Copper Mines and other Butte adventures

I apologize for the lack of blogging. My job keeps me pretty busy now seven days a week so I'm also slacking in my New Year's resolution to explore more of Montana. But sometimes my job is a pretty good adventure in itself. In the past month without even leaving Butte I've seen some crazy stuff and learned some crazy stuff too.

Butte is a big mining town. Has a long history of it and still does it today with open pit mining. I went into the active mine for a story. They've got some verrrrry large equipment in that mine.

The tires on these trucks are bigger than a large SUV. And in the next picture the white piece of equipment is called a shovel.

To me a shovel has always been a very small thing that people use to dig up some dirt or when you're a kid you have a nice neon colored plastic one to play in the sand with at the beach. So needless to say I learned something haha. And I even got to go into the shovel and watch it in action. Video here.

So my job that day was a very big adventure. Another recent adventure, taking a historic walking town of Uptown Butte. For those who don't know, Butte is the largest Historic District in the country. The tours have been around since 2004 and take you to a speakeasy from prohibition years, an old jail, barbershop and more.

Inside this jail the guide talked about how the city county of Butte-Silver Bow actually has the most fallen law enforcement officers of any other county in Montana. Interesting, especially since a day before a statewide parade honoring the 119 fallen Montana officers was held in Butte. So I learned that fact during the parade and also learned that while the area has the most fallen officers, it hasn't lost one since 1937. Basically Butte was a pretty rough town early on haha.


But anyways, the jail and everything else is underground because the population of Butte used to be 100,000 plus so they had to utilize all the space they could, even underground. Well, the owner of the tour company was clearing out a basement in one of the old buildings and found a ton of stuff that led to even more discoveries. Including a room where what he calls "ladies of the night" would take men back in the 1800's to do ummm ladies of the night stuff. He says it looks like no one has been in the room for 100 years, especially since the staircase to get to it no longer existed and he had to build a staircase to get to the room. 1800's wallpaper still hangs on the walls.

So while I haven't had the chance to get out of Butte much to really explore I've had several chances to explore the mining city.

Snow, mountains, and candy...a spring adventure in Montana

I drove about 110 miles to Philipsburg, MT. If you know Montana at all you know that from Butte to Philipsburg is not 110 miles but since my boyfriend was in town we took a looong detour so that I could show him some Montana scenery he hadn't seen yet.

Unfortunately it was snowing. Yes, snow in late April. In fact it is snowing right now as I type this. So the scenery may have been a little white and cloudy but it was still a fun adventure and still pretty. We drove along the big hole river to see some great views and also some very small towns like Dewey and Wise River.

For the two of us who come from suburbs of major metropolitan areas it's hard to imagine what life would be like in these towns where there's a small grocery store, one or two bars, a post office, and a handful of homes. But we did agree that along the river is a nice place for a vacation home. (we're gonna need to make a lot of money in the future for that haha) You wonder what people do in such small towns. Joey joked he'd have a lot of hobbies to kill the time. But around here I've learned that there's a lot to do if you're into things like fishing, hunting, skiing, snowshoeing, biking, and any kind of outdoor recreation no matter the season. Anyways, after our looooong detour we finally arrived in Philipsburg.

Philipsburg has a population of 914 according to the 2000 census. It's probably similar to that now and this is bigger than the previously mentioned Dewey and Wise River. The first time I ever came to Philipsburg I thought I was on the set of an old western movie. I think it's the architecture that makes me think John Wayne could appear at any minute. We made our way into the Sweet Palace, Joey and my first stop in the town. It is a massive candy shop where they make a lot of their own stuff.

We walked out of there spending over $30 on candy and fudge. Well worth it. We had a bag of gummy candies, a bag of chocolate candies, some chocolate peanut butter fudge, and these...

One cashew cluster and one pecan cluster. Basically just a giant cluster of nuts and chocolate. The sweet palace had several different versions of these.

Next we ate at the Doe Brothers restaurant and old fashioned soda fountain just across the street from the Sweet Palace. At our table we were able to entertain ourselves with a game of checkers with some unusual pieces.

Joey won the game. Oh well. The food was good he said his reuben on a pretzel bun reminded him of home, which is good. I had something called jimmy cricket, basically chicken salad. For those who know about my recent vegan diet, I took an exception day. I felt seeing my boyfriend for the first time in three months was a special event and warranted an exception. Especially with that candy to eat!

After leaving Philipsburg we headed back to Butte but of course took in the scenery on the way back too. After all Montana Highway One, which is the highway Philipsburg is on, is called the "Pintler scenic route."

"You look like you got some cowgirl in you!"

