Bart finally gets his ghost (town that is)!!!

Well, we embarked on yet another family outing. This time Mr. Historian/Ghost Hunter wannabee wanted to see a real (live) ghost town. So, we set out for Missoula, MT. The girls were much easier to persuade to get in the car, as this trip was only 1.5 hours. (At least I don't have to worry about them running too far away from home.)

As we drove along Hwy 12/I-90, we were enjoying the beautiful scenery. Then I saw a sign that made us do a double take. It seems that like many small towns that have a festival/claim to fame, Clinton, MT. has one too. But I have to give it to them, theirs really stands out loud and clear. Here is a picture of the billboard. (You can make your own comments)

Thank goodness the girls were asleep or otherwise occupied to ask questions.

Okay, back to the trip. We detoured before we got to Missoula to a little ghost town in Garnet, MT. This town was, as many were, a gold mining town. It differed in the fact that many families lived here, not just the miners.

As we followed the directions to get there, there was a sign that should have made us turn around. It stated that there were portions of the road that were unpaved and very steep. Bart said he could handle it (does anyone remember the blog about the mountain passes????) The first 6-7 miles were okay. Then the fun set in. We began climbing (literally) up the mountain. If we had been in a Jeep, I wouldn't have been too worried. The elevation of the town is about 6800 feet, so you can guess about the "scenic wonders" that we were supposed to enjoy. (By the way, I also need to mention that this is also the time that Julia decided that she was soo hungry that her tummy was going to burst, and she screamed and cried about it during the entire climbing adventure.) This was also single lane only and NO GUARDRAILS. If I prayed for anything that day, it was for no oncoming traffic. (Thank you God!!)

Well, we arrived (maybe a little deaf, thanks Julia) and began to explore. The first building we went in was the old Saloon. Go figure, Bart would want to go to the bar first. This is the remnant of the classic saloon bar. According to some reports, people have heard saloon music coming from this room. (Booo000!!)

The town got it's start around the 1850's and finally went "ghost" in the early 1940's.

Bart told the girls that we were going to move here and this was our new home. They weren't having any of it. They couldn't figure out how anyone could live here without floors, windows or electricity.

Here is the hotel in town. Apparently the town had a series of mishaps. I believe that they had 3 separate incidents where fire took out many buildings.

We also learned why the door is like that on the second floor. I assumed that maybe there was a porch. Wrong! This was the door in which they would lift the guests trunks through. (Notice the pulley above the door). I hope nobody ever walked in their sleep or was drunk and opened the door to step out for fresh air.

Here is a view of one of the 10 guest rooms. You are seeing the entire width of the room. (The girls said they wouldn't complain about how small the hotel rooms we stayed in were anymore. I tend to agree.)

As we got ready to leave, we discovered that there was an alternate road out of the area. I am so proud of Bart. He actually still uses my advice about 3rd and 2nd gear. (It is now his best friend, too.)

We traveled on to Missoula. It is a town of about 57,000 and was very nice. It is a college town, University of Montana - Grizzlies). The restaurant choices were a little more versatile then Helena. The girls wanted chicken, so we went to a little place that serves really good Buffalo Wings (Hooters). Julia noticed that the waitress' outfits were a little small, but then she piped up that it was summer and it helped them stay cooler. We just let it ride.

All in all, it was a fun day. A few mishaps, but what is life without chaos? Boring!!!

And our 3 girls keep life anything but that!!!!!

America the Beautiful!!

On Thursday, we went on our first official outing. We went to Glacier National Park. The girls were not very excited about the 3.5 hour drive. (I don't think they have forgiven us for the 3 day drive here yet.)

Anyway, we left early for St Mary, Mt. As usual, Bart wanted to stop at ALL the historical markers along the way, but I convinced him that we lived here now and he could view them at his leisure now. The drive was fun. When we went through the mountain passes, I wasn't sure who to watch more; Bart or the girls. The girls were having fun pretending to be on a roller coaster when we went down the pass. Bart was white knuckled and holding the steering wheel. Apparently he chose not to listen to me regarding the 6% & 7% downhill grade. (For those of you who are not familiar with what that means, lets just say the roller coaster analogy is very accurate.) You see, when we lived in Denver, I had the privilege/stupidity to experience Wolf Creek Pass in DECEMBER. (Second gear became my best friend.) I offered him the information, but I think he thought that since it was summer, there wouldn't be a problem.

