State Meet - 2002 Cross Country Montana - DyeStat high school track and field and cross country

DONNA ON THE SIDE in MONTANA
Part 1 - Big Sky Country
Part 2 - The Meet
Part 3 - Class AA
Part 4 - Class A
Part 5 - Potpourri and Workerbees
(Be patient . . . the files are long, but worth the wait.)

Montana is Big Sky country--that means open spaces, plains with no trees and no skyscrapers. It's outdoors, fresh, rugged. It's beautiful. People fish, hunt and ski and proudly display their catch. Montana is the 4th largest state in land area and the 44th in population. With those stats you can go a long way without running into anybody. I went prepared for the worst in weather but as natives told us we were very, very lucky. It was gorgeous fall weather with crispy temps at night and beautiful sunshine during the day. That made driving the roads for fall color all the more enjoyable. We spent most of the time in Whitefish but made a scenic run from Whitefish down to Kalispell, Bigfork, Flathead Lake, Hungry Horse, Columbia Falls, and back to Whitefish. To get to the meet we went from Whitefish 200 miles south to Helena, Montana's capitol. Along the way we crossed the Continental Divide outside of Helena. Unfortunately, there were no rivers in sight to watch the separation of waters running west to the Pacific Ocean and east to the Atlantic Ocean.

As far as entertainment, we ate and I shopped. Whitefish and Bigfork have some great spots to roam around in. There is a good coffee/book shop in Whitefish along with some great spots for lunch. I bought lots of candy at Montana Tom's Gift Emporium including some Glacier Rocks (Candy that really look like rocks.) There are also art and jewelry shops to enjoy. When tired there are outside benches supported by moose and bear to help refresh.

In Big Fork you'll find Electric Avenue Books, a really fine bookstore where we bought books about Montana and the area. On your way out of the bookstore you're offered a lemon drop for the road. Also, I bought a beautiful necklace for our daughter's 21st birthday at Kathy McDonnell Jewelry. (Kathy sells her own, as well as other artists' work.) In addition, there are numerous places to buy local art work. A fun place indeed. We were sorry that we didn't get to ShowThyme, a highly recommended restaurant open only in the evening. Maybe we'll get there next time. (In fact, most restaurants in this part of the country don't open until 4pm.) But we did have lunch at Swan River Cafe--good food and nice atmosphere.

But the best events of our trip (other than the meet) were dinners with the Nelsons and the Vidals. The Nelsons of course are Zoe the Zephyr, Mom-Brooke, Dad-Bill and Brother Micah. Jim and Gail Vidal are former high school cross-country parents, now college cross-country parents who still enjoy and are very supportive of high school cross country. We were treated to good food, great hospitality and stimulating conversations. And, we were inspired to optimism by Coach Jeannie Jorgensen who in addition to helping her husband, Paul, coach is a clown under the name Jeannie Jingle Tingle. We had a great time. Thank you to the Vidals, Nelsons, Jorgensens, all of the runners, parents, Montana Athletic Association, parent volunteers and nice people of Montana.

Hungry Horse Reservoir