I drove about 33 miles to a ranch east of Deer Lodge, Montana for work. I followed two yellow school buses from Butte High School all the way there. Why? Because the Montana History classes and club were going to brand cattle. I had already been to one cattle branding since moving here so I knew to wear clothes that weren't my favorite, I knew that it would smell like burnt hair, and I knew the calves would be making a horrible noise when the brand hit them. I was prepared but maybe I'll never really be prepared for cattle branding.

The one cattle branding I had experienced almost a year ago was done differently. At that ranch they had some contraption that the calves would walk into then the people standing there would turn it so the calves were on their side and then all the happens with a branding would occur. And just so you know they don't just get branded, this is also the time when they get their vaccinations. At my most recent cattle branding experience the kids were to learn how it was done in the 1800's, since after all they were the history classes and club. They had do have a hands on experience in history. So no contraption was used. Instead cowboys lassoed the calves in their pen and dragged them out by the rope. Then a group of students basically had to tackle the calves and hold them down long enough so they could be branded and vaccinated.

I couldn't help but feel bad for the poor calves. I understand on a ranch it's something that needs to be done. You have to keep your herd of cattle healthy and you have to know which ones are yours in a land where there's tons of ranches.

Talking to the kids who were doing the branding I was actually surprised by how many of them said it was a lot of fun...even girls! I just couldn't see this being the case with my high school friends or even people I wasn't friends with in high school. But I guess I'll never know since to my knowledge no one in my high school ever went on a field trip to brand cattle. We went to museums, which is cool, just very different. You can't touch stuff there. Anyways, at one point the students teacher came up and told me it was my turn and he took the camera. Luckily they let me just hold the head. Another fun fact, when calves are branded the poop...a lot. So I did not want to be a person holding onto the backside.

I had to leave the branding before they were finished to get back to the station in time to edit and get the story on the 5:30 news. But just as I was about to leave everyone ran over to a certain part of the fence. I went to see what the commotion was and turns out a cow had just had a baby. Pretty crazy and definitely not something I had experienced before. Everyone stood there watching as the mom was trying to get the baby to stand up. Apparently calves walk within hours of being born. Don't quote me on that though, just what I was told on the ranch. After the branding the students were going to have a big lunch and them ride horses. It would have been nice to stay the whole day because I still have yet to ride a horse. Oh well another day.

The title of my blog is something a man said to me two days after the story aired. I was covering another story in Butte when he came up to me and said that and then proceeded to ask me about the branding experience. You can watch the story here.

5 people and a dog in a space smaller than your bedroom

Some friends and I drove 203 miles to a cabin in De Borgia, Montana. The cabin is pictured. 5 of us and my roommates dog stayed there for two nights. Surprisingly that little cabin contained 2 bunk beds, a bathroom, and a kitchen area.

Now to be fully honest this trip took place over a month ago I've just been slacking in the blog world. But the whole reason for the trip was to ski at lookout pass. A ski area just over the state line in Idaho. When we went that particular ski area had received more snow than any other ski area in the past week. Unfortunately, it wasn't my best day of skiing. Oh well. The highlight of the day actually wasn't a good run but the fact that I got to meet some family who live in Idaho who I had never met before. My dad's cousin actually works at Look out pass as a ski instructor and once he found out I was there this sign was waiting for me when I got off the chair lift...

So once I got to the bottom I went to go meet him and his daughter was actually there too! So I got to meet two Yuill's that day! It was very cool.

As for 5 people and the dog staying in that tiny cabin. It wasn't awful. We actually managed pretty well. We were able to entertain ourselves in the cabin with board games and old VHS' from the 1980's. Very hilarious. However, I think two nights in that tiny cabin was enough for me. I was happy to get back to my Queen bed.

Happy St Urho's Day!

I only had to drive one mile to cover the celebrations for this Finnish Holiday today. That's the beauty of Butte, you are never far from a party. To celebrate Fins and non Fins gathered at the Helsinki bar in Uptown to crown this years King of St Urho's Day. And of course enjoy some alcoholic beverages, wear green and purple, and have a good time.

The story goes that St Urho drove the grasshoppers out of the vineyards of Finland with a pitchfork and saved the grape crop. That's why for this holiday the women wear purple to represent the grapes and the men wear green to represent the grasshoppers.

