A Very Montana 4th

We had a lovely low-key Fourth of July, starting with a morning swim during “adults only” time (which also happened to be the coldest and cloudiest part of the day :-P), then set up in the tiny corner between our tent, the small, prickly spruce tree and the hedge – the only area with shade. Alan worked on his homework, I read one of my curriculum books [sprouts halo], and Olli played Jungle Cat in the hedge (he LOVES pretending to be a tough hunter).

We went to the fireworks at the Bozeman County Fairgrounds. We were treated to nearly an hour of local fireworks (over the residential area) because they’re legal here, before the real show started. OK, I’ll admit: I’m an East Coast snob, and I thought that there wouldn’t be as much money out west to have spectacular fireworks. Boy, was I wrong. I don’t know if it’s a wealthier area than I realized, or it was just the power of patriotism, but these were by far the best fireworks I have EVER seen. They were high, HUGE, and well put-together for a show, rather than just one spark after another. AND they were accompanied by the most patriotic of music—Sousa marches mixed with patriotic top 40 Country songs (that’s Alan’s opinion).