No Ordinary Pile of Rocks: Gillette, Wyoming 2/11

Goodbye Bozeman

(from Kristi)

Our final performance in Bozeman last night confirmed my notion of our mission on this trip.  It isn’t so much about our farthest destination, Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, MO, as much as it is about the experience of touring with our music.  Wild Joe’s Coffee Spot is a very carefully overseen performance venue which somehow has succeeded in that oh-so-difficult task of gaining respectful attention for the musicians in a commercial entity, effectively creating a concert atmosphere.  At least that’s how it worked out for us.  Perhaps my publicity efforts brought in folks who were interested in us.  Or maybe we succeeded on the merits of our music alone.  In any case the gratification was sublime.  Thanks to Matt, the sound man and emcee, for his very effective and skilled contributions to the cause.  And needless to say, thanks to Steve for his exemplary songwriting.

The wild blue yonder

My arrogant ignorance about new places no longer holds any kind of water now that internet research is always just a click away.  I have a tendency to show up in a place that is alien to me and assume that whatever phenomenon that seems strange to me is perfectly normal in this new place.  For example, in the summer of 2009 when we were about to board a plane to leave Tokyo, there was a small earthquake, a flood, and a typhoon in the same 24 hours.  It all seemed fairly normal to me, not being used to the routine of natural elements there.  As we flew into the typhoon it seemed fairly normal for Japan Air to treat us to as many free cocktails as we wanted.  The always-polite Japanese seemed to be apologizing for the extremely bumpy ride.  

Liquor store drive-in window service in Gillette, Wyoming

So here we are in Gillette Wyoming and it seems fairly normal to me that we're getting a little exercise after a day of sitting in a car, by stomping around in 6" of freshly-fallen snow with more coming down, and the temperature is 8 degrees Fahrenheit  and dropping like a rock.  We're wandering around parking lots and it would appear also normal that cars come to a halt for us, giving us about twenty yards of right-away.  That happened three times in a matter of minutes though there was hardly any traffic.  Either people are extremely sweet toward their fellow community members who are making their way around on foot, or there has been a recent rash of ice-related pedestrian deaths in this neighborhood.  In any case it's quite nice. The people of Gillette, Wyoming appear to be extremely considerate of pedestrians.  Maybe we're such a rarity they're shocked into paralysis.

 Okayokayokay I'll do it, this is easy; Google says the average high temperature in February here is 38 and the low is 16; furthermore it only rains or snows three days during an ordinary February.  So this is not ordinary.  The new clodhoppers work like a charm in this snow and cold, and likewise the new silk long-johns.

Tomorrow given that we’re not in an all-fired race to get to Kansas City, we may stop for a visit to the Rockpile Museum.  All indications point to the possibility that there’s more in it than meets the eye with that inauspicious name.