Alberton

The end of June found me, my sister Lore, and our friend Shelly winging our way to Missoula, Montana for a quick visit with my daughter, Courtney, and her family.

"Corky" and family moved in March to the small town of Alberton, just 20 minutes from the metropolis of Missoula. Ron grew up in Alberton and his family roots run wide and deep in this village of 400 people - most of them his relatives.

There are no stop lights in Alberton. I don't even recall seeing any stop signs. There's one feed store, one church, two restaurants and two bars, but we only made it to one of the bars run by a relative of Ron's.

And I can't forget to mention - one amazing building full of used books. The book shelves run from the floor to a 12 foot ceiling. The basement is full too. There's no computer system to find the books, just categories to browse. A pull chain hangs from fluorescent lights in each row to save on electricity. The woman who waited on us told of a fellow who went to the basement, came back out, went to his car and came back in again with a head lamp on. He didn't realize he had to turn on the lights in the basement!

We arrived Friday evening. The air was dry and still hot, somewhere in the 90's. The prediction was the temperature would be over 100 degrees Saturday and Sunday. Although the Evans' Mountain Meadows rental home has no air conditioning, the electric fans did the job and we slept comfortably. Ron took Shelly and I on a coffee run early Saturday morning and a trip down memory lane as he showed us his family homestead. He told stories of hunting mountain goats, fishing and living in a teepee for a period of time while a log cabin was being built. He is so at home and so happy to be there. Corky's pioneer spirit is alive and well in Montana and its' obvious they've made a good choice.

Ben is loving the life too. He hates to come inside, has a blast in the 7500 gallon above ground pool, feeds his chickens, dogs Giant and Lulu; and cat, Bruce (who happens to be female). He goes fishing with dad and big brother, Ryan. He'll undoubtedly become a hunter too, not to mention he's already sharpening his pool game at the local bar.

The one day we had in Alberton was fun and memorable. The "kids" had borrowed my vehicle and trailer to haul furniture in March so Ron hitched them up for us on Sunday and we hit the road after a terrific breakfast at the local restaurant.

I spent most of my grade school years in Montana, so I remember vividly the hot summers and cold winters. It's not a place I see myself living any time soon, but I'm certainly happy for the Evans family. They're loving life in "God's Country" and loving each other. What more could anyone ask!