Well, my stay in Sheridan, Wyoming, is about over.  I will leave in the morning on a 6 hour drive to Denver and stay with my niece, Danielle Paullin, for a few days.  I have had a delightful time in Sheridan enjoying family time with Dave, Cathy and David (or Mr. B as he is lovingly known in the family) Paullin.  Cathy is a dietitian and fabulous cook so we have enjoyed wonderful meals.  I must say Uncle Dave is not a novice in the kitchen, either, and made an excellent meatloaf with elk meat and pan fried trout caught ice fishing this winter with Mr. B.
       Sheridan, with a population of over 17, 000, has a vibrant Main Street with some wonderfully tempting shops.  There are a couple interesting murals in the downtown area and all along Main Street are numerous bronze statues with, usually, a western theme but, I did spy a rather large statue of a frog. Why, I don't know but, it did bring a smile to my face.  I have posted a couple photos of these below.
       Sheridan has some interesting history attached to it.  One of the most interesting historical facts is that Buffalo Bill Cody auditioned acts for his Wild West Show while sitting on the porch of the Sheridan Hotel.  Also, the Battle of the Little Bighorn which was Custard's Last Stand took place not to far from here.
       Well, it is close to dinner time so I will close for now since I am not one to be late for dinner, especially if Cathy is the cook!

Scupture of buffalo hunter

                                     

The Buffalo Bill Bar at the Sheridan Hotel

                                                   

                   Buffalo head over fireplace in a meeting room at the Sheridan Hotel

Wall mural in Sheridan

Hmm,  who is this cowgirl?  I don't think I would want to run into her in a dark alley.

Sheridan country off Dave & Cathy's deck

      Well once again I seem to have lost the post I was writing yesterday.  Maybe eventually I will become proficient at this blog thing or NOT!  Thursday afternoon and evening my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Dave and Cathy Paullin, my nephrew, David and I drove to Buffalo, Wyoming, to do some sightseeing and have dinner and attend the local jam fest at the Occidental Hotel.  Buffalo is about 30 miles from Sheridan.
       The following pictures were suppose to be at the end of this blog entry but alas, here they are, for your viewing pleasure. :-))

                                      The musicians at the Thursday night jam fest.

                                            Sign on front of bar at The Occidental.

                          Wall mural on a building across from Occiendental Hotel.

Guess who?

Cathy, Dave and nephrew David sitting in lobby of hotel.

Bar of Occidental Hotel.  In the back is where "jam fest" occurs.

It appears that Margaret Smith was long time propretress.

A look inside one of the hotel rooms.

       Buffalo is a small, rustic, western town with a population of less than 5,000.  The town is most noted for the Occidental Hotel which has been in existence since 1879.  It has served as host to a number of famous people such as Hubert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt,  Butch Cassidy and Owen Wister. Owen Wister was the author of the 1902 classic, The Virginian.   Mr. Wister was reported to have hung out at the bar in the hotel, observing everything and everybody, from local ranch hands to outlaws.  It is from these observations, the story goes, that he developed the characters for his book.
       After a delicious dinner at The Occidental Hotel, we moved into the bar where the local musicians gather every Thursday evening for a "jam fest" of blue grass/country music. Anyone was welcome to join them and there was around 8 or 9 musicians to start but before the evening ended 17 gathered to play guitars,  banjos,  mandolins,  fiddles, bass fiddle and harmonica.  The youngest being a 10 y/o girl playing a fiddle, but most looked to be over 60.  This was definitely the highlight to the day!

