Big Sky, the summary

Well, unfortunately my new landlady is a flake. My new apartment is not quite move-in ready. Rather than moving some stuff tonight then, I can get some work done...and post! So here is the story of my course in Montana...

This is by far the softest plant I have ever felt. I think its common name is Partridge Feather. It really holds water! My friend who is interested in Green Roofs is definitely interested in this plant! It was in a little garden with drought-resistant plants that we came across one afternoon.
The University of Montana Grizzly with the University Hall and 'M' on the hill behind it late in the afternoon. I did not see any real grizzlies, which I suppose is good.They can not stop watering the campus! 24 hours a day there are sprinklers going. Seriously. We were told that the water table is so high there, that there are never water concerns. I am still not sure it is necessary. Does watering a wet lawn in the afternoon really do anything aside from provide for a photo shoot?We went to an organic co-op farm for dinner one night and got to poke around. They had ripe raspberries we could pick that I tried not to gorge myself on, as well as a bunch of sunflowers. You can see the farm in the background, but I really did not get any good shots of it. With a digital camera, I love pretending I am all fancy with my picture taking and macro setting. :-)There is the 'M' on the hill in the background again! This is the band that was playing at a weekly outdoor lunch event at which local restaurants set up vendor tents and the town comes out to eat and take in the entertainment together.
The Country Fair at night...
...where we saw these kids showing their pigs......and the end of the rodeo......and also a weird hypnotist, the 4-H food exhibits, the photography barn, llamas, cows, chicken, and a drunk teenager getting in trouble with the police. Good times.

Such good times, in fact, that this is how I felt on the last night.
And I started with a plant, so why not end with a plant. This is some cool dry grass up near the 'M' on the mountain. It is no wonder that fires are a concern out there with hills covered in this stuff! Part of the hill had actually burned a few weeks prior, but did not reach as far as this.So, that is the first week of my trip! I loved it there and would DEFINITELY go back for just a vacation.