I am officially 29, the last year of my twenties, but this age has started out well so far, with plenty of good surprise. Friday I got a wonderful surprise at work when 2 boxes were delivered to my gift shop from FedEx, which never happens. Inside were two very lovely flower arrangements from Tony. One was mainly purple, my favorite color, and the other had yellow lily’s, dark pink roses, and some more purple flowers. They were truly a wonderful surprise, although the purple arrangement seemed to have had a slightly rougher trip out into the remote Yellowstone country. I had my lunch of chicken chimichangas at the EDR (this is the employee dining room where we eat, but not a good thing), finished up my work day, and headed to the post office. I had a fantastic gift basket waiting from my Mom full of gourmet crackers, cheese spread, almonds, and cookies, what a tasty surprise (unlike the food I had recently consumed)! Then off for the weekend!
For my birthday I wanted to go sapphire mining. For those who do not know, Montana has a great deal of sapphires in it, which just happens to be my birthstone. We packed up a few things, loaded up the dogs, and headed out towards Anaconda, MT where we would stay for the weekend. The problem with small towns in Montana is, or most small towns really, that there are not many places to stay. I think the issue actually is that MT just has an exceptional amount of these small towns and these small town’s do not like to have dogs in their hotels/B&B’s/motels. This left us with the #5 out of 6 rated motels according to Trip Advisor in Anaconda, MT…the Vagabond Motel, which in all honesty costs almost as much as a decent one in a not so small city. This rainbow colored sign and seventies era building was on the edge of town across from the 24 hours bowling alley/casino. At least it was nicer than it sounds and Tony and I were able to laugh about this funky little place. It came fully equipped with a fridge, microwave, a mattress that was rock hard, leaky shower fixtures, and a TV that you had to smack on the side every now and then when static would overrule the picture. Not to mention that the remodel also made Tony and my (sheetrock) tape and floating job look professional. However the owners were super friendly, the rooms were very clean, and it really was not that bad. The town itself was as exciting as this motel. I am not sure where all these people work, but the town was full of houses, and lacking many businesses. As strange as it sounds, it was like going back to the late 80’s, when there were no shopping centers, just a few grocery stores, a pizza hut, and even a local video store. It was kind of relaxing and almost endearing in a way. The houses reminded me of Edward Scissorhands. They were all well kept up 70’s track homes that were painted odd colors (blue, yellow, green, etc.) and had perfect yards, some boasting shaped trees and shrubs.
Saturday I was woken to a birthday breakfast of McDonald’s sausage biscuits and hash browns. This may not sound exciting, but this is not something one caneasily come by where we live. Then it was off to Philipsburg, MT for some digging in the dirt. Our first stop was Gem Mountain, where we purchased two buckets of dirt and I also got a free one for my birthday. To mine for sapphires, you take some of your dirt, put it into a metal box with a mesh screen, and slosh it around in a trough of water until all the matter is clean. Once this is done you flip the tray over and the glass looking sapphires should be on the top, since they are heavier and sink when the sloshing is occurring. Tony did a great job of freezing his hands off sloshing the tray, and I got pretty good at flipping it. The family next to us were die hard technique fans, so confident they barely even sorted them. Us on the other hand just had fun and sorted for awhile, we were able to find a little baggie full of the rocks, and even a few that are big enough to have heat treated and cut to make something with. Finally after a few hours of dirt sifting we enjoyed a delicious picnic from the gift basket my mom had sent.
Next we drove onward to downtown Philipsburg. It is a very cute 2 blocks with Victorian style buildings with great colors on the buildings. We tried our luck at another sapphire shop, this one much cheesier and less productive with only 3 usable sapphires. The town had several shops to wonder through and we asked some locals the best place to eat, the answer was Barclays II, which just so happens to be across the street from the casino next to the Vagabond Motel. The sign states “Fine Dining & Lounge”. I must admit I was a bit skeptical and even concerned about this cinderblock establishment that had no windows in which you enter through an unmarked door on the side. However when we walked in it was, once again, a pleasant surprise. It had nice décor and was dimly lit (probably due to the no windows) but actually was a very nice place. I have never been to a place that serves so much food, or such an odd combination. Tony ordered the only non beef item, which was a half friend chicken, and I splurged and had the tenderloin and king crab. Each of our meals came with: a salad, a relish tray, cheese and salami, a baked potato or French fries, spaghetti, ravioli, and ice cream. The food truly was some of the best that I have had and the surprise Mud Pie with a birthday candle topped it all off. Last but not least I arrived back to the motel and checked my email (yes they had WiFi in this town) and had a gift card from my Dad in my email for Cabela’s! I guess you know that you have been out in Yellowstone for awhile when a gift card for the ultimate sports and outdoors store is more valuable and useful than most other stores!
Sunday we packed up and headed to the candy store in Philipsburg, boasting to be the largest in the world. Of course this place was not open on Saturday, but oddly open on Sunday. I also have to admit, they have a lot of choices. We loaded up on some homemade caramels, some chocolates, and a bit of fudge. There was a mining ghost town on the way back we stopped and took a few pics of, apparently there are lots of these, not to get confused with the actual towns out there.
This morning when I arrived at work, my dear employees brought me a cake, card, and sang (twice). All in all this was a great birthday full of wonderful surprises! Onward to a new age, hopefully full of good memories, great people, and some adventures into the unknown!
