The Capital of Big Sky

One day, one night.  That's all the time we planned to stay in the capital of Montana.  After a trip to the local brewery however, our plans changed drastically, and it wasn't just because of the beer.  The small city of Helena had decided to put out its finest entertainment for our surprise visit, including a FREE symphony concert under the stars.  How could we refuse?

Our 'one day' turned into two, and then three as the date of the concert was confirmed.  Meanwhile we kept busy, mostly avoiding an imminent band rehearsal.  Luckily for our fans, we failed.

We explored Helena's running possibilities (we are all long distance runners) and took a bike ride downtown, which didn't look far away but Montanan plains can be deceptive and you don't notice the uphill slope until it's too late.  All in all it was a delightfully 

grueling ride and we got to see a lot of Helena in the process.  We took a riverboat tour as well, following a section of the Lewis and Clark trail.  We were a little disappointed that we had missed the original journey of Lewis and Clark by 203 years but we managed to cope.

The Helena Symphony Orchestra was accompanied by a narration performed by the astronaut Buzz Aldrin, which fit in nicely with the starry theme.  

What it truly lacked though, was movement.  So my sister Kathryn and I took it upon ourselves to produce and perform impromptu dance moves to each musical piece.  We soon had several blankets full of kids playing different parts (they especially liked the Star Wars theme) and got several standing ovations from our loved ones.  Everybody else was more interested in the music.  We could only feel sorry for them.

Tomorrow we leave for new and as of yet, unknown destinations in a south-ish direction.  Who can tell what other exciting adventures this Montanan "Big Sky Country" can churn out for us!