KR and I headed for Utah this morning. As usual, I am taking the scenic route. KR doesn't seem to mind anymore, as she catches up on her reading. We had the snacks all packed, our clothes on the rack, all of the essentials, a suitcase of clothes for Ethan, and 4 tires in yellow Les Schwab plastic bags. KT needs to remove her snow tires and guess where the summer tires were stored. We didn't think of that. We even took along my main Christmas gift - a little warmer thingie you can plug into the car lighter that warms soup. Yes, it was my main Christmas gift - for the man who has everything. We went the Ritzville route to Spokane. We made one stop in Spokane - I ALWAYS has to make one stop in Spokane. It is my favorite costume supply place that has the best selection around. I am always in the market for the latest in gross things like plastic barf or funny glasses. We actually only made one purchase - more later on that. We then headed over the passes into Montana. We were a little concerned about the possibility of snow, but the roads were clear, and we made good time, arriving in Missoula about 4pm. We called ahead to my "seller" in Great Falls and he was home. So we made the decision to go for it. About 10 miles west of Deer Lodge, at Garrison, we left I-90 and headed to Helena on Highway 12. We were losing the light, but still enjoyed the nice drive along the Little Blackfoot River. It is one of the few valleys left in the West where they do not bale their hay, but still use beaverslides and haystacks. We topped out on MacDonald Pass and headed into Helena at dusk, not stopping, but then heading north on I-15 to Great Falls. We arrived about 8pm and, despite bad directions, made it to the "collection" okay. The area all around Great Falls was very foggy, and that slowed us down a bit. I took one look at the 120,000 cards and knew this was not going to work. Too many to evaluate in too short a time and too much money involved to not spend the time to evaluate them. So it was time for an alternative plan - more on that later. We found a Crystal Inn just outside Great Falls and had a quick dinner at the truck stop next door.
