The public art in Helena was really cool, but I failed to get any pics of the building murals.
It’s a rare go to the airport, get on a plane, and rent a car trip for us. The first stop was Helena to visit Bill and Patty whom we met in Cortez, Colorado last April. Amy’s dad R, thought it was crazy that we’d visit some folks we barely knew, thinking they might be ax murderers or something. As usual we just laughed at him. We had no doubt we would be compatible.
Bill and Patty have been living in Helena forty plus years. They’ve seen a lot of changes. There’s nothing like having locals touring you around town, telling stories, and guiding you on the trails. We hope one day we can return the favor. After dinner one night Bill had us laughing our asses off with his impersonation of Eeyore. What makes it even better is he’s never watched Winnie the Pooh!
I was surprised by Helena being much more of a progressive city than I imagined. It had that cool funky feel with coffee shops, book stores, and young folks with crazy colors in their hair.
It was never a goal, but after biking in Montana it dawned upon me that we’ve mountain biked in every Western state: Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and of course, California.
As happens now throughout the west, we had really bad smoky skies our first day in town.
We stayed three nights in one of the Lamplighter cabins.
We cut our first ride short due to lightning, thunder, and a little rain. But just as we finished, the wind picked up and the rain came down hard. As we settled down with a beer at Blackfoot River Brewing, it began hailing and the street became flooded. It was quite the event. Even the locals were tripping out.
I don’t think we’d see this in San Diego. When running a tab, the waitress and/or bartender doesn’t take your credit card, instead they give you this little sheet of paper. And every time you get another beer you hand them the paper and they mark it, then when you are done drinking you settle up.
Another thing you’re not going to see in San Diego is Huckleberry in beer. They are cuckoo about it in Montana.
And yet another thing not in San Diego.
News flash! For the first time in 15 years I rode a full suspension geared bike. As advertised, it’s easier and more comfortable, but I’ll be sticking to my singlespeed.
Amelia and Bill on our first ride in the South Hills area.
Day 2, Scratch Gravel area. I’m not used to seeing Amelia in the rented mustard yellow helmet.
Amelia, Patty, and Bill
On the Continental Divide Trail
For lunch one day we had sandwiches at the Staggering Ox. It’s the least messy sandwich ever. The bread is a cylinder with a bottom.
Deer are just wandering the city. To keep the population healthy, every year they cull the herd between November and March. Last year the goal was 250 deer. They trap them, then use a bolt gun to the head. The meat is processed by a local company and donated to Helena Food Share.
Good luck Jon! You’re a decent man.
Helena Civic Center
After our last ride, before we left town, Patty made us a wonderful lunch that included these grilled mozzarella skewers. Baguette finger sandwiches with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, roasted red pepper and fresh basil. We’ll be doing this at home for sure.
Our third ride and my favorite picture of our stay in Helena.
beautiful. That bar tally was hilarious. Good thing they weren’t ax murderers but if they had been you probably could have just jumped on your bikes and hauled ass anyways. Haha, happy to hear it was a great trip.
oh an those mozarella kebabs…brilliant!
😆
Another good blog!!! Planning on going to S Diego to be with Michael for C’mas. Be sure to invite me for those finger sandwiches you said you’re going to make!! (Just kidding but it’d be great to see you 2 again). Gr’son may join us in S Diego……then M. may drive me home again & stay for a few days. Soc Sec. gal (at the top re: benefit requests) called me just as I was leaving to take divorce/marriage papers to S S AGAIN….since the first worker hadn’t put them into the systerm!!!!!!!!! Told you re: that. She made sure I got the royal Rx at S S and had the worker fax copies of both decrees to her immediately. Said I’d be hearing back from them in 7–10 days. Now if I can get things at Vanguard all straightened out I’ll be thrilled. All this cuz Amazon breached my 27 yr old checking acct at SDCCU & I had to get a new acct number that I’ll never be able to memorize. Got $$ back from Amazon. Sending love to both!!! B
yum! Rolled butter….mozzarella skewers….I love food. Montana is beautiful. Glad you had a great trip!
Idaho is just as cuckoo for Huckleberries, looking forward to seeing you guys soon, have a wonderful time in Glacier.
Love Blackfoot’s single malt IPA, one of my favorites!
Really good! Bill, the guy touring us around wanted to be sure I tried it.
Glad you liked it! Hope to see you when you are in Idaho.
That’d be cool
Those sandwiches look delicious! Looks like a great trip so far and we look forward to catching up soon! love you guys!
Thanks Sharon!
Nice! Looks like another awesome, adventurous trip..thank you for sharing!
Always cousin, thanks!
Montana use to be a great state but has drastically changed over the years. I disagree with you on Jon Tester. He needs to be thrown to the wolves, literally. Gray Wolves are majestic animals and fit into the apex predator level. Killing off these animals so that Joe cattle rancher can make more money on the market is not the answer. Hopefully he will lose his seat and Montana can be the wild frontier of old. Enjoy your travels , and enjoy the wilderness and the wildlife. Hopefully you will be lucky enough to see a healthy pack of wolves unblemished, running free as they should before Tester’s culling measures take them away.
Montana is a special place! Our youngest lived in Big Sky for 3 years and now Bozeman – mountain biking and snowboarding. We secretly hope she ends up there because we love visiting so much!
Really nice place to visit! Thanks for the comment Jules