June 17

Drove all day today. Sheridan, Wyoming to Lethbridge, Alberta. Saw a beautiful pheasant just before it flew into the grill of the car and disappeared in a cloud of feathers. No walking today except around the Central Montana Museum in Lewiston. It had an interesting exhibit of documentary drawings by Ben Steele of his experiences as a prisoner of war in Japan and the Philippines during WWII.

June 16

June 16 - Sheridan Wyoming. Walked more than 13 km throughout Sheridan and Dayton today. Wild weather - mixed sun, wind, cloud, lightning, rain, more sun. Tornados predicted tonight. Who knows. Visited Don Kings Western Museum. Biggest collection of saddles I've ever seen. Spurs too. And guns.
Walked by the apparently nameless river/canal that meanders through the middle of town. First time it's been full of water in a while, according to local walkers, of which there were few.
Ate at Los Agaves restaurant with TM and CW who had just finished the 50 mile Bighorn Wild and Scenic Trail run. Lots of groaning.

June 15

Drove from Livingston, Montana to Sheridan, Wyoming today. Along the way stopped at the Medicine Wheel, a Native American site of great significance, historically and currently. It's more thatn 800 years old and is located in the Bighorn Mountains at an altitude of 9,642 ft. (2,939 metres). After parking, it's a 2.25 km walk to the site.
Sheridan's a nice enough place as well. Walked a total of 5 km today.

June 14

Drove from Lethbridge to Livingston, Montana today. We're becoming regulars at the border. Drove all day and stopped at the Murray Hotel - "the wild west at it's civilized best". Had a very good dinner at the hotel restaurant and wandered around town a bit. There's a great artist run alternative book store -"The Independent Media Room" - beside the movie theatre. Walked about a km and a half today.

June 13

Drove from Helena back to Lethbridge. Didn't walk much. A bit in the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Great Falls and mowed the front lawn back at home. Ran into some interesting traffic though.

June 12

Last day in Helena. I walked north to mall country, straight up Davis Ave. to the northern edge of town then east to Interstate 15. From there I strolled back through mall country, a universally anti-pedestrian territory. When I got to Last Chance Gulch Street, I turned and headed back towards the town centre. The contemporary part of the street is marked by strip malls and other forms of unsightly car- culture development. Closer into the town centre, the part of the town formed in the nineteenth century, the street became much more pedestrian friendly, with businesses oriented towards a street culture rather than a parking lot culture. 16 km today.

June 11

9.23 km today. Walked straight out 6th Ave. to the eastern edge of town, interstate 15. Turned north to 11th Ave. and then east to Davis St. This route took me past the Capital building and museum and into a relatively contemporary suburban area. This is also where the sidewalks disappeared. Didn't see anyone else walking either. Back along 11th st. was a walk through a commercial strip: motels, casinos, pawn shops and fast food restaurants. It's canker worm season in Helena. The worms are much bigger than they were in Winnipeg.

June 10

12.5 km today - Hiked up Mt. Helena to the sound of automatic gunfire from the Military Base below. The return to town by a slightly different route was accompanied by the sounds of thrushes and warblers singing. A pleasant day in all. About 4.5 km from the centre of downtown Helena to the top of the mountain. A very reasonable transition period from the urban to rural and back.

June 9

Although I only managed to walk 4.18 km today I did make it out to the Archie Bray center, a foundation dedicated to the production of ceramic art. There was a slide lecture by one of the resident artists.
Amsterdam comes into this again in an oblique and coincidental manner in that today's image reflects an image that DVvGD sent yesterday from Arnhem, just outside Amsterdam.
There was also a good article in the today's Wall Street Journal about the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas and the Renzo Piano building in which the collection is housed.

June 8

I only walked 3.78 km today but I also bicycled a bit. While walking in Helena I was thinking about walking in Amsterdam, a city I have never been to but am vicariously experiencing through correspondence with DVvGD. I find it remarkable that two cities such as Helena and Amsterdam can exist simultaneously. Helena is a lightly populated city rich with a relatively recent history of gold mining and the American colonial frontier, whereas Amsterdam is densely populated and immersed in the complex histories of Europe. The experience of perambulation in these two cities couldn't be more incongruent yet there is a thread of similarity that is exposed through certain images.

June 7

A day of lists in Helena.
1. Spend the morning tending to the plumbing.
2. Find a wine store which turns out to be excellent.
3. Get allergy pills.
4. Find locksmith to get key cut.
5. Find cash machine in order to pay for getting key cut.
6. Go to bakery for bread. Wild rice and cranberry wheat bread.
7. Go to coffee house for tea.
8. Go to reception at Turman Larison gallery. A very good local gallery.
9. Wander around and find Myrna Loy Center.
10. Back to apartment for dinner.
13.53 km.

June 6

Up relatively early this morning. Sat with my feet up reading the morning paper and drinking coffee while CW planted the potatoes. Drove down to Helena in dreary, rainy weather.
Walked 1.22 km, mostly in the Barnes and Noble in Great Falls.

June 5

Another beautiful day that ended in a much needed rain. Thunder and lightning. Walked about 6km in the morning before my pedometer broke and I had to go find another one. Put another 2.5 km on mowing the lawn and other assorted errands. Nothing memorable in the newspaper today except for an article in the NYT discussing the popularity of "black rifles" in the U.S.
Off to Montana tomorrow. Haven't planted the potatoes yet.

June 4

Interesting article in the Lethbridge Herald this morning. Wild turkeys have been invading Detroit, getting accustomed to city life. Winnipeg, of course, is leading the way with its downtown turkey. Got some more potatoes to plant. Getting sedentary.
Walked 6.31 km.

June 3

Sunday. Slow day. Went cycling a couple of times on my new bicycle. Sat in the garden. Walked around a bit, 2.56 km.