Meeting Missoula

Saturday August 28, 2011
Jim & Mary’s RV Park  Site A7
Missoula, Montana

 

We set out for the Missoula Farmer’s Market this morning.
Found out they actually have two of them on either end of
Higgins Street named after one of the men who built a saw mill
there on the Clark Fork River in 1864.

 

Missoula isn’t a huge town but it sure has
huge Farmer’s Markets.

Here we are UPtown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We bought too many delicious looking veggies to fit
in our little refrigerator.  I had a fabulously delicious
Pecan Roll from under the Black Cat Bake Shop’s Umbrella where
I stood in line for some time to get it and
yet with all that standing never thought to
get their picture or one of me stuffing it in my face.
David bought what turned out to be the most
expensive melons I’ve ever heard of from
one of the two Dixon trucks at the upper market.
They had a truck everywhere we went today.
But we did not buy any $60 a pound huckleberries.
I don’t think gold is priced that high any more is it??
:-)

 

Both Markets had ample music.  Some
were scheduled

 

 

like this father/son duo who sang some
very FINE country music

 

 

and had the boots
to prove it.

 

 

Some were not scheduled

 

 

 

Old Rockers never die.
This one was singing “Johnny Be Good”.

 

 

We wandered from the “UP”town market
to the “Down” by the river Clark’s Fork Market.

 

 

 

Now here’s a vendor after my own heart.

 

We had a sausage on a stick from Bugoni’s
”Montana’s Best”.  Sorry, we ate it
before it could get phographed.

 

But bought nothing from Mr. Beef
although he was a good ad for his product.

 

 

Along the way we were very impressed with
what a bicycle friendly town Missoula is.
The bike lanes are between the sidewalk
and the parking spaces all along Higgins Street.

 

 

 

And bicyclists of all sorts.

 

They have plenty of places to park bikes
And lots of people taking advantage of this friendliness

Check out this “bike rack”

 

 

And this bike

 

 

 

 

 

Missoula is so classy, they put out a
call to artists to decorate their
utility boxes along the street.
Look what happened.

 

 

 

 

We topped off this part of our day with a
visit to the Uptown Diner.

 

 

Best milkshake for 14 consecutive years!
AND they make malts. 
All righty then!!
Time’s a wastin’ !

 

 

Looks just like a 50’s diner inside.

 

 

 

 

 

Peanut butter malt for me
REAL soda fountain cherry coke for David.
10 STARS for both!!!

 

 

Missoula was also having their 6th Annual
River City Roots Festival.
So after “lunch” we wandered over
and run into our Blog and current neighbor friends,
Jeanne and Eldy.

 

 

Why is this man smiling so broadly?
Maybe he’s as happy as I was to see all
the recycling Missoula does.
Check that out in the background,
in the middle of the street,
in two separate places.

 

Not sure exactly what roots they were celebrating
but they had a small arts and crafts fair,
a live music stage, with a tall fan,
many food choices and a couple of convenient tent ATMS
so you’d be sure to have enough money to spend.
Those were new to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boys went over for a brew while Jeannie and
I cruised the festival.

 

Later we ended up at
Missoula’s Iron Horse Brew Pub
for dinner.

 

 

 

We had a great time and
everyone’s food was delicious

 

I think we would all highly recommend this
version of “pub food”.
Check out Jeannie’s dessert.

 

 

It looked SO yummy but I’d already
had my dessert for the day!

Thanks Missoula for a fabulous time!!!