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.