Monday, July 24, 2006

Camping with a movie star

I have had a couple more great trips since my last post. One was a trip to the amazing Glacier National Park in Montana and an international crossing over into Alberta, Canada last week. This trip is so amazing that I want to take the time to pull my thoughts together to share. In the meantime, I will post about my latest trip taken over the past weekend. So please, the two or three of you who still read my blog, check in later for details on Montana and Canada!

While Best Friend was playing flight attendant on a four day trip, I went camping with Best Friend’s cousin and family in the mountains above Preston, Idaho. Preston is home of Napoleon Dynamite and the actual location of the movie. Since this movie is extremely popular and considered very funny by so many people, I will not talk about how stupid, pointless, and boring I personally found the movie to be. Preston, not having much more to offer, was very proud of the fact that the movie was filmed here. Posters, tee shirts, and other memorabilia could be seen all over town.

The campsite was pretty even though the bugs were horrendous. I took a walk looking for wildlife and rode an ATV. But mostly I just hung out around the campfire with everyone and shot the breeze. Best Friend’s Cousin’s Brother-in-law from Preston was along on the trip and had brought a couple of his horses along. One of these horses was in the wedding scene at the end of the above-mentioned (horrible) movie. So yeah, I camped out with movie star. Sweet.

On Saturday, we needed some ice so we drove into the historic town of Montpelier. The Oregon/California Trail ran right through Montpelier and several historic buildings still stood along the main street. The town was celebrating Butch Cassidy Days while we were there. One of the banks that Cassidy had robbed was right there in Montpelier. (One of the historic buildings still standing there, even though it is now a print shop.) Loving history the way I do, that was something I could really dig. There was a re-enactment of the robbery and a shootout that evening. It was pretty cool to watch. It definitely was worth the escape from the bugs!

After the “robbery” we were back in the mountains to join the insects and our famous camper who was doused with better insect repellant than I had. What can I say, she is pampered! Then again, aren’t all movie stars?



Here's the movie star! She doesn't sign autographs, though.
















The actual building that housed the Bank of Montpelier stands behind the stage coach. Butch Cassidy and Elza Lay robbed this bank (and got away)on August 13, 1896.

5 comments:

SS said...

What interesting trips you take! I also didn't care much for Napoleon Dynamite but I do find myself quoting it every now and then. Not really quoting so much as talking in that same stupid way for no real reason.

Scott said...

Man your trips sounds great. this must be the summer of your life.

Scott

The Grunt said...

I whole heartedly agree on Preston Idaho. Not much there. Ketchum is where it starts to get super duper cool. That movie star is quite something, too.

What bank didn't old Butch and the Kid rob?

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