When I got to the bar to cover the crowning of the new king it was just a mob I had to push through with my camera and tripod. Luckily, people are super nice here and moved out of my way and even offered up their spots close to where the crowning would take place so I could get my video from there. But then the man who was to crown the new king offered me a spot standing on top of the pool table. I accepted and the camera and tripod and I went up on the pool table and it was a good place to be so I could get some great crowd shots and all the action when the new St Urho's Day King was crowned. The new king received a purple robe, viking hat, and a stuffed grasshopper on a pitchfork. (Pictured below. The other picture is a crowd shot)

It seems silly and the guy who was crowned king may have told me he felt like an idiot wearing that stuff but at least everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Not quite a Moose on the Loose

I drove about 27 miles yesterday for a story. I ended up just north of the town of Whitehall, MT. Lots of open land, very pretty. Also saw a lot of cows on the land but inside fences so obviously belonging to the property owners. The picture is what I saw crossing the street. I literally had to stop the car to let them cross, and trust me they didn't really hurry along either. Guess the car moving at 50 mph towards them wasn't all that scary. I found this an unusual sighting to be crossing the road. Deer are normal and even in Montana I've come to think that a moose is normal. (Since I've now done two stories about moose wandering around Butte.) I probably wouldn't even be that shocked to see an elk or buffalo. Although a buffalo would be awesome. A stray cow would have seemed normal, a horse, a dog, a cat. For some reason this sighting made me think I was on the east coast. I couldn't see any body of water anywhere near me. Doesn't mean it's not there but still, I've come to expect more of the mountain, forest wildlife. I could see mountains all around me and land that was not so green, more brown and sand colored so I was thinking "where are they going?" If I had seen a squirrel I really would have felt like I was back on the east coast. I just don't see squirrels anymore.

1,090 mile joy ride

First off yes, I changed the name of my blog. I've been thinking about it recently because I won't be in Big Sky Country forever and even now my adventures aren't always in Montana. I felt this would be an appropriate post to change the name of the blog for just because I drove so many miles for this most recent adventure so let's get to it...

In the title when I say "joy ride" that is complete sarcasm. It should be titled "1,090 mile ride from hell that caused me more stress, sadness, and anger than any other drive in my life." So what happened you ask? Here goes...

My news station is a combined market. Meaning two cities combine to form one news market. So Butte and Bozeman are together, however, we have separate nightly newscasts. Our morning show is a combined show that comes out of Bozeman and up until now our weekend show has come out of a totally different market, Billings. Now our market is getting their own weekend show and it will be coming out of Bozeman. Butte stories are always fed over to air on the morning show since it is a combined market and the same will be done for the weekend show. The problem, we don't have anyone in Butte who works weekends. So until we get some extra help I'll be working a lovely seven days a week work schedule to make sure that Butte news is represented in the new weekend show. In lieu of this news I asked if I could leave early on Friday to drive to Bismarck and see my boyfriend since who knows when I would have another weekend off and be able to do that. I got the necessary approval. I had my car checked out and checked the weather prior to the drive. Weather.com told me the worst I would run into would be some flurries, flurries I can handle.

Flurries turned into freak out of nowhere Blizzard over in Eastern North Dakota. Luckily, I wasn't there yet so didn't get stuck in that. I was in Eastern Montana when my boyfriend called to tell me that I-94 from Dickinson to Bismarck had been closed. (For those who don't know, I have to drive that stretch to get to Bismarck since Dickinson is West of Bismarck) I pulled off the interstate at some random exit where all there was was some scary looking gas station. He told me he'd call me back while I was checking the weather over there on my blackberry. When he called back we decided I would keep going because the meteorologists at his station were saying that this storm was leaving and would be diminishing as the day went on and I wouldn't get there til 11 p.m. anyways so it should be gone by then. I pulled back onto the interstate and continued to head east. About two hours later into my drive my boyfriend tells me that a no travel advisory had been issued for Bismarck. I asked if I should turn around he talked to another meteorologist and told me to keep going saying if the road didn't open tonight it would be open by Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Knowing this we were both thinking that even if I had to spend Friday night in a hotel and not reach Bismarck til 10 a.m. on Saturday it was better to see each other for one day and one night then not at all. I kept on trucking and kept on asking if the road was open yet only to be met with a depressing no. Finally when I was two hours away I decided I needed to stop and buy a toothbrush because it looked like I'd be spending the night in a hotel and I keep a toothbrush in Bismarck so I hadn't packed one. Literally the minute I got out of the gas station with my newly purchased toothbrush my boyfriend told me that the road would definitely not be opening that night. Ok, time to find a hotel in Dickinson. Well turns out that was impossible, they were all booked. Luckily my boyfriend's news station has a Dickinson bureau reporter who said I could crash with him and my roommate has a friend in Dickinson who also offered to let me crash. I felt extremely lucky to have options of where to stay in such a situation. I ended up staying with the reporter and his girl friend just since they had been contacted and offered first. They were both super nice people (I had never met them before) and I'm super grateful they let me stay.

