Easter Hike

Easter Sunday was sunny and mild, a prelude to the 'yucky' weather forecast for this week.  After breakfast, I decided a hike was in order and leashed up Amani to see how she would do on the trail with the prospect of meeting up with bicycles and other dogs.

Spring has definitely sprung here, if only in a small way.  Trees are starting to leave out slowly and some of the first wildflowers are up and blooming.

One definite advantage of where we are living is we are near to the dozens of trails Helena offers in the nearby 'hills'.  I started out on what is the 'Waterline Trail'.  I was introduced to this last week by KE and decided it would be a good trail to revisit as we only did a portion of the trail.

I had it to myself for most of my hike, only passing one guy on a bicycle and then at the end meeting up with a couple and their two dogs.  I have to say Amani did well.  She wasn't bothered by the bicycle or the dogs (they were my main concern).

I had let her off her leash as she only would go about 10-20 feet away and then stop and wait for me.  I think she will be going on the next Helena Hikers hike to see how she does.

But at one point the trail forked.  I could go down and follow the road back to town or I could go up.  I choose UP!  Shocking, I know, but I figured I could use the challenge of going uphill and I wanted to see where it would lead.

A few switchbacks and hills later and I came to an open area on "top" and Helena was splayed out below - so near, yet so far.

The rest of the hike was downhill, so to speak and we ended up close to where we started.  

Another sign spring is here...

My first robin.

Now I am jazzed about exploring all the trails Helena has to offer basically outside my door.  And Amani can come too.

Fashion Walk or Rather Food Walk

Last Thursday, the Downtown Helena merchants had a "Fashion Night'.  The premise was to walk the downtown area and see what new fashions the merchants had on hand.  Some of the non-clothing merchants were also open late.  The big draw for me - "Free Food and Drinks!"  (There was also the opportunity for more steps and to get Texter and Lady K out of the house for a bit of exercise.)

The Holter Museum had a spread and they also had teens walking around the area with cotton candy.

The Herb and Garden Shop, which I love.  I bought a small container of Sturdy Girl All-Purpose Cream.  I love the lavender/sage smell.  It's really heavy duty and I can tell I will be going back to get more (in a larger container).

Poppyseed Boutique had mini-cupcakes and hot chocolate.  However, they were out of the hot chocolate by the time we got there!  But they have lots of interesting items, especially accessories.  I will be hitting them up for gifts in the future.

The Dancing Lotus Center had a more 'healthy' spread.  Texter is interested in some of the classes they offer.  As we get settled into a school/work/study routine we are going to try and fit some of these classes in, especially when the weather is not favorable to being outside.

  The cotton candy being handed out by the teens from the Holter Museum.  We ate more than our fair share and took some home to Savvy (who had to work - bummer).

Aizada Imports offered margaritas!  They also have a woven hammock I want for our front porch for next year when the weather starts getting nice.

Birds and Beasleys got in on the action too.  Birds are always in fashion as far as I'm concerned.  But coconut macaroons!

A fun consignment shop, Frayed Sew is a handmade item shop.  Tons of gift ideas and every time I go in, I find myself going, "I want this, and that, and this..."  They have some handmade journals I have my eye on for myself.  And red and white wine!

But my favorite stop of the night had to be The Panhandler.  They were demonstrating this 'grill' which was cute and amazing.  You can see it to the left in the background.  But the grill raises up and you can broil items on these little 'shovels' underneath.  Texter and I toasted bread (from Park Avenue Bakery).  One had herb butter with gruyere cheese and the other prosciutto and gouda.  Then the crepe had diced peaches which I warmed on the grill on top.  We could have stayed there all night.  Panhandler is another shop I have to stay out of.  It's dangerous to my purse. 

All in all, it was a great couple of hours spent wandering downtown.  There are a couple of shops I didn't know existed which I will be returning to in the near future.  I can't wait until Savvy has a day off and we can repeat the walk, minus the 4-5 glasses of wine and plates of food I had.  An evening such as this makes it easy to plan 'shopping local' rather than hitting online or chain stores.

There Be Dragons!

Or rather salamanders.  Walking the mall on Last Chance Gulch yesterday with Texter and Lady K, I happened to look up rather than into the storefronts and discovered this.

Looked like cavorting dragons to me.  But as it turns out, these are actually fire salamanders and were an advertisement for the insurance company which was originally housed in the building at the turn of the century.

We were there to actually let me take some videos of the mall for a class project (which will be posted later, once finished).  I decided to do it on the pedestrian mall I am loving so much.  It also just happens to end at the library, which means I can make a quick trip to any store while on break.  That could be good or bad for my paycheck.

Anyway, I have to say that Helena has done a great job of keeping the old with the new.  The "Atlas" building still houses businesses, but also has apartments in it.  Who wouldn't want to live where they are protected by these wonderful guys?