Friday May 22

Woke to 6 a.m. sunshine and the promising feeling of a summer day when summer days are still fresh and new on the tail of winter and mixed up spring weather. So many possibilities! Cliffs to climb, trails to ride, peaks to summit, grass to roll in, wild flowers to witness, baby animals to “ooh” over, ice cream to eat, and margaritas to drink.
But I had to work….a real job…not studio time or desk/business/marketing time…just plain labor and “pay per hour” kind of work. Lucky for me the work involved my handsome boyfriend and a shipping container full of reclaimed wood in a beautiful part of Montana just a valley or two away….could be interesting anyway. We picked up a skid steer on our way out of town, sipped hot drinks and drove.
The reclaimed wood came from Florida…mushy, moldy, and rotten…most of it anyway. A few painted boards and a rare slightly carved piece caught my eye but none of it belonged to me. We labored while the dogs played in a nearby pond. Late afternoon we cleaned up a bit and had dinner at the sweet old Willowcreek Café. Super sweet. A rusty red old tandem bicycle leaned against the porch post out front. Haunting and compelling, the old bike invited plenty of conjecture. No doubt plenty have sat astride the broad worn out seats…young couples oozing sexuality and hyper-awareness…sweet slow loving old couples…giggling children… drunk cowboys yip’ing and hollering on a good natured dare… maybe even a bright-eyed shining pair of newlyweds? Stanley G West mentioned the bike in his book “Blind Your Ponies” (highly recommended read). We enjoyed a few drinks and home style ribs before driving off into the sunset, up the Jefferson River to pitch a tent and camp in the moonlight and cactus with the dogs.