I am back in Bozeman. I have finished my big two days for the first round. Monday I did a show in Boulder MT and stayed the night at the Boulder Hot Springs Resort. Then on to Helena Public Library. That show is always so much fun! and Constance(librarian) is great! Then to East Helena Library. They are a week away from moving to a brand new building. Diane is so enthusiastic and the show was really fun. It started to rain hard as I loaded up my show and drove down to Clancy. We were in a big tin building. The beginning of the show (The Great Water Rescue II) Is about a valley that has no rain. As I was talking about this it began to really rain. The raindrops were hitting the roof with great force. The line is “It did not rain. And still it didn’t rain”. All the while the rain is slamming down on the roof. Talk about “willing suspension of disbelief”! This was Tuesday. I stayed in Helena that night and left for Augusta MT. I go a late start and thought I would get gas in Wolf Creek. No gas there and no place to get gas for the next 40 miles. I arrived in Augusta on fumes. The show is Augusta was great! A little boy who had impressed me with his wisdom (He was 4) last year was back. I asked him if he remembered our conversation. He said “No. I was only 4 last year.” Susan bought me lunch–The best hamburger in the world! It was too, even though I had to eat it on the road to Lincoln. Lincoln has a new community room. It is really nice. Good audience. Then on to Cascade for a 7:00 show. That show is really a kick! All six shows were really really fun and I seemed to survive in great shape. I drove back to Bozeman–made it by 11:00 and went down to see Lang’s studio. What a great space. Today I have off. Tomorrow, Whitehall then home for 4 days.

6/14/2010 OK vacation is over. I had three days off after only two shows but I am back on the road. I left Bozeman this morning bright and early hoping to have time to investigate the Boulder Hot Springs Resort. I saw an add for it and it seemed like an adventure waiting to happen. So off I went. I remembered a short cut off the Interstate that would get me there quicker–if I could just remember what exit to take. I got to an exit that looked right. And headed off towards what I hoped was Boulder. It didn’t look familiar but there was a sign that said Boulder 25 miles. So all was well, until I hit gravel. I was beginning to think I had somehow missed a turn when the gravel road with no speed limit had a “Reduce Speed farm machinery entering” sign. Sure enough there was a large farm operation. I debated but decided to stop and ask directions. “Yes,” the lady said. “This road goes to Boulder but it’s gravel the whole way. Go Slow” She was right on both counts. I later found out the road I was really looking for was under construction and would have taken twice the normal time. The show was great fun! Lots of kids and lots of laughs. Afterward I headed the 3.5 miles south of Boulder to the Hot Springs Resort. It is cool! The buildings are big and very last century. The rooms are great. Mine has a 1/2 bath but there is a place to take a shower downstairs. The indoor bathing rooms are segregated-men’s and women’s–bathing suits optional. The outside one is co-ed. The women’s has a hot tub (104-106), a cooler pool and a steam room. I am headed there now.

6/13/10  Sunday in Bozeman.  This is a strange schedule.  I must talk to my book manager about feast or famine.  I had one show in Havre Mt on Thursday, one in Cut Bank MT on Friday and the next one will be in Boulder Mt on Monday.  Tuesday and Wednesday have three shows a day each-all in different towns.  But if I am going to have three days off I am so glad it gets to be in Bozeman with Lang.  We had Cajun food for lunch then climbed Pete’s Hill.  I made it all the way—with a few stops to admire the view.  It is a trail in Bozeman going up a hill by the library. What a spectacular city Bozeman is!  There has been LOTS of rain so it is green and beautiful. We took a drive to Paradise Valley via the back roads.  Lang and Dick and I had tried to take it once before but somehow missed the turn.  This time we got to see it.    Coffee in Livingston then the art walk in Bozeman.  The many art galleries downtown open their doors on a Friday night and invite the public for wine and cheese and art.  It was great.  We, of course, stopped at Attitudes which has two Termespheres hanging in their front windows.  Then we went to the Emerson (the art center) for Dinner.  It was lovely and delicious.  It is however, the first time I have had baked eggs on pizza.  Saturday we went to the Leonardo exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies.  They have built the inventions Leonardo wrote about in the 14 hundreds.  We got to play with them. What a kick!  I was hoping they would have put together a camera obscura like the one at the Cliff House in San Francisco but they opted for the forerunner of the tank—which was awesome.

6/8/10—as remembered 6/10/10

Summer Reading Tour has begun.  Every year it seems there is a life time until I start my summer reading tour.  And every year it jumps up and bites me.  This year was more intense because there was a new tobacco prevention in May.  Then I revised another show for Summer Reading.  It has been an intense couple of months but I am ON THE ROAD AGAIN! I left Spearfish on Tuesday.  I was supposed to go at noon but as always happens tome before a road trip.  There were many more things that needed to be done than I thought.  I was finally ready to go to Havre MT about 1:00—a mere 520 miles north and west.  That’s when I realized I had lost the power cord to my computer.  The battery life on this computer when fully charged is 39 minutes.  We began the search.  It was a good thing because I picked up about a dozen things I had forgotten to pack but no cord.  I finally gave up the search about 2:30 and headed out.  But I decided to stop at Radio Shack to see what they had.  They had a power cord for 80 bucks.  Being caught between a rock and a hard place, I bought the cord and was on the road by 3:15.  One should not start a very long road trip at 3:15.  But I had audio books and I need to go over the show—several times so what the heck?  In Billings I missed the turn and headed back toward Spearfish for about 40 miles before realizing my mistake and turning around.  All things being equal and the same, I got into Havre at 1:00.  I could have been worse.  I slept very well and the show was a blast. I am in Cut Bank—the wind mill capital of Montana now with a show this afternoon at 3:00.  Then on to Bozeman.  I do love the road!