Cruising on a Sunday Afternoon

When I was younger a Sunday drive usually meant a Sunday afternoon with my grandparents. Usually it included lunch or at least ice cream. My grandfather was the epitome of a leisurely Sunday driver. It would sometimes be embarrassing the people that would speed past us screaming obscenities or flashing fingers. I always thought, well, it is Sunday. Isn't that when officially you can drive casually? Isn't it almost expected? Well, maybe back in the olden days but now that life has gotten busier and busier this has gone by the way side. We need to take it easy. Get back those Sunday drives. So I want to encourage you all to take some time one of these spring Sundays and go for a drive. Load up the family, turn up the tunes, roll down the windows and cruise. Drive down the Bitterroot. Just driving down Highway 93 and looking at the Bitterroot mountains is a beautiful, peaceful thing. You can stop in Hamilton for some lunch possibly at Nap's Grills - http://napsgrill.com - for one of the best burgers in the Northwest or try The Signal Grill -  http://thesignalgrill.com - it looks like an amazing place! If you head east on I-90 you can stop at Ekstrom's http://ekstromstagestation.com  for a traditional ranch meal! Or you can head west on I-90 and are feeling like taking in a really, really long Sunday drive,head to Coeur d'Alene or Spokane and enjoy some Olive Garden, Chili's, P.F. Chang's or Clinkerdagger's - http://www.clinkerdagger.com - one of my favorite Spokane restaurants. If you don't want to go that far you can always make a stop in paradise. Paradise, MT. I always hear great reviews about the Paradise Whistle Stop cafe there. Of course Montana has some wonderful restaurants to check out but Big Sky Country is so much more. The landscape of our state is beautiful. An easy going drive anywhere in Montana will include scenery, wildlife and some amazing hikes. So get out of that car and trek on. Here is a site to show you all the great hikes around the state - http://visitmt.com/experiences/outdoor_activities/hiking_and_backpacking.

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Play Ball!

Usually this time of year when you hear "play ball" you are thinking baseball, but not today. It's Game Day. Griz football. I love Game Day in Missoula! Who doesn't?

This game day is a little different for a few reasons.

1)  It is a not a real game but a scrimmage.

2) It will not be a crisp fall day but a gorgeous spring day.

3) When the sun goes down we do not need to file out of Washington Grizzly and head home because we now have lights. Let there be light! And there will be.

4) Tickets are only $5!

5) And the football coach had 40 minutes to decide if he wanted the job, not even a month ago.    But, that's a whole nother blog.  http://bit.ly/IBxhe9

But, it's a Game Day nonetheless. People around town are pumped. Grocery stores are filled with shoppers getting some last minute goodies for their tailgates. Campers are being packed not for camping but to get to their tailgate spots. The UM cheerleaders and dance squad are getting ready to face paint and put tattoos on kids. The GSA tailgate is going to have tons of activities for kids of all ages. Food and beverages will be available. It's going to be an awesome day to be a Grizzly. But when isn't it?  http://bit.ly/HJClKG

Lights, Camera, (football) Action!

ESPN won't need to bring in their lights ever again. We don't need them for the next playoff games we play at Washington Grizzly Stadium. We finally got our own!

In the past week part of Campus Drive has been closed while workers hoisted up eight banks of lights with cranes.  The new lights to the stadium offer the possibility of late afternoon or evening games next season. Any north end zoners ready to freeze their butts off when the sun goes down next season? I know this season ticket holder is! I say let there be lights!

www.NBCMontana.com resports that "it takes four workers about three hours just to put one pole together and there are eight light posts that will surround the football stadium." Each of the eight light posts consists of between 18-22 lights facing the stadium, where some of the poles have some lights that face the opposite direction to help the tailgate area to get some light too.

Private dollars were raised to complete the $1 million project says Associate Athletic Director, Chuck Maes.

The lighting system is a pretty sophisticated system that actually can be managed, to a point, from a smart phone. The lights will be put on a timing system and will turn off by 10pm each evening unless the stadium is full of 25,000 screaming Griz fans. Then the lights will turn off when the game is over and all have filed out.

Next weekend, April 14th, the Grizzly athletic department’s goal is to set a Football Championship Subdivision record for attendance at the annual spring scrimmage. Come on down and you can see the "debut" of the lights in action. See you there?? Go Griz!

http://www.egriz.com/2012/03/griz-football-to-play-under-the-lights-spring-game-style/

A Trek up the "M"

When you arrive in Missoula from the west you can't help but see the big "M" on the hillside behind the University of Montana.

The "M" is an easy hike. Well, if you are in great shape. But even if you aren't is still is a trek worth taking.

It's a 3/4 mile strenuous hike up 11 switchbacks which ends up bringing you 620 feet in elevation. As you start out you can see the beautiful campus of the U of M and the mountains surrounding Missoula. As you get farther up you can see the whole valley, the Clark Fork River and right into the Washington Grizzly stadium - the home of the Montana Grizzlies football team. Go Griz!

Some interesting tidbits about the "M" and how it was formed is that it was built by the U of M forestry students in 1908. They carried stones up the zig zag path. In 1912 it was replaced with a wooden "M" which blew off in 1915. It was then replaced with a large stone "M" which was in place till 1968 when it was replaced with the concrete "M" we see still today!

Every day you can see lots of people making the trek. It is not an easy hike but what you see from the top makes it all worth it. It's not easy in the middle of winter with the switchbacks being frozen or in the dead of summer when the weather is hitting 90's. But you can't spend time in Missoula and not hike the "M". The University bookstore even sells t-shirts that claim "I Hiked the M".

So get hiking!

Check out other fun spots in Missoula as well http://gonw.about.com/od/attractionsmt/tp/missoulaattractions.htm