     Well, this is a little frustrating! I had several paragraphs written and some how touched the wrong thing it all disappeared, never to be seen again.  At least not until I have finished composing it again and then I will remember how to retrieve it. Rats!
     As I am writing this morning I am sitting in the eating area of my brother-in-law's and sister-in-law's house, Dave and Cathy Paullin, in Sheridan , Wy. I am looking out at the beautiful green hills and mountains with the blue sky, gorgeous! I am listening to meadowlarks chirping and a male pheasant calling out to find a new mate for the season.
      Well, on to the events of previous couple of days.  Jimmy, Brittany, Taylor, and Colton left for Maui from the Williston, ND, airport about 4:30 ND time on Tuesday.  I drove Jimmy's big rig back to their house and went to bed.  I had high hopes of leaving Fairview by noon but, alas it was after 3 PM.  I arrived in Billings about 4 hrs later and happy to report with no further speeding tickets!  Thanks Jimmy for the radar detector!  Actually, I was a good girl and kept my cruise control at only 5 miles over speed limit.
       Wednesday morning I woke and drove to Cabela's at 9 AM so I could get my pressed penny to add to my collection. (See picture below)  I have decided to collect these on my travels since they are more space efficient then any other gedunk I could collect along the way.  From Cabela's, it was onto Costco and then to the Yellowstone Art Museum.  This is downtown Billings and houses some interesting works.  They did a great job of involving the school children in art and displayed many of their works in the children's section.  Also on display were a number of local and nationally known artists works.  I must say my favorite was a huge wall mural done in black and white (charcoal or pencil, I think) of elephants in different comical poses. Within the poses could be found all sorts of critters. Hard to describe but very interesting!
      Next stop of the day was the Yellowstone County Museum.  This was a cabin that had belonged to a rancher, I think, and eventually was located to present location on edge of the Billings airport property.  It is a beautiful location sitting on top of the rimrock and looking out over Billings.  The museum is not large but holds many indian artifacts and also tells the story of several cattlemen who settled the area and whose ancesters still run their ranches.  Included in the display is an old roundup/cook wagon used fron 1893 to 1946.  It certainly outlived anything that is made today!
       Prior to Billings existence was a small town next door called Coulson.  Coulson sat on bank of the Yellowstone River and was a rough town in need of a sheriff.  The famous mountainman, "Liver-eating" Johnson took the job and ended up burying many a man in "Boothill" cemetery.  The most famous person that can be found there is Muggins Taylor who was the scout that carried the word of Custer's last stand to the world.  Today Coulson Park, where the town once stood can be found on the banks of the Yellowstone River.
      Billings was named after Frederick H. Billings who was the president of Northern Pacific Railroad.  Billings was developed as the western railhead for the railroad.  Once Billings took off, Coulson disappeared rather quickly with people moving to Billings from Coulson.
      Well, until the next entry, so long for now.
       I have heard that some of you had tried to respond to blog without much success. You can either go to my email (jan.paullin@gmail.com) or my facebook page.

                           
                                       My pressed penny from Cabela's!

 
                                   Yellowstone Art Museum in downtown Billings.

                       Panaramic view of Billings from the rimrock where airport sits.

Yellowstone County Museum located at Billings Airport.

     Well, it has been a busy 3 days in Fairview, Montana.  Jimmy took a Friday and Monday off from work so he could spend some time with me.  What a good son!  On Friday we started off the day with an Easter egg hunt at the library in Sidney.  It was so fun to see Taylor enjoy the experience and also see her kind heart as she gave some of her eggs to another little girl and help another find some eggs.  Watching Colton on his first Easter egg hunt was a special treat!  Watching them both made this Grandmother's heart very happy!
      In the afternoon Jimmy drove all of us to Fort Union, just a few miles away in North Dakota.  What a nice experience for Taylor and I certainly found it very interesting.  For those of you from Vancouver, Wa., it is much like Fort Vancouver, only about a third of the size and not as developed but with a very nice visitors center in what would be compariable to the chief factor's house at Fort Vancouver.  In the visitor's guide it is noted that Fort Union was the most important fur trading post on the upper Missouri from 1828 to 1867. Assiniboine, Crow, Cree, Ojibway, Blackfoot, and Hidatsa Indian tribes traded buffalo robes and furs for trade goods.  Fort Union was a center of peaceful economic and social exchange between Euro-Americans and the plains indians.  The visitors center guide told us that many nationalities from the European countries could be found at any one time.
      Saturday morning found us at another Easter egg hunt. Jimmy joined the Elks when he first moved to Montana and so he went at 9:30 to help a few of the members spread 2500 Easter eggs in a park in Sidney.  The hunt took place at 10:30 and was over in about 5 minutes!  Jimmy could not believe how fast it went! He said it took 5 people 45 minutes to spread out the eggs on the lawn of the park.  Kind of sounds like a holiday meal doesn't it?  Half a day to fix it and consumed in 20 minutes but oh, to the delight of partaking in the activity!  Speaking of food, we ended the day with dinner at the local pizza place in Fairview.  A very good pizza was totally consumed when it finally arrived.  Taylor and I went out side to explore while waiting for the food to arrive.  We had a "productive" time however, since she began to learn how to balance herself while walking on logs.  The logs were strung end to end to designate the parking area for the restaurant and so we had fun in the vacant section of the parking area.
      Easter morning found Taylor and I getting ready for church.  The Luthern pastor lives across the street from Jimmy and she and her husband know Jimmy and family. So Taylor felt quite comfortable at the church especially when the pastor's husband sit right in front of us.  After church when we exited the church, who would be out greeting the children but the Easter Bunny, himself!  What a thrill for Taylor!  And the thrills just kept on coming when we arrived home and the Easter Bunny had visited not only Taylor's yard but also the kind neighbor's yard as well!  After all that excitement it is hard to believe the family could focus on a breakfast of eggs, sausage, and home made cinnamon rolls!  It was all a very good start to a blessed Easter!

                                    A view of the bad lands and the Missouri River


Colton's first Easter egg hunt!

                                 Taylor partaking in egg hunt at the Sidney library.

                                                          Taylor at Fort Union.

                                                                       Fort Union

Jimmy, Brittany, Taylor and Colton at Fort Union.

                                                          Colton's first Easter!

                                    Taylor Easter egg hunting at home after church.

Colton finding Easter eggs at home!