Needless to say I didn't sleep much on their couch. Not through any fault of the couch's either. I was super stressed and freaking out over the situation. In my mind I just kept thinking what if this road doesn't open? But still thinking oh no it will I'll be ok. Boy was I wrong. 7 a.m. I-94 was still closed and at 8 a.m. and at 9 a.m. and at 10 a.m. and at 11 a.m. at that point my boyfriend and the Dickinson reporter were both making phone calls trying to get any idea of when I-94 would be open again. Through the phone calls we learned that no one had a clue when it would re open but it wouldn't be anytime soon. At this point the weather was fine and at least on my drive it had never not been fine. The picture attached to this blog I took during my drive. It was clear skies and roads for me the entire time. Anyways, the problem with I-94 was that 800 motorists were stranded on it and it was closed because they had to clean off all those vehicles. Ughhhhh is basically what I was thinking when I learned this. My options now were take an alternate route or drive 8 hours back to Butte. The alternate route would take over three hours and if I could take 94 it would only take me about an hour to get to Bismarck. But I thought oh well at least I would get there. Well turns out that was just too risky. According to the ND department of transportation the first half of the alternate route would be fine but the closer to Bismarck I got the road was just continuous ice, may be down to one lane because of snow drifts, and could even become impassable due to blowing snow. Alternate route was out. Only option left was head back to Butte. I couldn't sit and wait for an interstate to open that my not for days and if I was going to drive the 8 hours back to Butte I wanted it to be mostly in daylight.

I went to Walmart to get some supplies for the drive back and as I was getting on the interstate to head west and start the journey home my eyes blurred by tears I noticed cars heading east. They're going east! Maybe the road is open or they are just getting through somehow. Suddenly there was hope! I got off at the next exit and turned around to head east as well. My hope was short lived a couple exits later I saw the line of semi trucks and cars just waiting to be allowed on I-94 and I saw the gate in front of me across the road that said "road closed" and the cop car sitting behind it. I followed the other cars that had been heading east and exited the interstate only to get back on it to again head west and start the journey home a second time. Depression set in and I felt horrible. A quote from "Blind your Ponies" best describes my feelings, "inside a horrendous storm assailed his vitals. He had the sensation of being so close he could touch it and yet being so far." I'm obviously a she but you get my drift.

I did get back to Butte just as the sun had finished setting and walking into my house when I felt I was supposed to be in Bismarck was one of the saddest, most angering moments. I drove 545 miles to Dickinson and was less than 100 miles from seeing my boyfriend. I just couldn't cross those last miles to get to him I had to turn around and drive 545 miles back in less than 24 hours since I had started the journey to North Dakota. I know there's an upside that I'm safe, he's safe, everyone I know is safe and much worse things can happen and are happening every day. I have to put it in perspective and realize this sucks but it's not that bad.

By the way if you'd like to learn more about the closure of I-94 and the 800 motorists stranded it has become a national story but here is KFYR's coverage

This is Butte?

Yesterday my time out of the house started with lunch in a cafe. I sipped my chai tea latte and chatted with friends and admired the artwork for sale hanging on the walls. I had a very good smoked salmon blt for my meal. After lunch we went shopping in several different stores one including a boutique with designer jeans selling for $150 a piece. After the shopping we all got ready, met up with some other friends for drinks, then went to the symphony, then dinner after the show. If you would have told me a year ago that I could have a day like this in Butte I would have laughed at you. Now after 14 months of living here I've learned it is possible. Don't get me wrong I've never hated this town, quite the opposite. The people here are great and there's a lot of awesome history. I guess food, shopping, and arts wise I have viewed it as limited though. Yesterday was a great change from the usual Walmart shopping and just sitting in a bar at night. I don't mind either of those at all it's just nice to mix things up.

Two very big positives from the day of shopping: I got some sweet looking ski goggles that are pictured and I finally found rain boots I like. The goggles are bright purple, which is sweet cause in my black ski pants, jacket, gloves, and hat I'll not have at least one thing that stands out on the hill. It also won't hurt so much to ski while snow is falling from the sky and hitting me in the face and eyes. The rain boots are super exciting because for years I've needed a pair, especially now with my job I never know what kind of environment I'll have to be traipsing through. My problem has always been I want a plain color so it is at least somewhat professional looking since I'll wear them for work. Unfortunately, most rain boots that I find in a plain color are ridiculously ugly and look like a dude should be wearing them or they have an obnoxious pattern on them like rainbow polka dots, dogs and cats, ice cream cones, or whatever. I finally found a cute pair of black ones so that is fantastic.

