Independence Day.

I don't have anything deep or introspective to say about Independence Day.  I'm just seizing it as an excuse to post this picture of this house that my wife and I fell in love with in Bozeman.

We, ummm...we kind of fell in love with Bozeman...at least some parts of it.  Maybe it's just the unexpected nature of it...neither my wife or I are what you would call provincial, but prior to this week, I don't think either of us realized that Bozeman had anything like the North Tracy or Bon Ton Historic Districts. 

As much as we liked Bozeman, we also found nice sections in Missoula and Coeur D'Alene.  One of the common things about these cities is that they all have colleges.  Maybe not big colleges, but having a college or university in a town helps...gives at least a touch of culture, and it keeps a stream of young blood flowing through the town. 

Does is matter right now?  No...but, one of the things my wife talked about over the last few days is that we just don't see ourselves retiring in the Tri-Cities.  It's too brown, and too flat.  Right now, it's where the job is...and I'm okay with mountains and trees being an hour and half away.  When money stops being an issue?

The area from Coeur D'Alene to about Deer Lodge, Mt is really, really nice.  You get much past Deer Lodge, and things get kind of brown again.  Not Tri-Cities brown, but, not as rich and green as the Silver and Clark Fork Valley's.  The area around Bozeman greens up again, but to get there you need to make it over the Continental Divide...

I guess it's something we really don't need to revist until we actually win the lottery, or retire...but it's something new to dream about.