Before we left Philipsburg, we had to visit the Sweet Shop. It is an establishment that has been in business since the early 30’s. The man who started it learned to make handmade chocolates as a boy working in a shop in Missoula. He later went into business for himself. He taught his children the candy making business and his grandchildren still run the store today.
This place is the capitol of the candy world. There are so many hand made chocolates on display I couldn’t begin to describe them all to you. They have a taffy pulling machine going and another that cuts and wraps it into little bit size pieces.
They also make homemade fudge. There were at least 35 flavors on display. Try to make a selection from such a large selection. It can be overwhelming. We purchased some fudge, a box of hand made chocolates, jellybeans and taffy.
We have been up in the air about where to go next. We headed off down the road towards Helena. We have been to Glacier NP before and thought going there again might not be as interesting.
On our drive we passed whole hillsides with dead and dying conifers. The mountains are brown. People here are extremely worried about fire. The whole state would go up like a tinderbox. It would be impossible to control. It is very sad to think this state, which is one of the most beautiful in the nation, will one day be nude of these majestic trees. Brush and deciduous trees will take their place. Some conifers may survive developing a natural resistance to the beetles. I suppose in several generations the forests could return. For my children and grandchildren it will be a different place.
Whole hillsides are dying from pine bark beetles.
It seems this nation, that was so blessed over two centuries, now faces more catastrophes in a decade than it faced in a century in the past. Could it be that as a people we have turned our back on the God who founded and blessed this nation? We scoff and mock Him and those who still serve Him. We kicked Him out of our schools, communities and even many of our churches to pursue our own ways. Could it be that God still desires to bless us but we want nothing to do with Him or His blessings. That leaves us with what we see today.
Montana highway art. Notice dead trees in background.
We stopped at Walmart in Helena to pick up some things we needed. The back of the parking lot is filled with motorhomes, campers and 5th wheels. They have their slides out, jacks down and some are even having a picnic under a tree in one of the curbed areas. I always have said I would never camp at Walmart. But this presented an interesting situation. I have the opportunity to observe the Walmart camper and see who he is. I have joined the ranks for a night to spy on the rest.
There are some pretty pricey rigs in here. One wonders if they are just too cheap to pay for a campsite or if they got shutout of their favorite campground over the holiday weekend. We have not had a problem finding campsites, ever. So I have to rule that out.
There are young families parked here. I can understand a family trying to stretch their money by spending a night here while en route to Yellowstone. We have a family from Alberta, Canada next to us. They are an oriental couple with two kids. They are very neat and orderly. Since arriving they have been sweeping and cleaning their trailer. They are very well dressed. All their shoes are lined up outside by the door. They don’t speak English.
One guy is parked nearby who has a very old camper. He painted the wheels white to make them look better but he never bothered to tape the tires off. It is a real classy looking job. When he opened his door, you could see he has painted the floor bright green and the walls are orange. He looks like some of the typical Walmart shoppers you see in those emails on the internet. He has on loafer like slippers, baggy sweat pants that hang down exposing his undershorts in the rear. His shirt is too short to cover his big belly in front. He has a shopping buggy sitting outside his door that he is using for a garbage pail. It is half full of his crap.
Four people just rode in on Harleys. They belong to two of the high priced rigs. They have their motorcycles parked between them taking up a very large part of the parking area. They are dressed in all the motorcycle gear you would need to ride in this cold climate. None of it is cheap. So I would have to classify them as “cheap”.
There is an assortment of other campers that are set up and parked for the night. I have not seen any activity around them. Either they are shopping, sleeping or out riding their motorcycles too.
Someone just popped out of another of the pricey rigs. The person has very long gray hair, dressed in a sweat shirt, sweat pants of a different color, bare feet and flip flops. It is impossible to tell if it is a male or female from here. They have that unisex look.
A young couple with grandpa and kids with them just pulled in with a Dolphin Class A. They have a car on a trailer in tow. This place is getting so crowded they will have to unhook the car to be able to work their way into an open spot. Nope, I am wrong. They parked right across the traffic lane and popped out their slide out. They are camped right there! Unbelievable.
My neighbors just came out of their trailer. They are all dressed up. They must be heading off to a restaurant for dinner. They are a very nice looking family. They will take their Toyota pickup to town.
Seagulls started whizzing around and squawking nearby. The people in the Dolphin are feeding them out of the window. I had some old bread, so what the heck. We tossed some bread out and soon we had several gulls around our window. There was an old cigarette package lying there near us. Several birds pecked at it thinking it might be some bread. Finally one flew off with it. A few minutes later he returned with the package and deposited it right about where he found it.
Our neighbors returned. I am disappointed to say they did their shopping at Safeway. If you are going to stay at Walmart, shop at Walmart. I know most Safeway stores have signs forbidding overnight stays.
The guy in the old RV has a wife. She just made her appearance. They are going out for a walk in the cool of the evening. He took his nearly full cart of trash and pushed it up into one of the little curb areas and walked away. The lazy bum couldn’t even take it to the trash can and unload it.
This will definitely be my last overnight stay in a Walmart. We get nice Forest Service campgrounds for $5.00. Why stay here? I had to see for myself. My curiosity has been satisfied. We did think of several things we forgot to get earlier. That is normal for us. At least tonight we can just pop into the store and pick up those extra things.
Some weather is moving in this evening. It is supposed to rain and get much colder tomorrow. So far the weather here has been way below normal for this time of year.
It is too cold for my liking but Darlie is loving it.
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