They symphony was great too. The music was dance songs from around the world. And the very last song was the music from Super Mario Brothers. It was awesome and now I really want to play mario. Anyone in Butte own it? I really love mario kart too so I'll take that. Another song they played was I believe music from North America but it was that song you hear in the "Beef it's whats for dinner" commercials. It also made me think of the movie "Fievel goes West" so must be featured in there as well. That is also another thing I need to re-visit from my childhood. Who wants to have a mario brothers playing, fievel goes west watching party? Also makes me think maybe I should have called this blog "Melanie goes west" hmmmmm. But yes, yesterday was a very non "western" day. At least in what you would think to be stereotypical western, which I'm learning that's now how you should view the west.

Growlers and good food make -15 degrees more fun

Just so you know the weather pattern in Butte this week was snow and an arctic cold front with temperatures well below zero. I'm told this same pattern is supposed to repeat next week. Great. When it's this cold it's understandable to want to just hide out in your bed under a pile of blankets. However, doing that repeatedly would probably just cause depression so instead of that this weeks cold spell allowed me to experience another first in Butte.

There are a ton of local breweries in Montana that make their own micro brews. Way more than I know of back in Pennsylvania. And most places I know of back east that brew their own beer are also full service restaurants. Like Iron Hill Brewery, which is great, I love that place. In Montana I've noticed there are places like this but a lot of them just serve their beer. You go in, pick a beer and a seat, and enjoy. Butte even has it's own brewery called the Quarry. This is embarrassing but I have now lived in this town for over a year and my first trip to the Quarry was not until just a couple days ago. A few friends were there and I actually got out of work before it closed so I was able to go hang with them and take in the atmosphere of the Quarry. It's in what looks like used to be a garage, there's tons of beer glasses hanging on one wall, and the tables are all large wooded tables with massively long wooden benches to go with them. Oh, and there's a popcorn machine so you can have free baskets of popcorn at your table and continue to refill it for no price. The beer was not a first. It is offered in the local bars around town so I have tried it before and it's not bad.

I did buy my first growler though. I don't think I knew what a growler was until I moved to Montana but it's basically a sealed jug of beer that you buy so you can take some of the micro brew home with you. The first time you have to buy the growler but you can keep bringing it back to get it refilled. I think everyone I was with except one person walked out of there with a growler that night.

We decided all that beer would be appropriate for a dinner party we were planning. My roommate and I hosted a potluck dinner. I made buffalo chicken dip for something to munch on prior to the meal but thanks to everyone else chipping in we ended up with a nice spaghetti dinner with a good homemade sauce, salad, and garlic bread. For dessert I made a chocolate trifle and there was also some yummy tiramisu.
It was just a great way to get everyone out from under their covers in this cold weather. Who doesn't like friends, food, and growlers?

And yes, you read this blog correctly. I cooked and baked for this event haha.

I skied a black diamond and didn’t know it

Sunday a group of us headed to Discovery Ski Area west of Anaconda, MT to hit the slopes. Now even though I use the lingo, “hit the slopes” I am no pro skier, quite the opposite. Sunday marked my 5th time skiing in two years. My first time ever was just last year and I’ve still got a lot to learn. I need to lean forward more and not be so scared to pick up speed. Currently I like to take things slow down the mountains so that if I do run into any trees it will cause the least amount of damage possible. I’ve haven’t progressed from the green runs. For those of you who don’t know how it works from easiest to hardest it’s the bunny hill, green runs, blue runs, black diamonds, and double black diamonds. I have no idea if you can get really difficult runs and have triple black diamonds, quadruple black diamonds, and so on, like I said I’m no expert more of a novice.

So on Sunday I was quite happy to continue my time on the green runs. My roommate came along with us and she hadn’t skied since her first go at it in 8th grade so four of us warmed up with her on the bunny hill. Being as scared as I am of this sport and the fact I hadn’t done it since November I was quite happy to warm up on the bunny hill. It allowed me to remember what the heck my body is supposed to do on those ski things.

Next we moved onto the green run called “Goldbug”, which I have to say I’m quite proud of my roommate cause my first time skiing I never even made it to the run. It was all bunny hill for me. We did several rides up the chairlift and runs down Goldbug. And I have to say it was probably the first time I’ve been skiing that I actually felt comfortable and felt like I had the hang of it. I did not fall at all getting of the chair lift (yay fist pump!) I also did not fall at all while gliding down Goldbug and felt I was turning better. Granted I was going slower than anyone else but again that speed thing and crashing into a tree terrifies me. Maybe I should get a helmet.

