered by the anonymous donor, David Letterman, a big parade, rodeo, and fireworks. Our house was a popular spot from which to view the parade.

We hiked and took trips to Glacier NP, Whitefish, Butte, and Anaconda. We met real cowboys.

Bottom line, we had a great summer, even though it was hot and smokey. But not nearly as hot as it was when we returned to Virginia.

Speaking of driveaway, I had to get my physical updated and my tow car inspected before I could head out again. I got that done last week and called dispatch to head out this week. But so far, for the first time ever, they don't have anything to put me in. I don't regret it, as hot as it is, but I'm about ready to give it a try again.