     Well, it is Thursday evening and Jimmy is working later than usual and is hoping to be home by 10 PM. He left about 6:30 AM. He has been getting home anywhere from 6 PM to 8 PM.  Tuesday morning I will leave for Billings where I will spend the night and pick up my sister-in-law, Cathy Paullin, on Wednesday. I have never explored Billings so I look forward to this opportunity.  There is not a lot of sightseeing available around Fairview, but I did add a picture of a roadside historical sign that is located half way between Sidney and Fairview.  I am hoping Jimmy has time to take me to the bluffs mentioned, but of course it will depend on his schedule.
      The days have been full of helping Brittany with Taylor and Colton which is pure joy for me.  I have taken both grandkids on several walks and to the playground.  Today I took only Taylor to the playground and encouraged her to get out of her comfort zone and so now she enjoys sliding down the "firepole", going down the "big" slide with out gripping the sides and a couple other "scarey", but safe, equipment pieces.  It is so fun to see her turn her "I can'ts" into "I cans"!

     Well, need I say it has been a little crazy since arriving at Jimmy's in Fairview, Montana. I arrived Monday evening just as Brittany was loading the kids in the car for Taylor's first soccer game.  So I got out of my car directly into her car and drove to the soccer field at the fair grounds in Sidney and met Jimmy there.  And who do we meet there but Karla Steppler, a teacher I worked with at Maple Grove in Battle Ground.  She is originally from this area and was back for spring break visiting family.
         My final day of driving from Missoula to Fairview had good weather and was rather uneventful. However, I did find out that driving 90 MPH was unexceptable when the nice Montana Highway Patrol stopped me.  Fortunately it was only $40 which I paid on the spot. (Travis, your little radar detector would have come in handy!)  I learn my lessons quickly, however, and drove a little slower following that encounter.
      Yesterday was another full day ending with Colton's birthday celebration.  After dinner Colton opened his presents, or should I say he assisted his sister in opening his presents.  As typical for a 1 year old, his favorites were the boxes in which his presents came.  When will adults ever learn!  Of course birthdays are not complete without birthday cakes and Brittany made sure he had his own little cake that he could eat, or should I say play with to his heart's desire.
Today, Wednesday, was another busy day with Taylor having dance class at 2 PM and soccer practice at 4 PM.  Brittany, Colton and I did errands during dance class and before soccer.  Now it is off to home and get ready for dinner and evening activities.  So until the next free moment and the next entry, so long, farewell, until we meet again. ....

   
      I arrived in Missoula, Mt. last evening around 10 PM. Yesterday was a much later start than l planned with hitting the road at 11:30.  Travel was easy with good weather and only a rare sprinkle.  Jeffrey would have been proud of me using my technology (tablet) to find a motel in Missoula and booking it for the best price.
      Saturday was the crazy day for me.  Sandy, Robert's mom, wanted to have a going away gathering for me.  That started around noon. It was wonderful to spend time with Sandy, Dr. Bob, Robert, Travis, Lexie, Tommy, Lupe, Tim and Laura. Thank you Sandy for the wonderful goodie bag! Because of it I only made 3 quick stops yesterday! And Robert, I am writing in my travel journal. It is much less frustrating than this blog since I wrote this current entry last evening after arriving and then promptly lost it into cyber no-man land.
     Around 5 PM Tommy, Travis, Lexie, Lupe and I moved over to Ashley's 30th birthday party.  She had no idea about the party and so the surprise was a success! This was a great gathering since so many of Jeffrey's friends were here and I finally was able to meet Alexis.  Tyler arrived after he had gotten off work and so that was good to see him before I left.
       However the evening was not finished because Travis and I had promised Brandon that we would make it to his 30th birthday party as well.  Well, this was outside of Portland but Travis and I finally made it at 9 PM and everyone was gone from party except Brandon and Darby and 3 other friends but we were able to spend some quality time with them and Travis and Brandon were able to have a drink together and play some pool.  It was nice sitting with Darby and getting to know her a little better.  Well, we got to see Brandon, but Lynzi we had missed. She had to go to work and bartend in Battle Ground.  We could not call it an evening without seeing her.  Sooo, I, being the designated driver, drove Travis to Battle Ground so we could see Lynzi.  The bar was busy but Travis, being bold, he said he learned this from Jeffrey, grabbed a couple unused bar stools and set them down next to the cash register at the bar.  This way when Lynzi was not busy with a customer she could visit with us.  Travis and I had a great visit while we were sitting there and it was definitely a highlight in the day. Travis, Jeffrey would be so proud of you and I am so honored to call you one of my "adopted" sons!  Thank you Lexi for sharing him with me for the evening!!  Well, I finally made it home at 1:30 AM.  Travis and Lynzi, you managed to keep me out later than I have been out in years! But it was all so worth it!!  So that is why my 6 AM departure Sunday morning was pushed back to 11:30.
      Well, I am off today and will make it over to Jimmy's!! I am hoping to get there in time to see Taylor play soccer!  Adiós!