Well, we arrived in one piece. After paying admission, we proceeded to stop for a picnic. The girls were a little worried about bears. We tried to reassure them and it was working. Until we got to the picnic table. There plastered very largely on the table was a warning about bears. They settled and we enjoyed an almost idyllic picnic lunch. It was kind of like Yogi bear meets Gone with the Wind. The wind gusts were probably around 40+ mph. We literally had to hold our sandwich and drinks so they wouldn't blow away.

After lunch, we proceeded into the park. We chose to drive the "Going to the Sun Road" I will tell you that I have never seen anything more beautiful in nature than I did on that drive. I finally found the cable to the camera, so I will get to show you what I mean. (YEAH!!)

This is a view of Wild Goose Island (St Mary Lake) with Jackson Glacier in the background. For those of you familiar with The Shining (Jack Nicholson), this was in the beginning of the moving.

(I have an album I will be emailing out with about 19 pictures. I didn't want to put them all on here. Too many. If you don't get your email and you are interested, let me know.)

Our day ended with a shorter drive then we had hoped for. The Going to the Sun road was not fully open, but we plan on returning very soon.

I will say that the drive home was less eventful. Bart decided to heed my instructions regarding the downhill grades. Alert the media!! A man took driving advice from a woman!!!!!

One down...

Well, we have been here a week. We are still trying to conquer the boxes, but I think they are getting the upper hand. I dared mention, "Garage sale", and I thought Bart was going to lose his mind. I told Bart, "Let's face it, we are pack rats." Now getting Pappa Rat to part with some of his precious "pack" will be another matter.

The Girls
Rachel and Julia have been enjoying going to vacation bible school at St. Pauls's Methodist Church. They are making new friends and giving us a little bit of peace and quiet at the house. Rachel has found out that her "accent" is getting her quite a bit of attention. She loves it!!!

Kittie is not so thrilled with her sisters being out of the house. She is really wanting to do all the big girl stuff too. She and I are going to visit a daycare center tomorrow.

On the job front, I have a phone interview with Blue Cross/Blue Shield tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed. To be honest, when I received the email requesting a time, I had forgotten what I had applied for. I have applied for quite a few positions. Some are education related, but most are state government.

Bart has done his fair share of applying too, but I started mine just before we left Texas. I am positive his will catch up with me.

I promise that I will post pics of everyone. We are still looking for the elusive box that has the USB cable in it. (Don't worry Kacy, I packed that one.)

We Have Arrived. Finally!!!

Well, I wanted to start out our new adventures in Montana with an account of the grueling 3 day drive here.

After making our farewells to family and friends, we embarked on our journey to Helena. The girls were very excited about starting the drive, but within 3 hours, Julia decided that we had driven far enough. So from then on, the ever famous "Are we there yet" echoed throughout the car. Fortunately for me, Kittie has become very good at copying her sisters every comment and also engaged in that famous kid car ritual.

Our drive itinerary was: 1st day- drive 12 hours to Lamar, CO (40 mph gust in TX/OK/CO)
2nd day - drive 14 hours to Billings, MT
3rd day - drive 3.5 hours to Helena

Bart is determined to have Uhaul put cruise control in its trucks. I am too for that matter, because I wasn't able to use mine either. Our feet still haven't recovered from the flex position.
But cruise control was the least of Bart's problem. It seems that the company we had load the Uhaul wasn't really into "balancing" the load. The truck tilted heavily to the right and turns were "challenging" to put it nicely.

But, we arrived and are now in the FUN task of unpacking. It is funny how you think you have weeded out the junk, just to discover when you unpack that more junk seemed to follow you. So to say that it looks like a bomb went off in our house is putting it mildly.