We didn’t get up quite as early on Monday as we had on earlier days. We went out for breakfast at the Western Cafe on Main Street. We had one last great meal of good times with each other where Andrew was part of the group. Then we all hugged him and he drove away. It took longer for the six of us to get into two cars than for Andrew to get himself into one, but then we drove away too. We all suspected that Andrew also got where he was going that day well before we got home to Denver but that hasn’t been confirmed. The weather wasn’t as nice going home as it was for the trip up, but the sun was much less aggressive coming in the windows so we had that going for us.
We often focus on the location of a good time when almost certainly it’s the participants that make it memorable. Just to acknowledge that the place plays a role here is the physical setting and home base of our good time in Bozeman. Through the backdoor we could see a well landscaped backyard and some very welcoming common area. Our last night in Bozeman, we grilled steaks on this deck. We enjoyed the sun while they were grilling, and then we retreated inside as the temperature dropped a bit.
Entry and Exit
Entry
It sure felt good to find the place as we worked our way into Bozeman. And, to a lesser extent, it felt good to get back here every time we went away. That first time, we had to find the lockbox to get the key that would let us in. If you look sharp -and are willing to believe – you can just see it below the handrail just to the left of the first post.
Real hospitality, Serving and Protecting Bozeman’s visitors
Something that struck Steve funny every time he saw it was the Sheriff’s vehicle parked out front. It seemed to be there in the morning and stay all day and then leave sometime in the evening, just when Steve was starting to feel safe.
Common Living Areas
After coming through the door, we usually chose to walk down the hall to the living area. As you might see, neither the stairs, nor the hall were particularly good for two-way traffic, but we worked it out cooperatively without the help of the driver of that Sheriff’s vehicle. After the hall, if you weren’t Bernhard and Cheryl (who had the option of turning right into their bedroom, one turned left and had the choice heading to the living area or the kitchen, either one would give you access to the dining table, the laundry area and the back deck.
From the Hall into the Living Room
Hall and stairs from the front door
Kitchen
Laundry Area and door leading to the garage
Andrew discussing plans with Cheryl and Bernhard while Cayla looks on
Garage
Dell and Andrew enjoying a rare bit of downtime in the Living Room
Bedrooms
There were two bedrooms up and two down. One bedroom down stairs had a window that you see in the photo of the front of the house. The door is at the base of the stairs. There is a half bath about the halfway point of the hallway. The door to the other bedroom downstairs is at the living area end of the hall and it runs front to back along the length of the house and is really a suite, containing a full bath and a walk in closet (There was generous closet space in each room). Upstairs, there were two bedrooms and a full bath. Special attention needs to be focussed on the room with two single beds because there was no other room with a moose on the bed – or , for that matter, with a moose on the sheets!
Master Bedroom
Steve and Andrew’s room
Moose
Moose close up
Details
There were little details in the decorations that made the house fun. There were many depictions of Moose. Not pictured are the Moose on the outside of the front door and the Moose over the backdoor on the inside. there were depictions of other animals as well.
Jonathan took some delight in pointing out that the paintings of the deer and the bison were from behind. He would point at the deer and say, “Buck butt!” and at the bison and say, “Buffalo Butt!”. We were grateful that the bear painting was of three bear faces.
Buffalo in the Kitchen
Buck
Three Bears
Moose Refrigerator notes
Moose Light
Upper level landing
Front door from the stairs
Small Moose Statue on a Shelf Over the Front Door
All in all, our house was a very, very, very fine house.
Long before we had finalized our plans to come and see Andrew for graduation, Andrew had made it clear that he saw no value in walking across the stage and accepting a blank sheet of paper from a highly regarded academic from Montana State University. That being established, we had a wide open day and no need to spend it getting grumpy with thousands of other well wishers. Andrew offered to show us some of the things he liked about his adopted home. He warned us that it wasn’t as clear as usual due to forest fires in Alberta, Canada.
First thing, at about 9 or 9:30, he directed us to Peets Hill, which, if we got it right, is part of Burke Park. There we feted the graduate with photos in various permutations so that when he described his graduation experience to his friends and – much later – to his heirs, he could get the necessary long-suffering tolerance of his familial responsibilities out into the air. Then we climbed some of the hill and greeted people and dogs going up and down. To Bozeman’s credit, most of them, people and dogs, were pleased and greeted us back. From the place that we stopped and turned around, Andrew pointed out the Field House where, but for his thoughtfulness and concern for our well being, we could have spent hours that day.
Father with Graduate
Grandfather, Brother and Mother with Graduate
Grandfather, Brother, Sister-in-Law, Mother and Father with Graduate
Really good looking bench near the top of Peets Hill
Path on Peets Hill
Field House from Peets Hill
From Burke Park we headed up past the ‘M’ on Bridger Canyon Road and into the Bridger Mountains, with a stop at the Bridger Bowl to acknowledge the skiing possibilities back in the winter and then up over the pass. We traveled down hill to Flat Head Creek Road which remained Highway 86 and followed that to Highway 89 which took us to I-90. We went east to Big Timber. Now, nowhere did we see massive trees in Big Timber. It may have been a problem of perspective since we were in Big Sky Country. We did find the Thirsty Turtle where a good time was had by all.
We returned back to the very fine house and had a Ceremony of Tribute to the Graduate complete with gifts from proud family members, yet without crowds or traffic jams.