Then as my roommate and I are comfortably navigating Goldbug for the third or fourth time I’m not really sure we changed things up a bit. One of our friends who has become all star black diamond skier this season and was graciously hanging back on the green run with us this day pointed to a spot in Goldbug where the run splits and you can go a different way. He asked if we wanted to try something different. Sure, why not. We followed him along this new path and seconds later I was wondering if I could go back uphill and get back to Goldbug. (Don’t ski uphill though we had story on KXLF’s website today about a 78 year old man who was arrested for going uphill on a ski slope in Wyoming. Apparently it is not safe skiing.) I figured getting back uphill would be impossible so I knew I just had to deal with this ridiculously steep hill in front of me. The only way off the mountain was now down this. It was so steep you don’t even see a hill you pretty much just see the land drop off and you have to ski down this almost vertical wall of snow. (Pro-skiers may say I’m exaggerating but this is what it looked like to me)

We pushed off and down we went only to discover that not only was this the steepest thing ever it was also un groomed, meaning when you ski down it your ski’s are covered in snow and so are your legs about halfway up your calf. You weren’t just gliding on the top of a surface you had to push your way through piles of snow. I felt like how my car must feel on the roads of Butte after a snow storm since the town doesn’t do anything to the roads and you just have to drive through it. But anyways this is where my day of not falling went awry. Every turn through the inches of snow caused me to fall. My roommate was falling at a similar rate and our friend was just laughing at us and not quite understanding how we couldn’t get down this. He told me it was just like the green run but un groomed. To which I replied, “I like groomed.” Who knew something you prefer in people and dogs you could prefer in ski slopes too. He also told me that people fly all over the world to ski in “powder like this.” I told him I was going to save a lot of money not doing that. I finally did make a few turns without falling but I was really wishing I had a sled and could just get down that way. So maybe the title of this blog should actually be “I attempted to ski down a black diamond and didn’t know it.”

That experience was in fact just hilarious so the day was not ruined. Then Monday my roommate is looking at the trails on Discovery’s website and informs me that we skied down a black diamond. Remember that area where Goldbug splits? Yep, that trail off the green is a black diamond. No wonder we were falling at every turn. We completely skipped that blue step in there. Oh well no one was hurt and it was just the source of many giggles.

2nd and 3rd photos courtesy of my roommate and her camera.

I saw Lady Gaga jump into freezing water

Plunging into freezing water...sounds crazy right? Well I guess when you make it for a good cause you can get over 100 people to voluntarily jump into freezing water. Today was the 3rd Annual Pintler Plunge just west of Anaconda, Montana. In my 13th straight day of work I was sent out to cover the arctic aquatics. I didn't mind too much though, I have to admit it was entertaining.

Most people form teams and every individual needs to raise at least $100 to jump into the chilly water. All the money goes to the Special Olympics Montana so it is for a good cause and when I was interviewing people that's what they kept telling me when I asked them why they jumped into such cold water voluntarily. When I was standing there next to my camera waiting for it to start one man so kindly offered to videotape me while I jump in. I told him I would not be doing that. When I told him you needed to raise $100 to be able to jump he responded by saying, "I'm sure we could get enough money raised between people here now since you're from the news." I still decided to pass but way to go to everyone who was willing to brave the icy waters of Silver Lake.

Now while it's fun to see people's faces as they hit the frigid water it was even more entertaining to see some of the costumes today. The teams can dress up and have a chance to win best dressed for the best costume. A team of guys all dressed up to look like Lady Gaga. They all had long blonde hair wigs and wore ridiculous things and I say things cause it wasn't even clothes they were wearing. One guy had a bunch of balloons on him another had caution tape. One guy had just black panties and black lipstick. I asked him to talk to me on camera after he jumped in the water and he said no because he didn't want his family seeing what he had done haha.

I have to say the Lady Gaga outfits were probably the best costumes. Although, the cops who jumped had a team name of "pigs in a blanket" and wore pig noses to jump, which is funny. Another team wore duck shaped inner tubes around their waist. I think if I were ever to do a polar plunge I'd want to wear a wetsuit or something that would keep me warm.

Over 144 dogs

The 26th Annual Race to the Sky sled dog race is now underway. It kicked off just north of Butte yesterday and I got the opportunity to see my first sled dog race ever. I was there for work braving the elements, which as it turns out were too warm for the mushers and their dogs. I don't know the exact temperature but to me it was cold and extremely windy. But while interviewing mushers they told me it was too warm for the dogs to really race and they would get over heated. So their plans were to slowly trot along during the day and they would do their real racing at night once the sun goes down. Interesting. I could never be a musher because I like warmth.

