Life in Montana is harsh for the most part... 9 months of winter, 40 below zero at times, dark winters... harsh.
But summer in Montana is wonderful!! I think it makes it worth it all.
We have some great plans for this summer... go to the lake with some friends on the Fourth of July, float down the Madison River a bunch of times, hike the many trails that lead up into the mountains, meet family in Yellowstone Park for a small reunion, and one of my favorites...head up to Scobey for the Daniels Country Fair.
I love the DC Fair because the silliest things seem like such a BIG deal. It's so cool to watch kids in blue corduroy FFA jackets or 4H kids show off their barnyard animals. It's fun to sit on a bench and chat with a guy that used to teach English and Driver's Ed and laugh about the fact that I was so annoying in school. It's fun to see old classmates with their kids and crack up about the fact that this fair seemed bigger when we were kids.
Each night at the fair they have Grandstand Headliners... a nobody country music singer, the rodeo of local ropers and riders and the crowd favorite, Demolition Derby!! woohoo!! I love it when it rains and the dirt turns to mud and it gets sprayed into the crowd! We go crazy for that!!
My kids and I love going there! The whole town is like your backyard. I can let the kids go play for the whole day by themselves and they will go swimming, bike riding, hang out at the park and then at 6pm, the Volunteer Fire Department siren goes off and all kids must return home. It's just an unspoken (sometimes spoken) rule!
Yep!! Summer in Montana is glorious! We put up with a lot of adversity to enjoy the few months out of the year of sun and warm weather. You never have to fight crowds to enjoy this beauty and leisure... no lines like you have to endure to get into Space Mountain or The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland!
But the best part of this glorious place is the people. The people of Montana, whether they are natives or transplants, are what make this rugged place live-able. We have made some of the best friends of our entire lives being here. It takes time to build good relationships and when you find the people that you just click with, you hold onto those relationships and nurture the friendships with everything you've got!
I can see it in my kids' faces that they are happy here. We have lived a lot of places and each place has given us a piece of what makes us who we are... and Montana seems to fit. Feels like home... like fun!
Kari Andersen
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