Day 18 - Aug. 6, 2009 – Missoula, MT

Gregory woke up to a wet Lab in his face!! Aimee (friend to Danielle who is another one of Inky’s part-time tenants and an on duty wild land firefighter) came by with Danielle’s two dogs. It was a rainy morning and Aimee came in her “topless” jeep thus wet dogs! We had a great chat with her and she was off to her 10-year reunion and dropped off the dogs while informing us about the change in dog sitters. Now there are 4 dogs here and Gregory loves it. Inky’s dog Fiona is a massive Irish wolfhound and just as sweet as can be. Holly (Inky’s mother’s dog) is a little Scotty. Danielle’s dogs are Gunner the loving Labrador and Scratch whom she rescued near the Texas/Mexico border. Gregory and I gave all the dogs a good brushing once the sun came out and it warmed up out on the deck. You’ll see Mike enjoying his morning cuppa Joe while taking in the low clouds nestled in near the mountains.

We did have a little incident with Gunner later in the day. Gregory tried to drop kick a tennis ball for him and instead got a sharp doggie tooth right in his ankle! I thought he'd been bit the way he was wailing. (Mike says he is just like his mom and reacts with drama whether it is a splinter or a broken bone!) Anyhow, you'll see Mike's clever "duck tape" bandage he improvised when he didn't want to dig out the first aid kit! The tape from mending his shoes was more handy.

Mike’s shoes finally arrived around noon. Yeh! The poor FedEx man came through the gate to ring the doorbell and got inundated by all of the dogs. Gregory and Mike raced around the house to the rescue. Mike went into town to pick up the wheels at Hellgate Cyclery (he left them to be trued) and made a trip to the post office and FedEx to return the size 38 shoes. Gregory and I are lying low and enjoying a quiet day at the house. Mike and I did finally get around to seam sealing the tarp that we use to cover the bike and trailer.

I forgot to mention that yesterday Mike and I were working in the garage (he putting on our new tires and tubes and I sweeping and straightening) when Mike needed a wrench. He went into the basement and found a tub of Legos! Gregory loves Legos and has been missing them. I’m sure they belonged to Inky’s son Spencer. They have kept Gregory occupied for a large part of the past two days.

We went to the Iron Horse for dinner and the food was fabulous. Gregory had three “sliders” (mini hamburgers) and this awesome veggie tray. Mike and I sampled the local brew. Mike drank “Moose Drool” (a brown ale) and I had the “Blue Sky Summer Honey” (a blonde ale). I ate the Black and Blue, a sirloin steak topped with this decadent blue cheese sauce with caramelized onions and peas (surprisingly a nice touch). Mike had a barbecued beef sandwich and (my new favorite) it came with sweet potato fries on the side. Delicious!