Mountains upon Mountains

Montana. It truly is Big Sky country. Sapphire blue skies. Countless stars. Local brews. Mountains. My kind of place.

Life here is a bit slower and the politics a bit righter, but it's intriguing how ideals meld together. It may be cliche, but we're not as different as one might think. When I think of conservative politics these days, I think of the big corporations, the 'save a buck at any cost' mentality, and subsidized corn. However, this small town of Hamilton fought away Wal-Mart so their ma and pa shops could continue to flourish. They eat a large amount of local food, including what they grow and hunt themselves. Katie and I were talking in the car on the way west about Toby Keith's new song "Made in America", and how all of the ideas he talks of are valued by people of all ideologies and locales. A lot of the values I try my best to practice are 'conservative' actions but are perceived as socially liberal. However, this very politically conservative town of 4500 people naturally demonstrates very 'liberal' actions through their desire to keep their community intact and to support their neighbors. Enough about that. Just found it interesting. Can't we all just get along? :)

Yesterday was  a fun day. Austin gave us an incredibly interesting and informative tour of his workplace, Rocky Mountain Laboratories (a branch of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).  Emily, Katie and Brent made panini sammies (sourdough, turkey, pear, brie, fresh lavender). 

Then the highlight of the day came, a hike up to Blodgett Peak. The Bitterroot Range runs on either side of Hamilton, and boy is it ever refreshing to wake up, look out the window and see the mountains in the forefront of your view. So Emily, Katie, Brent, Tim, Tasha and Katia (Austin's sister's family) headed up the mountain! It was gorgeous. Check out these pics: 

Time to head to the cabin at Lake Como with the Athmans. Then it's off to Seattle from there!

.nothin' but luv.

~B&K~