Friday night in Anaconda, MT & Saturday night in MISSOULA!

Saturday- The Hickory House B&B in Anaconda was the last place on earth where I would have imaged that I would meet the Bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, The Right Reverend Nikolai (his grace) and his charming Deacon.  But there they were, having breakfast with us and educating & amusing us with their stories of traveling the world.  The bishop was funny, engaging and interesting.  He talked about the scriptures (of which I know nothing) and how reading and interpreting them is a personal experience, not one that can be dictated to you by the church.  It is clear that this man is a progressive theological thinker.  His Grace is working on his memoirs, which I may read. I am sure that it will be fascinating.

my "drive-bys"

The ANACONDA-PINTLER SCENIC HIGHWAY is a wonderful drive and well worth the few extra miles it tacked on to the trip. It was snowing when I left Anaconda (although the snow melted before it hit the ground) and continued to do so off and on until I got off Highway 1 and got onto 90.  I stopped for a few minutes in Philipsburg, which is a beautiful town nestled up on a hill.  Again, it was cold and the 40 degrees didn't make me want to walk around and take photographs.  I think that I will come back sometime this summer, when it warms up!

Before I left, I found some great stuff to shoot:

and then...on to Missoula

I am now here-in my new home for the next few weeks.  Tomorrow's blog will be from and about Missoula.

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Friday- my last day in Idaho.  I had an interesting conversation with an older couple while having breakfast at the lovely Best Western in Idaho Falls (located on the Snake River).  It really was a nice place.  My room had a huge jacuzzi tub in tub which was so large that I was actually floating around in it.  I digress.  At breakfast, this couple was telling me all about there grown children, of which they have 6.  One of there daughters has 16 children, all single births, by the same husband.  They live in a tiny town in Northern PA, up in Amish Country, although they are not Amish.  I was astonished.  What could I say, particularly with my opinions about overpopulation and planned parenthood?  I made the only comment that I thought wouldn't offend, which was  "she must be a very tired woman."  The grandmother said that her daughter just felt that it was God's will to continue to have as many children as she could handle-so she did.  Apparently, the daughter found another family who have 23 children, and they are now communicating.  I wonder what their conversations are like?
Before I left Idaho Falls, I dropped into the Museum in town.  It was having a large exhibit called "Wolf to Woof", the story to the domestication of dogs.  It was fun, mainly set up for school kids, and it seemed as if all of the children in Idaho were at the museum with me.  It is good for them to learn the history of dogs and to learn all about their endangered brothers, the wolves and fox.  

There was also an exhibit of the last 100 years of history as it relates to the town, and I found a few interesting objects to photograph:

A few shots of downtown Idaho Falls:

The drive north from Idaho Falls on Highway 15 is beautiful and I crossed the Continental Divide twice, which means that I was traversing the mountains at the highest points.  I wanted to stop and take a photo of the sign, but there was no shoulder and it was not safe for me to do a drive-by image.  However, I did get some interesting shots on the drive:

I stopped in Butte to take a break and get some food about 4pm.  I was shocked when I got out of the car-it was very cold and I immediately felt the elevation (5530).  I learned a great deal about this area while talking to the 2 girls who work at the Hummingbird Cafe (an organic and groovy place in this hard core minung town).  The town has a long and colorful mining history and the rough & tumble attitude has permeated the culture and the people.  It is not uncommon for people to actually get into physical fights-just like in the old days.  It may also be the weather that makes people so tough.  I bet that it is brutal in winter, and probably late fall and spring as well.  I feel like a lightweight here, and am thrilled to be spending the summer in Missoula and not Butte!