I proudly eat more sandwiches with cabbage than lettuce. | Loaf by Loaf # 16 |
I have often wondered, do we only go to town every three months because we have to? Or, do we have to go to town because we let three months blissfully slide by? Is there a difference? I believe so. It's a mindset.
In the first, you can't wait to go to town. From here, this quiet mountain existence can leave you feeling cooped up, if you let it. I've heard others speak of living in Cooke City year round is much like The Shining, minus the paranormal and murder, thankfully. (A time I felt the slightest stirrings of pent up solitude and the painting it produced . . . hmm, another blog topic brewing!) Within the second mindset, you tolerate town because you cant wait to get home.
When the Costco receipt says you bought just over $50 of butter, you can no longer deny you buy in bulk. A recent town trip to Bozeman means newly rotated and restocked cabinets and freezers. This also means bringing home a french loaf and a store-bought white. Oh the horror!
I do realize our town trips would not be so daunting if we did them more often. But, we don't! So, that is not even in question.
Our long trek to town and back requires at least 6 hours of driving alone. If your lucky enough to not have an appointment at the dentist, doctor, optometrist, or accountant, then you can follow the weather patterns on the local news to try to make an informed decision Then, hope the meteorologist is correct as you pull out of the driveway at 8:00am.
Civilization approaches slowly. The first stop sign we come to is thirty-three miles away. In another fifty miles, the first stoplight flashes yellow for caution At 110 miles from home, we reach the first fast food of McDonald's and Taco John's, but usually pass them by to treat ourselves at the Yellowstone Truck Stop. Great grub with an old school feel that we like.
After the essential bathroom break, another 23 miles over the pass and we drop into Bozeman. Now the work begins! Bank, check. Several hardware stores to find that exact part. Check, finally! Costco, check. Too late to go to the grocery by the time we're done so EVERYTHING ELSE at Walmart, check.
Towards the end of Walmart, everything is blurring together and going slightly numb. One of the items on your list that brought you to town in the first place . . . is 14 isles back, so the priority just went to zilch . . . foggy mental note to remember to write it on the next town trip list as soon as you get home . . . which rarely happens . . . Sigh. Refocus. Where the hell are the sunflower kernels?
Check out. The only isle open is 20 items or less. Yeah, right! In the eerily empty parking lot, travel tetris happens in the back of the truck as we shift things around and poke three more items into an already stuffed cooler.
Pop up over the hill and back in Livingston for gas for the drive home as well as "Skiddy" skid-steer and snowblower for the next three months.
A jolt of caffeine with the second Monster of the day. Visine drops to soothe already tired eyes and off we go into the darkness spotting eyes and critter movement on and along the road for the last three hour stretch. Bye-bye civilization!
So, back to that first comment. More cabbage than lettuce on my sandwiches. In a round about way, I hope this post explains why we make do with what we have. But for now, we can have a bologna and lettuce on store bought white as an option too. Oh, and fresh salad. Mmm!