So Falls Great Falls

Sorry so long to post - been busy and the internet here is not as solid as recent spots.

We're in Great Falls, MT. , It's about a 4-hour drive the way we came - not by I-90 but a series of smaller backroads. Steph has developed a morbid fascination with the missile silo sites and spotted about 7-8 of them on the way. And about a half-hour out of Great Falls was one proudly proclaiming itself The First Ace in the Hole - Alpha - 1.

We made it into town for a late late lunch and went to the Pickle Barrel, a local sandwich shop. Think of it as a hole-in-the-wall...without the wall. Mixed reviews from the family on the quality of their meal.

We timed things well to do some local traditions - which is one of the things I love about a 'passing through' trip like this. We stopped by the Great Falls Farmers Market, we let the girls play in Gibson Park and attended a weekly concert by the Great Falls Municipal Band.

It was the girls' first real exposure to that kind of event - as a music teacher I'm ashamed to admit I haven't been able to get them to any kind of kids' concert to get them used to that...so it went...not stellar. Mari was actually okay. She stayed a lot more quiet and even at one point got up and danced around to the music. Now here's my philosophy on that - I don't expect my 5 and 3 year old to sit perfectly still and politely like little old ladies. BUT, I do expect them to be aware of the fact that there is a performance going on and to be respectful of that. So Mari was at least interacting with the music in some form - that's okay. At an outdoor concert especially. Faith on the other hand looked like she wanted to die and tried to ignore the concert by playing with the twins. I had a problem with that. So the upshot is, I need to start exposing them to that kind of situation more often.

ANYway, that was yesterday. Today we went to the Children's Museum of Montana - again, the usual thing on a very small scale, but charming for that reason. Today we are just hanging out in the trailer and letting the girls play on the AMAZING wet playground here at the KOA. PERFECT for girls their age.

Sigh. About this KOA. Very difficult to get a handle on it. The sites are total garbage. Muddy. Small. Cramped. Grass is ragged at best. Lots of plantings but tends to look over-run. All bordered by nasty old railroad ties. And there's an AMAZING view out the back of the campground of the surrounding countryside and the Little Belt Mountains...which no one can see because of all the trees. So it looks and feels awful.

BUT...everything else is amazing. The campstore/office gives away free cookies. They give away free tickets to the local minor league baseball team (which we plan to do tomorrow). They say that anything growing on the trees is ours to pick. The firewood is free. The playground is small, but one-of-a-kind, with tunnels, a tree-fort and swinging bridge. They have free nightly entertainment. The breakfast is cheap and huge and good. The wet playground is fabulous. There's an ice-cream cafe in the office. The bathrooms are immaculate. The staff is friendly and helpful. There's even supposedly a small petting zoo on site, although I haven't found it yet.

So I don't know what to think.

Anyway, that's all for now. More pics will be coming soon. One more day here in Great Falls then on to Glacier.

Matt