It did turn out to be a very nice day later on and was very cool experience. I learned that all the teams don't all start out at the same time. I was thinking it'd be like a track race where the gun goes off and everyone races forward. Nope, one team starts, a few minutes pass, then another team starts and so on. This may be something that everyone else knew but I had no idea. Now I know. I also learned that while you can only have 12 dogs on your team during a race the mushers have many more dogs than this. (the title of the blog is because there were 12 teams) One woman I spoke with has 30 dogs and a guy I spoke with from New Zealand has 40 dogs. And yes, there was a musher from New Zealand in Montana for a race. He told me it was his first time in the state and it looked a lot like home. And why you ask did he come to Montana? To give his dogs the chance to race a new trail. At least that is what he told me. But he has been training in Minnesota so it's not like he just came to the states from New Zealand a week ago.

There's also some fashion involved in dog sled racing. To keep the dogs feet warm they all get little boots put on them. Before the race I saw several mushers booting up their pups and the boots are all very bright colors. I saw fluorescent yellow, orange, green, pink, and blue. And while interviewing some people just there to watch the start of the race a woman told me her favorite part of it all is those boots.

Another interesting fact that I learned but thankfully did not experience, while racing when a dog needs to potty it just goes. No stopping to squat or lift up a leg they just let whatever needs to come out come out. Naturally this gets pretty messy for the musher on the sled behind 12 dogs doing this. Especially when you are behind these dogs for 350 miles. So there's another reason I will never be a musher. I love dogs but no thanks I don't want their bodily waste flying in my face for miles.

Another person I interviewed who was watching the start of the race told me she came because it's an experience everyone should have. I agree. Before the race starts the public is welcome to walk around and meet the mushers and their dogs. Little kids especially seemed to love this part and getting to pet the dogs. Parents seemed to love telling their kids to stand by the dogs to take pictures of them. And while I'm not gonna go out and buy a sled and a ton of dogs now I'm glad I got to see what it's all about and learn something new. Just another Montana experience.

A dragon, a rabbit, and a lot of noise

Its got a reputation for being the shortest, loudest, coldest parade in the nation. There’s always a dragon, some kind of other animal, and a lot of fireworks. It’s the Butte Chinese New Year Parade. It’s held every February and it’s not the typical parade. You don’t stand on the sides of the street and watch as it goes by, you participate. Following behind the dragon as it weaves through Uptown Butte and making as much noise as possible. All participants are encouraged to bring pots and pans to bang together or anything else that will make noise. People lead the dragon and there’s a model of the zodiac animal for whichever year it is in the calendar. This year is the year of the rabbit. My birth year 1987 just happens to also be a year of the rabbit. There are 12 different zodiac animals or so I’m told by the local Mai Wah society.

Being born in the year of the Rabbit I had to look up what this meant so here you go:
articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise. They are most compatible with those born in the years of the Sheep, Pig, and Dog.

Hmmm my boyfriend is born in the year of the Tiger.

Anyways, this year was my second time covering the Chinese New Year Parade for KXLF. This year definitely felt longer than last year lasting about an hour. It was definitely cold and loud even though it wasn’t so short. The freezing wind was whipping about Uptown. I attempted to put my jacket hood up to block some of it but it just kept blowing off my head so I finally gave up. Fireworks were set off all along the parade route than a huge spectacle of them at the end. Being a journalist I set my camera as close as I could and once the smoke and sparks got to be too much I walked away and left the camera to catch the rest of the action.

However, like most Butte events it’s always great to see all the people who come out for it and how into they get. The Mai Wah Society (they put on the parade) did have people carrying red buckets for donations during the parade and I even saw a homeless man walk up and put some money in one of the buckets. Butte residents keep telling me this and I keep seeing it…the Butte people are extremely generous.

Colt Anderson prefers Pat's Cheesesteaks

I have video proof of this. Watch the video at the site below to witness the current Philadelphia Eagle and Butte native saying what Cheesesteak place he prefers in the culinary war.

http://www.kxlf.com/videoplayer/?video_id=6144&categories=244

Anderson is from Butte, MT, where you all know I currently live and work. He also plays in the NFL and this year he went from the Minnesota Vikings to the Philadelphia Eagles. Which is great since I love Philadelphia and the sports teams and suddenly a lot of people in Butte now follow the Eagles along with me. Our Sports Director at KXLF/KBZK had set up an interview with Anderson since the Eagle was back in town and before he went I instructed him on a very important question to ask, "Did he have a Philly Cheesesteak?" Obviously I got my question answered. I just had no idea it would become the story that ran on the sportscast. I also had no idea I would get a shout out in the sportscast but both were very awesome. But if you watched you know I obviously think he needs to try Jim's when he gets back to Philly. Feel free to disagree though. I know there's a lot of disagreement out there in the world as to where the best Philly Cheesesteak comes from. Oh and Colt, you also need to get some Philly soft pretzels if you haven't done that yet. Those are awesome.

