Norris Hot Springs

The Dome @ Norris Hot Springs

We played at Norris Hot Springs last night.  I'm not sure what the exact temperature was  outside, certainly not more than 10 degrees, which is cold enough in my opinion.  The structure pictured above was our stage, or more appropriate "staging area".  Well . . . I guess it's a stage.  Kristi is in this picture, so you get the picture.  We couldn't really see our audience, and truthfully, they couldn't see much of us either.

Our Audience @ Norris Hot Springs

The adventure began when Kristi reeled in this hot booking.  It was the second time we had played here.  It was warmer the last time we played here, but not a lot.  Norris Hot Springs is 37 miles out of Bozeman Montana.  Apparently there is some kind of community there, but not much evidence of it from the hot springs.  They have a small restaurant, and serve beer to their patrons as well.  The last time we played here was with Gen Obata, and now that I think about it he actually booked it, although I can't imagine him playing it with us last night.

We had been watching the weather reports, and the night before we played here I looked out the window of our motel room in the middle of the night and it was snowing to beat the band.  One thing I have learned about snow and ice driving is that the first drive of the year is the most challenging as you have a psychological disadvantage.  It would seem that I always remember the worst of snow and ice for the first time every year, but pretty quickly once I drive a ways and there are no serious repercussions I regain my confidence .  That was the topmost consideration in my thoughts as we discussed what a night at Norris Hot Springs was going to be like.

We had a favorite hot springs in British Columbia that we would stop at every time we went through.  It has been a lot of years since we've visited Liard Hot Springs.  Liard Hot Springs is much farther from any semblance of civilization than Norris is.  In those days we carried our swim suits just for that stop, and we almost always met someone interesting there.  It is much smaller than Norris Hot Springs, and just a natural pond at that.  The first time we stopped at Liard Hot Springs was in the middle of winter.  It was even colder than last night and there was nobody around.  It was so cold that your feet would freeze to the boards that surrounded the springs when you got out.  Liard has some big trees (or did) that hovered over the springs and the condensation on the trees made them like those fake xmas trees.  That was a long time ago though, and I see that now they actually have a fee you have to pay to get into the hot springs.

It was an hour drive to Norris from Bozeman.  We mostly just followed other cars, and drove at a moderate speed.  It was kind of strange to me to see a 70 mph speed limit on a two lane highway in the snow and ice, and much of it directly on the road.  All things considered, the driving was ok.  There was plenty of traction and we had no problems, as we had hoped.  There aren't even very many ranches out towards Norris.  It is scenic and a lot of the drive is along the Madison River.

We arrived about 6:20 and started playing at 7 pm.  A young fellow by the name of Dylan set us up and he had complete control over our sound as the speakers were outside and we were inside with just monitor speakers to hear ourselves.  They were okay monitors and we could hear just fine.  It is a different experience for certain to play in a structure wherein you can only vaguely see your audience, although we were able to hear their response to us.  If it was as much as 60 degrees in that dome, I'd be surprised.  Both of us were dressed for cold weather, and we played completely dressed in coat and hat.  I had my Afghan sheep herders hat under my western hat.  I guess I wasn't so concerned about image.

Steve and Kristi dressed to play Norris Hot Springs

The drive back to Bozeman was unremarkable except that it started to snow a bit.  The snow was not so bad though, did not impede our progress whatsoever.  Tonight we'll be playing in Bozeman proper.  They have a lovely downtown here in Bozeman.  It is really geared for entertainment, with lots of antique stores, and coffee shops.  A couple of nights ago we stopped at a tea house.  That was a nice experience.  I won't be so intimidated by a tea menu after visiting there.

Kristi Boom Boom

Kristi here.  Please take note in the above photo of my levitating hair.  This extreme cold creates dryness that does electric things to my hair which I find quite curious.  I look in the mirror and I appear pretty excited with my hair spontaneously standing on end.

Last night at Norris Hot Springs was the first test of my newly acquired winter undergarments which did their intended jobs very well.  I'm a big fan of silk; it's so lightweight and yet warm.  I couldn't help but ponder all those young faces in the hot pool below.  Each of them made a conscious decision to drive those 37 miles in falling snow on icy winding roads to experience this kind of fun.  Maybe that determination was to our advantage; they were seemingly all quite cheery in their appreciation of our music as we passed them in leaving.  Of course the beer probably helped their dispositions.  But I haven't heard of any mishaps on that road so presumably they have ample experience and expertise in driving such roads after that kind of fun.  It makes me wonder about the Montanan sense of rough-and-tumble heartiness in general.  This particular gig is exotic enough to keep me pondering and talking about it for a long while, I predict.  There is something exhilarating about just getting home safely to a warm comfortable spot.

Kristi has started this "Kristi Here" thing, so guess who this is?  Thank you Dylan for your help last night and thanks to all of the folks who frolicked in the hot springs while we played.