the waiting begins!

.....i take it youve never been to montana? :-)

Well, I've been to Missoula and out by Flathead Lake....not overloaded with lakes, huh?

none big enough for speedboats. :-) sure do have some amazing fishing though....

Nathan W. Collier proclaimed:

How you doin' up there? An ex coworker moved up to Kalispell, but has now just moved back to California since his wife was tired of freezing her rear end off in the winters up there, no matter how beautiful the country is and how good the fishing and hunting are.

Nathan W. Collier proclaimed:

Flathead Lake not big enough for speedboats? A bit choppy perhaps, but quite a bit bigger than Tahoe. Or just head east to the big reservoirs.

amazingly well, thanks. bought 25 acres outside of roundup

that borders BLM land. gotta 400 yard walk (through BLM) to the musselshell river and i hope to build up there in the next couple years. im currently negotiating for an adjoining 60 acres, current owner lost interest in montana the first time he felt -25 :-). i ended up buying a house in the burbs to live in until i can build up in roundup (ordering a cabin kit, takes 18 months for the logs to cure and then you assemble it yourself). its real decent, but i didnt move to montana to live in the suburbs so im really looking forward to building the log home in the wilderness. since im the "new guy in town" im only welding part-time (and very little at that) for myself, and working full time in commercial refrigeration for a large global corporation. i cant complain at all about the living we're hammering out up here, so unless something big changes i doubt ill ever try to work for myself full time again.

montana sure is like no other place ive ever been. where else in the world can you leave a $40,000 truck running in the parking lot (so it will be warm when you get back) while you spend hours inside the mall and have it still be there? the wifey is really happy with her job and the people up here, and my kids really love it up here. in fact, one of my step children lost her IEP (individual education plan, for learning disabilities) since we've been here. shes doing so well in school up here that she no longer qualifies for an IEP. we're really pleased about watching her perform on and above grade level, and attribute it to better teachers, better schools, and a much better social climate.

lol, i see it all the time up here. if you want a good deal on land, find a californian after his first winter. ;-) we've all acclimated really well though. since i work in commercial refrigeration its not uncommon for me to spend several hours at a time inside a -40 blast freezer anyway....you just gotta dress for it. the wifey is originally from cleveland so shes not totally new to the cold. not used to THIS kind of cold, but its a pretty good start for her. the kids sure dont seem to mind. i pull them around on a sled with my rhino

well into the -20s.

ive never been up to flathead, but montana is a big state and i couldnt see travelling all day to reach a lake. the only time i see speedboats up here is on the back of a truck thats just passing through.

besides, speedboats spoil fishing....and montanans love fishing. :-)

On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 21:42:35 -0700, Nathan W. Collier wrote: [new Blue w/ Gray TJ, sprawling countryside with log house on its way]

Nice jeep, nice land, and nice house! Good choice of colors on the Jeep -- that was actually my first choice, but I went for the gray tops because it was available and the black top doesn't come with the blue body unless you special order. I'd love to have a log house in the middle of beautiful countryside away from the city. Someday!

-Derrick