On Friday our first big thing was to see a few properties that Andrew thought might help him make money. Part of what he has been studying while he has been in college is rent – as expense – and longingly thinking of it as income. Now that he has graduated and is reasonably confident of generating an income, he is casting about for ways to do so. All that ignores the impact of six more bodies on the Realtor on a Friday morning.
It took longer than we anticipated and there are no photos because we cannot claim to have helped any decisions about new places to live. From Steve’s point of view, the properties in Belgrade did not show as well as the properties in Bozeman. But then, Steve doesn’t have a dog in this hunt.
For dinner, Andrew took us to the Chi Alpha house, which played a large role in his college years. He roomed there his Sophomore year. Once he discovered the place his Freshman year, it became his study hall, his source for social activity and his spiritual anchor; it was his home in many ways. As Andrew explained it, the house hosted dinner to celebrate its graduating members and their families. It was a shame that we met so many of his friends so quickly; it proved impossible to remember their names.
Steve went to Bozeman and that wasn’t even the best part. Steve went to Bozeman to celebrate Andrew’s graduation from Montana State (go Bobcats). He went with a lot of Andrew’s family, like Dell, Bernhard, Cheryl, Jonathan and Cayla. The weather was fantastic on the drive up. In Casper, Wyoming, we had a picnic lunch.
Unfortunately, when talking about road trips through Northern Colorado, Wyoming and Central Montana, after you’ve said I-25 and I-90, there’s not a lot to say, except maybe that you wish the speed limit could be eighty all the way. Steve rode with Jonathon and Cayla and enjoyed listening to an audio version of James Herriot‘s “All Creatures Great and Small”. The company was great. Lunch was grand. The park in Casper was a fine place to stop.
Slightly less than a lifetime ago, when we asked if there was anything special that she wanted for her birthday, she responded, “Presents and Balloons.” As doting parents, we’ve labored within those constraints ever since. This year, it was mostly novels filled with dystopian magic and T-shirts with printed snark – and balloons.
Six days before the game, our friend, another Steve, calls and asks if we’d like to go to the hockey game. Our home team, the Colorado Avalanche, were hosting the St. Louis Blues. He explained that he had the responsibility of filling a suite. (Wouldn’t you like that job! I know I would.) We knew it would be a bit of a rush since we had already made plans with family to go to the Rockies game together, but Yes! It sounded like fun. The Avs aren’t going to the playoffs this year and the Blues need just one win to clinch a playoff slot but we were sure it would be a good time.
We’d had plans to go watch the Colorado Rockies get a little revenge on the Arizona Diamond Backs for several weeks. They went something like this:
Meet downtown before the game for a little lunch.
Walk over to Coors Stadium.
Enjoy the beautiful spring weather.
Boo the Ump.
Cheer our guys.
Go home with a winning feeling.
Sure the D-Backs beat us last year (who didn’t?), but the Rockies are hot out of the gate this season. The scenario almost worked.
Its a party
Hapless youth
Play ball!
Cummon Rockies
We’re winning
Lets get to the game
Its slipping through our fingers
We had fun before the game. The weather was perfect. The Rockies got on the board first and stayed ahead into the ninth inning when those sneaky snakes from Arizona took the game away. We told ourselves the day was really about family and friends and headed for the Pepsi Center and the Avs. We met some new friends, reacquainted ourselves with others and watched the Avalanche serve the Blues a pretty convincing defeat. As a bonus, because the Avs had called the day ‘Military Appreciation Day’, we got to applaud the service of some veterans and some new inductees.
The thing I keep thinking about is that who wins is never a locked down certainty. The Rockies were supposed to win (at least in my mind.) They lost. The Avs weren’t supposed to win, but they did. Its been said before, but I guess that’s why they play the game.
Before the puck drops
New friends
Swearing in the inductees
One final word. More important than being our ticket to the Avs game, our friend Steve is a lawyer who heads up a non-profit organization called the Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Clinic. If you’re intrigued, or even just curious about a lawyer who believes in Grace, click here.
Our friends at Mercy Trails Ranch (nearest town is Raymer, Colorado) were moving to Oregon and needed folks to watch their horses and cows while they were out west looking for their new home. Steve was able to spend a couple nights and had the chance to soak up the solitude of an east Colorado high plains ranch. By the end of that time Steve was glad to have the dogs to talk to. In fact, he was starting to believe that the dogs were talking back!
It was good to think about how the place had played a big part in the lives of friends and family.
The first person to wonder why huge piles of sand were in the mountains of Colorado didn’t get credit for the question. It’s easier to wonder about these great sand dunes now, with roads and all, but I’m not sure the answer is any more clear. I think it looks cooler when you’re standing there, because the sand all looks the same in my pictures. It was fun to dig into the river bed and find that the river was still there under the sand. It’s hard to resist walking up the dunes, and why would you?
The river under the sand
Go and see
When we had our fill of sand, we went to Zapata Falls, a couple miles south of the dunes. It’s an oasis in the desert. After walking forever in the heat (probably 15 minutes, because it’s only a half mile trail from the parking lot) you find yourself in this crack in the rock with a tiny water fall and it’s is positively chilly even on hot days. It was a treat.
It’s less than 15 miles from Crestone, CO to the Great Sand Dunes National Park – on the map. It takes a little over an hour to drive there because its more miles by car. It seemed reasonable to see how close we could get to the north side of the dunes by car and then walk around that area a little bit. It’s rugged. It’s not hospitable. And, even after driving to get close, its a long walk, we did not walk to the Sand Dunes.
