Back in Black

Please, don't molest the animals people.

So, I've been back for, gosh, a couple of weeks now. I had a snowy, yet enjoyable drive around Montana and Wyoming. Beautiful. Following my time in Billings, MT and Sheridan, WY, I set off for Virginia City, MT. This tinnie-tiny mountain town is an old ghost town about 1.5 hours northwest of the west entrance of Yellowstone. I drove to the north entrance of Yellowstone because I heard it would be the easiest route, and being that it was still winter (yes, in April) in those parts, I didn't want to take my chances.

I decided about 20 minutes in that I would not take the long route around the park. It was snowing, like really snowing. I was driving a Sentra. It was sketchy. However, I had to see Old Faithful. I didn't come all this way just to see a few bison and a lot of trees. So I drove and drove in the snow. I parked. I walked up, and just as I did I heard, "oooooh" and "aaaahhhhhh." I arrived just in time to see everyone walking away. Annoyed kinda describes how I was feeling. It would be another 40 minutes before she blew again. So I waited. I had some terrible coffee and an even worse blueberry muffin that may have ruined my penchant for blueberry muffins for life.

Old Faithful was pretty cool, but I think the baby bison I saw may have tied for 1st. I just wish that I would have seen the warning about bison charging people - and hurting them very badly - before I took the file footage and photos at very close range. Oops.

I drove on to Virginia City. The drive was amazing and would have been even better if I wasn't terrified for my life and griping the steering wheel with white knuckles. The snow was coming down pretty good and the Sentra was, well, a Sentra. "Oh for a gas-guzzling 4X4, " I thought.

If you have a chance to go to Virginia City, please do. It feels like an olde-tyme movie set, but it's all straight from the way-back-whens.














I finally made my way, in the rain this time, past Helena to Great Falls. Here, I stayed in another 5 star hotel with complementary spa treatments and delicious free drinks. Nothing but the best for us Feds. OK, it was a Comfort Inn, but man did it have a great view...picture provided below.

Great Falls looks and feels like a Midwestern city...but not really a good one. It needs some work, but hopefully our teams will "get things done" while there and make their world a better place.

If you are in Sheridan, WY; Virginia City, MT; Great Falls, MT; Salt Lake City, UT; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA, or anywhere in the Gulf, go see our teams! Bring them cookies! They work hard and would love to get a "thanks" from the communities they are serving from mid-June to mid-July.

This Sunday, I head to Jackson, MS, which, if you've never gone, you sure are missing out.