The Montana State fair began last night and we thought it may be fun to go for a bit, however, when we saw that it was going to be 96°, these fair-skinned Washingtonians gave it a hard pass. We opted for a Starbucks instead. Free WiFi, AC, friendly staff and, surprisingly for as busy as it stayed all day, plenty of room for us to commandeer a corner and set up all the charging cables! Typically, when we head into a place to work, we bring our own power strip because we have to plug in these items.
•Jared’s laptop
•Jared’s phone
•Jessi’s iPad
•Jessi’s phone
•Rudy’s watch
•Rudy’s iPad
I usually knock out a few blogs, Jared proof reads, adds, chooses from our collected pics, then comes up with a clever heading. Rudy colors, builds Legos, Minecrafts, or visits with people. Today, he inquired of a little old lady, “Hi! My name is Rudy. Excuse me, but what are those tubes in your nose for?” She kindly explained to him that she now had a portable oxygen tank and could go places! She was warm and friendly and seemed to appreciate his frankness. They talked for a brief bit more, and she left. Before you know it, it was time to grab our coolers, sit under a shady tree, and enjoy our lunch. Tonight’s gig was at 5, so we ate a late lunch, got some groceries and headed to the venue.
I’m not sure how we managed to book ourselves in this town 2 years in a row when the fair is in town, but we did. We knew attendance would be light, but we were ok with it. Greeted by staff who saw us last year, we were honestly just glad to be inside where it was cool, and singing for people who wanted us there! We had a really wonderful show and talked during our breaks with repeat fans, and some random guys who just happened to be in town from Wenatchee and Spokane!! A little bit of home on the road is always nice! At the end of the night, second to last song, we decided to play “Top of the World”. Not a common one to play at restaurants and bars, due to its really intimate and soft nature, but it was a perfect time for it. I told a brief story to intro it and we began. What I didn’t know was that Rudy, who had been playing a game with headphones on, had taken them off and was listening to us, tearfully singing every word. Around the end of the song, I heard a soft little whimpering down to my left. I looked down as he looked up at me with big tears in his eyes. He was so sad and sweet, just taking in the moment with me in the song. We got done and I immediately leaned down to love on my little tender hearted lion cub and quickly suggested “Happy Day” to end the show! He approved and there were smiles all around. The audience was grateful for the comic relief. . . apparently they were all crying too.
We are currently scheming with the staff to be able to play a festival in Great Falls next Summer, NOT during the fair! Always a great town to play in, we will definitely be back next year!!! Thank you to the staff at Mighty Mo Brewing for coming out on your nights off, inviting friends and making this little family feel amazing!
Another Safeway dinner and onto Missoula, MT. This part of the drive is spectacular so we’ll pull over somewhere to sleep soon so we can enjoy it tomorrow!! Plus, we’re all surprisingly tired for having spent half of our day in a coffee shop! Hahahaha!!
