View From The Bridge 6/21/15

VIEW from the BRIDGE
By Muncie
6/21/15

SUMMER CELEBRATION
Enjoy every minute of every day. Join in all the events. Carry your schedule with you. See you there!

SUMMER
Here it is, the first day of summer, Sunday the 21st. What happened to spring? It came and went so quickly. It is just past noon and the temp is 71 degrees according to the weather report on the Fort Benton website. I tried clicking on the 5 facts about the solstice. I do not know who is more stubborn, me or my computer. It would not tell me.

I am really enjoying these long evenings, because it is warmer, and I can walk around my yard. (Be sure to put on bug repellent.) I can eat my meals sitting on the deck.  I can do paper work because of the great light.

Welcome summer and slow it down a bit because the next season is fall and it will be September.

JAPANESE VISITOR
A few weeks ago there was a Japanese visitor in Fort Benton on a tour. She arrived on Wednesday evening and I was called on Thursday morning to ask if I could take her on a tour of Fort Benton. I picked her up at the Visitors Center in my 18-year-old Toyota truck.  That was out first link.

Her name is Hitomi but I could neither pronounce it nor remember it. I called her Linda and she liked that. We went for breakfast and then I drove her around town. I showed her where the Fort was and she would be touring that on Friday. I drove past the Ag Museum and spotted son Randy’s vehicle in front of the offices. We stopped in and Linda and Randy had a great conversation about Japan. Randy was stationed there for several years and they compared notes on places of interest.

We went into the Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center and we watched the movie. I have seen it many times and it was more meaningful because I recently had a jet boat ride to the White Cliffs. We also drove into the camp ground because it is such a beautiful setting.  We met some people on the road from Minnesota. They had a huge motor home without an attached vehicle. They said they were going to tour town. I told them about the Levee Walking Trail and they said they were not walking. They were riding their bicycles. What a way to go!

On Friday morning I walked over to the Grand Union for the start of the tour. Randy was the tour guide and we walked from there on the Levee Trail to The Old Fort. From there the next stop was the Museum of the Upper Missouri. The tour proceeded onward to the Ag Museum but I dropped out as I had an appointment.

As far as I could gather, the tour was taken that afternoon to the tour guides ranch east of Geraldine for lunch and again on Saturday for some sort of gathering. Linda returned to Fort Benton very late both evenings. I saw her on Sunday morning to say so long and she said she would return to Fort Benton soon. (All visitors say that.) We are in touch by e-mail.

WALKING
I have walked in the High School hallways Monday through Friday all winter and spring.  When school was over for the season, I had to change my schedule to hours from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The maintenance crew and the new flooring installers work those hours from Monday through Thursday. I was in the habit of walking at 4:00 p.m. and now I walk at 10:00 a.m.

I had to come up with a plan to walk on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Ah, the Ag Museum! There are about 400 paid memberships to the Museums and with their card they can access the building without charge. I am taking advantage of that and can walk the hours from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

I miss my walks on the Levee Walking Trail but it is already too hot for that. Please join me at the Ag Center about 10:00 a.m. Remember…you have to be a member of the Museums to get in free.

MUSEUMS
When the Museums and Old Fort opened last month, I reported that on Friday night it would be free to the public. Not!  However, I am not mistaken for this coming Summer Celebration weekend. The Old Fort, the Ag Museum, and the Museum of the Upper Missouri will be open to the public free of charge. Take advantage of this opportunity and see for yourself our wonderful facilities. You will be amazed at what you see and learn.

RATTLESNAKES
There was a small tid-bit in the River Press recently to beware of rattlesnakes. On Tuesday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. is my shift at the Visitors Information Center. My friend, Dusty, is there from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. She related that when she went outside to put up the flags, a bull snake slid across the sidewalk from the center where the tree is planted onto the lawn near the Center.

Later that afternoon, a couple from Fort Benton came in to shop for Charm Trail charms.  They said that they saw, which I assume is the same bull snake, slithering across Main Street.  Neither of them called 911. I know that a bull snake will not bite you, but our Visitors might not know that.

So beware. Take your children to the Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center to teach them how to distinguish between a rattler and a bull snake. They have a display. Also, call 911 if you see a snake because they can be relocated if it is a bull snake. There have been rattlesnakes seen on the Walking Trail and on the rip-rap rocks on the Levee between the Grand Union and the Fire House. Caution is advised in all situations.

On Friday I was at the Health Department and a man followed me out the door. He said that he had waited at the Sheriff’s office for an hour and a half because they were involved with getting help for a young boy about 10 miles outside of Big Sandy. He had been bitten by a rattler and could not be reached by ambulance. The helicopter was called to transport him to the hospital.

Another interesting story, the man outside of the Health Department told me, was that a bull snake hangs out near the boat dock. The snake often swims across to the island and then swims back.  He said it would not hurt anyone, (except scare them,) but many people would not know that. There will be many visitors in town next weekend up at the park. Watch out for yourselves and them too. Be aware of your surroundings.

FIFTY+ HOME SCHOOLED
My mother taught me about RELIGION.  “You better pray that comes out of the carpet.”

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, OUR POLICES FORCES and WEAR RED ON FRIDAY.  (You are excused this coming Friday because you will be wearing your new Summer Celebration shirts.)