I can say with great confidence that a person has not truly celebrated the Fourth of July unless you have done so in Choteau, Montana.
:::
You could feel the energy building in our small town for weeks. Little by little our town was transformed from a quiet, peaceful town into THE bustling, exciting place to be! Flags and window decorations went up in the store fronts, arrows were spray painted on the roads to guide the obstacle course and foot racers, rodeo stock was held up in a pasture near the rodeo grounds and tables and porta-potties were set up in the park. Being a first timer I didn’t really know what to expect. We started seeing all sorts of out of state licence plates — New York, Idaho, Utah, Maine, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, California. People literally were coming from all over the country to our little town for the apparently famous festivities. It was hard to find a place to park anywhere in town. The hotel parking lot was full and the two in-town campgrounds seemed crowded.
It all kicked off on July 2nd at our local Roxy Theatre with a variety/talent show. Locals put on a show to raise money to help save our theater from having to close. We did not attend, but heard it was really cool. On July 3rd at 10 am the Summer Festival began in the city park. Booths and tables lined the park. Local produce, jewelry, art and photography were being sold. For the kids, face painting and cotton candy. Addi, Landon and I walked to the park around 1 pm. Addison enjoyed a GIANT cotton candy. Shortly after we got to the park the 5K obstacle course race began. We watched as people crawled through a giant mud pit to get to the finish line. Addison thought it looked really fun and said she wanted to race in it next year!
My mom, step dad Mark and younger brothers, Jake and Jack and sisters, Jessica and Jaci, came over from Missoula and spent a couple nights with us. I was SO excited to have them all here over the fourth.
Shortly after they arrived we headed back to the park for the outdoor concert. Right away mom spotted David Letterman just hanging out in the crowd. He owns a ranch near Choteau and really supports the Choteau community. A friend said he actually pays to bring in the concert entertainment. It was pretty cool seeing him. I tried to sneak quick and take his picture. He turned, looked at me and then quickly turned away just as I brought my camera up. People say he loves Choteau because he can come here and people leave him alone. I decided to do the same and didn’t try to sneak another picture — even though my mom really, really wanted one! After the concert we headed home and Mark cooked up a barbecue chicken dinner. Later that evening Jake, Jack & Dylan went back into town and attempted to attend the boxing matches. After being an hour and half late they decided it wasn’t worth the entrance fee. There was some sort of inside joke about “Bubba” the gate guard! I didn’t quite catch the whole story! Jake and Dylan ended up having a grand ‘ol boys evening at the street dance and local bar. Jack, Jessica, Jaci, Addi and I played a hilarious game of Cranium!
Summer Festival & Outdoor Concert in the Park
Dylan, Addi, Landon and I were up early on the fourth. We headed back to the city park, the hub of all the activity, for the 5K and one mile runs. I was hoping Addison and I would run the one mile fun run together. After they shouted ready, set, go Addi got scared of all the people chasing her (!) and ran to Daddy and watched me run instead! I think I took sixth and ran the mile in 8:21. It about killed me. I remember thinking a few times, “There is nothing fun about this run!”, but I finished! I remember when a mile was an easy warm-up run for me — not so much anymore!
One Mile Fun Run
The parade stared at 10 am. We lucked out and snagged the last open spot on the street. Main street was packed. I am not exaggerating, there were people as far as you could see up and down the street. It felt like we were at the parade in Missoula. The parade was so great. Beautiful horses proudly carrying the American and Montanan flags. Several old cars and trucks rolled down the street. Firefighters rode on the fire trucks sounding the sirens and splashing the crowd with their hoses. Addison scored A TON of loot. At the end of the parade two F15s did a fly-by. They were gone almost before we even heard them. We caught a mili-second glimpse of them. They were SO loud. They flew so low. They terrified Addi and Landon. There is something about seeing, hearing and feeling those jets that gets me feeling all fired up and super patriotic!!
Fourth of July Parade
After lunch we went to the rodeo. I LOVE rodeo! I am trying to talk Addison into becoming a rodeo cowgirl and learning to do barrel racing. She said, ” I don’t want to do it today, but maybe later.” It was HOT and dusty. We all left with red shoulders and dirty, sticky feet!!
Good ‘ol American rodeo!
There was one fun activity after another. After the rodeo the duck races started in the park. Over 700 ducks were released into the little creek that runs through the park. They were released in small bunches, in many, many heats. Addi and I bought Duck # 575. The duck races took forever and we didn’t stay to see our duck, but he didn’t win. The winner of the rubber duckie races took home $400, even the very last duck won $25!
We made a big barbecue steak dinner and hung out at the house until the fireworks started. I don’t think I can articulate into words how amazing the fireworks were. Friends of Dylan said our house was the perfect place to watch the fireworks as they set them off on the hill just above our house. At about 8:30 pm (it wasn’t even dark yet) the show started and when I went to bed at 11:30 pm the actual finale hadn’t even gone off! We sat on our back patio in front of a fire and watched 180 degrees of huge fireworks. They just wouldn’t quit. Every time we thought, “Okay, that has to be the finale”, another huge set of amazing fireworks would go off. There was a private family who’s show rivaled the city’s show. It was incredible. It was like watching a battling firework show. It was so long and so incredible, Addi fell asleep on Daddy with her hands over her ears. I have never seen anything like it before. Next year we are going to sell tickets to our backyard! We had the best seat in the city! The gigantic full moon added to the beauty of the night.
Happy Birthday America! We had such great time. I am already looking forward to next year!
:::
Addi & Daddy setting off a few smoke bombs and noisy chickens!
Comments