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We Met ’em in Montana, Part Three … In Search of Skies
Yep, when you go through close to a week of the air choked with smoke, you long for even a glimpse of the sky.
Saturday was “hang-out” day, since most outdoor activities were curtailed due to the smoke. In the late morning, a small group of us took a walk over to Kehoe’s Agate Shop, about a half-mile from the cabin. We had to pass their sign every single time we went anywhere, and it was about time to pay them a visit. The road took us up a hill by a golf course. It seemed to us that the air was getting clearer, but we couldn’t be sure. The agate shop was fun to poke around, and that was the only shopping I got to do for the entire trip. I laughed out loud when I saw this sign on the way back to the cabin.
Saturday afternoon was the big recording session, for those of us who had parts in the podcast. When we got back from our walk, we saw some of the stars taking a break on the balcony off the upstairs “recording studio.”
And then … and then … I looked up, and what did I see? The sky!!! For the first time in nearly a week, the sky made its appearance!! This is the big house up the hill behind our cabin.
I just had to capture Sarah Weivoda’s “Orange Lunch” Saturday afternoon. While we were at the house, it was pretty much scrounge your own breakfast and lunch.
In between recording sessions, breaks on the deck, and munchies, we house-dwellers and friends played cards and just relaxed.
We managed to put the recording to bed late Saturday afternoon. Dinner Saturday was at the Bigfork Inn in “downtown” Bigfork. We Ricochet members really know how to eat and drink!
Sunday was the really big day. We at the house got some work done. See how hard @tg is working, with her three separate devices?
Since the skies had cleared a bit, @mlh followed through with her plans to rent a sailboat and go sailing on Flathead Lake. She took out two groups of sailors. Our Intrepid Sailor @kayofmt went with the first group. @raykujawa, @tg, and I went on the second outing. It was awesome! The wind was brisk, and Ray demonstrated his knowledge of sailing. @tg and I were happy observers.
Sunday night’s dinner was at Marina Cay Resort. Everyone was as dressed-up as they get, and a nice meal was had by all.
Kay and Kaylett. Aren’t they adorable? Great ladies!
After dinner, it was time for the Really Big Shew. We all trooped downstairs, and the A-V team set up for a Live Flyover Country Podcast, Starring “The Wives.”
They were absolutely hilarious. And we got to hear the first half of the Ricochet Silent Radio production that we had recorded on Saturday. We were left wondering, Who Killed Invisible Television, since we only heard the first half!
After this, everyone went back to The Cabin, and had snacks and drinks, played cards, and just indulged in some adult high-jinks.
That’s Katie Koppelman and the new group “The Rhodys.” Mr. Balzer was made an honorary Rhody for the occasion.
Well, all good things must come to an end. Everyone reluctantly bid adieu very early Monday morning. Everyone who went to Montana had a terrific time, met scads of new members and spouses, drank some good booze and wine, ate everything known to man “huckleberry” (including ice cream and liqueur), and inhaled more wood smoke than is healthy.
My final contribution is a street sign I noticed on our way into town on Wednesday. I made Ray stop so I could take its picture. A fitting end to a fabulous weekend meet up.
Not the first time. Probably not the last either.
Other members of the crew on the early cruise: Vectorman, Kelsurprise and Jason. Thanks to all for indulging me!
Heather has Ryan down pat. And Julie, like Terry, didn’t overplay her hand.
Scary.
A beautiful report! Glad the blue sky finally put in an appearance. You guys did such a good job on the radio recording that it sounds like you did it in a studio, and now we see the physical reality!
Excellent report, RushBabe! I want to mention that various people brought consumables from their home state that aren’t available nationwide. The Wisconsin boys brought a bunch of beer, RushBabe and Ray brought wine and whiskey from Washington, TG brought Sand Plum Jelly from Oklahoma, my wife and I brought Minnesota State Fair Pickles and Old Dutch potato chips, and Katie brought Fargo-made candies. Rick Poach and his wife Joan went all out. They brought Wyoming Whiskey, homemade sourdough bread, and a large selection of homemade cheeses. Rick also brought a bunch of cigars, but I don’t imagine they were made in Wyoming. Kay of MT went to extraordinary lengths to buy us a bunch of huckleberries so Sarah could make us huckleberry cobbler.
On their way to Bigfork, Katie and Vectorman picked up some huckleberry ice cream from a small Montana chain called Big Dipper Ice Cream. The funniest moment of the whole weekend was when Jason first saw the carton and said something along the line of, “Big Diaper Ice Cream? That’s the worst brand name I’ve ever heard.”
There’s probably someone else who brought something that I’m forgetting, but that’s all I remember at the moment.
Sarah’s huckleberry cobbler was to die for. Yummmmmmmm!
When my kids lived in Montana for a couple of years, they brought home something called Moose Drool beer, with which my son-in-law made a fish batter. The best fried fish I’ve ever had.
The name alone makes you laugh before you even eat it. :)
Some of the aforementioned goodies. I should have thought to lined them all up for a picture. I hadn’t mentioned the honey, earlier. I think that came from the Poachs’ own bees.
I also should have taken a picture of the mass quantities of Wisconsin beer. Didn’t think of it.
The Bar…
And that’s not everything. This was Friday, and people brought more throughout the weekend.
And I neglected to post this one.
You can see the “landscape” behind them!
@jasonrudert and @rickpoach
I was a little too nervous to really do a great Terry impression. Maybe I should’ve had more whiskey.
I brought some of that back home for my family. It’s pretty good beer.
Terry does usually sit back and let Ryan do most of the talking, so it’s OK that you let Heather take the lead. Next time, remember to start more sentences with “I mean…”
He does start out many sentences that way!
This is the Ricochet Meetup Passport sticker design used for this meetup.
Everyone also got a second sticker for this meetup. The bonus sticker was to commemorate the Ricochet Silent Radio episode that @garymcvey wrote for us specially for this meetup. The version of this sticker you got depends on whether you were an audience member or a participant in the production of the show.
If you enjoy reading Gary’s Ricochet Silent Radio series and haven’t listened to the first ever audio version, do go to the above link and give it a listen.
Most of you know about the Meetup slideshow videos that I usually make, right? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s the one from the Charlevoix Meetup two years ago.
Anyway, I’ve got still pictures from @jasonrudert, @katiekoppelman, @6foot2inhighheels, @rushbabe49, @kaylett, and myself. I’ve got those all cropped, edited, and in order. Tonight Melissa is uploading videos and I’m downloading them, so I can take selected clips to put in the show. I’ve got to say, @1967mustangman and @vicrylcontessa are so damn cute together I can’t stop smiling. It will be a few more days until the slideshow is done, but I’ll put up a notice here when it is ready.
That’s great, Randy! I know that Ricochet meetups happen all the time, with groups of every size, but this one seems to have been extraordinary for everyone who made the trek. There was something special in the air besides smoke. I hope there’ll be other live radio programs in the future; whether those happen in Maine or wherever the big summer meetup happens, or whether it stays a Montana late summer exclusive, you guys did such a good job in 2017.
Providing that someone will be there again with recording equipment, I think there will be high demand for a Ricochet Silent Radio show at the big Maine Meetup in 2018.
As for now, I plan on being there!
You’ve got a writer!
This gave me an idea. Can we just send this to the NFL players association? It would make a lot of people happier.
We never got to see this close because of the smoke. The way it worked out, we could have called this the Meetup in the Mist (or Smoke, or whatever). But I love that view and got to see it in person in 2010.
If you’d care to sashay your way over here, you can check out the slideshow video for the Montana Meetup, fresh out of the oven.