Hot Springs and the State of the Union Address

Hot springs and President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address. Surprisingly they do have a tiny link to each other. But let's start with hot springs. Montana has several of these pools of naturally hot water. Some have been turned into resorts with man made pools and others still occur naturally where you are basically sitting in the dirt and rocks outside somewhere but still in hot water. I'm no expert though. My first hot springs experience wasn't until just a few days ago.

There is a hot springs resort about 15 minutes from Butte (pictured) It has an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, both of which are heated. It also has two smaller soaking pools that are more like hot tub temperatures reaching into the 100 degrees. And of course the massive water slide that you see in the picture. Saturday afternoon I took my first trip ever to a hot springs location with some friends and soaked. Good experience, it's very relaxing. We just stuck to the outdoor pools cause that is the cooler experience. And I can now say I have been outside in a bathing suit when it is below freezing out.

That sounds crazy but I decided to do it a second time just three days later with the boyfriend. This time it was at night so less people were in the pools. But both times were a lot of fun. Well except for the part when you get out of the hot pools and it's freezing outside haha. But still it's definitely something I would do again and would recommend to others.

Now let me connect this to the President. President Obama once stayed at the very hot springs resort that I soaked in two of the past five days. Despite this fact several people in Butte don't seem to know what his State of the Union Address is. I was given the story assignment yesterday to ask people around the city what they were hoping to hear the President say during his State of the Union Address. Sadly when I was asking people if they would talk to me about this about a dozen of them responded with, "what's that?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!! That was the reaction in my head I did not actually voice that. Granted my news director thought we should report that a bunch of people did not know what the State of the Union Address was so that's exactly what we did. I still just think it's crazy.

New Year's Resolution

Surveys say that only 8% of people keep their New Year's Resolutions, which doesn't bode well for me actually keeping mine that I'm about to tell you about. But we'll see. I know I'm also a little late in posting a New Year's Resolution but to be fair I did think of it while 2010 was still around.

So here goes...No, I'm not going to try to lose weight, diet, go to the gym more or anything like that. I've been living in Montana now for over a year so my resolution is to actually explore the area more. I've had some great adventures since moving here like learning how to ski, visiting Yellowstone, hiking up a mountain to a lake for my first time camping, and snowshoeing. I've also been able to try foods like the pasty, buffalo burgers, elk hotdog, poviticia and several different foods made with huckleberries. I've also seen other towns such as Missoula, Bozeman, Whitehall, Dillon, Deer lodge, Anaconda, Boulder, Helena, and Cardwell.

But this is Big Sky Country. There's still a lot to do, a lot to see, and probably a lot to eat. And unfortunately, a lot of my travels to other towns have been work related so I haven't really had the opportunity to stop and check out what's going on there locally. (Unless it's the news of the day) So I'd like to see and do more. I'm the type of person who likes to think she will try anything once. However, there are definitely exceptions. I will not eat any kind of eyeball. Sorry. And there's probably a lot of other things I would refuse to eat if presented with it. So maybe I won't do everything but I still like to have new experiences and see new places.

I've been told the distance from one end of Montana to the other is the same distance it is from Chicago to Washington D.C. so there is A LOT of country to see. There's so many more towns I could visit And re-visit the one's I've gone to for work when I actually have a free day. But there in lies the problem with this resolution...a free day or days. Most people know I work a lot. Which is fine, keeps me busy. But when it comes to the weekend (If I'm not working) That's my time to do laundry, grocery shop, pay bills, wash dishes, clean, sleep, and just attempt to be a functioning adult. Luckily, on my recent trip home I bought and received enough clothes as gifts to let my laundry go for a month.

There are some things I can do closer to home. My resolution got off to a good start this past weekend when I went snowshoeing just 15 minutes away. I had done this activity before but not in the same spot. But like I already said there's still A LOT to see and do. I know I can't get to every corner of the state but here are just a few things I'd like to do while here: ride a horse, snowmobile, visit other areas of Yellowstone, visit Glacier National Park, soak in hot springs, go to different breweries (can you believe I still haven't been to the one in Butte?!), fly fishing, float, and of course just see other towns in the state.

There's also a lot of area to explore outside Montana. Canada is just to the the North and Seattle is only 10 hours to the West. I've got a lot to do in less than a year. I'll see how it goes or if I'll be part of that 92% of people who don't keep their New Year's Resolutions.