Roadtrip

Friday afternoon we headed back to Bozeman to pick up some lumber for work. Here are a few shots from the quick overnight trip.

Barnes & Noble and the mountains - two beautiful things in my opinion. B&N was my local hangout when I was in high school, ok and college (yes, I am a dork - it would have been my local hangout in Valdosta if they had one.) I love the smell, I love the books, and I love the coffee. So to see a B&N with such a fabulous backdrop was great for me (I'm easy to please). For those interested, I bought two books both hardcover, both on the bargain table, both only $5.98 (BARGAIN! and there's no sales tax in most Montana towns) The Last Summer (of You & Me) by Ann Brashares, the same author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I loved the Traveling Pants movies. Although I never read the books, I figured this one should at least have potential. I've started it and it's pretty good so far, a little hard to follow....I'll share the full review in a later post. The second book is a novel called True Colors by Kristin Hannah who also wrote Firefly Lane, which I think I read several years ago. It's about three sisters, and since I have an amazing sister I thought it would be a good read.

Wal-Mart and the mountains - the only thing beautiful about this is the mountains (sorry Wal-Mart fans) and to be clear, we didn't go in, it was behind a gas station we stopped at (Cracker Jacks are great roadtrip food!). But, to give Wal-Mart credit, the did a great job of utilizing local architecture rather than corporate architecture. So for all my planner friends, if Wal-Mart (or Target to be fair) or CVS or Walgreens or any other box store says they only have one prototype - you show them this picture. It just proves that they can be sensitive in their design if the City (Elected Officials and Staff) will make them.

And this one I just thought was funny - it continues to show that states can have super classy places and then....places like this. Deli, Guns, Gifts, and Liquor....what more could you need since this was also a gas station. And according to a very reputable food critic (my Dad), this place also has the best deviled eggs. Sadly (or not) we passed on that delectable treat and instead enjoyed wonderful veal marsala and swordfish at The Grand Hotel in Big Timber.

All in all, another eventful trip to Bozeman. 2.5 hours of great scenery and fun stops along the way. Now that the weather is warming up (at least today) I hope to add more weekend road trips to my calendar. Stay tuned for updates!