Fact & fiction are both part of Montana’s flying history.  This 1950’s era Richard Widmark movie poster is one of several they have on the wall-next to the real stories of the smokejumpers.

Hubert Zemke,  Missoula’s WWII Fighter Ace, was on record with 17 planes shot down. Takes 5 to be an ‘ace’.  In 1944, his plane lost a wing over Germany. He was taken prisoner after parachuting from his mortally wounded plane and taken to Stalag Luft I where he found himself the ranking officer among the 9,000 troops held there.  He provided excellent leadership for the U.S. troops and took charge of the difficult change of command as Germany surrendered. An American hero that Missoula is proud to call its own. He died about 2009 after, among other things, being a volunteer at this museum.

And how about the lead actor in Sky King?  A natural for a display at a Montana air museum being a native son & all that.  Lots of diversity of subject matter here.

A bear made from old discarded automotive, truck & tractor gears of various sizes is the exterior art at a Missoula restaurant.  Being as there is a shortage of real bears to pose by, Jean took this opportunity to have a picture taken with a bear.

A nearby camper has his breakfast all ready. Donuts & beer at 7:30 am. What a way to start the day.

Aaaah. A beautiful, sunny Saturday morning in Missoula & the place to be....the Farmer’s Market.  Here, just outside the Market, a gent enjoys his cup of java while his companion patiently waits.

What do you do with them?

Rows of vendors with their veggies all arranged wait for the shoppers to arrive.  It is still early....about 10 minutes before the market actually opens.

Fresh picked, artistically arranged and carrots that smell like carrots, it makes you want to buy, buy, buy. With just the two of us, we feel silly asking for 3 zuchinni or a small bunch of carrots.  But the vendors are patient.

A Russian immigrant farmer is bagging up some veggies for the customer.  The Hmong people & the Russians have farmed in the Missoula area since they emigrated.

The flowers make a very colorful statement. Not as many as we usually see, but the season is short & they are about done for the year.  In the early summer, June, the flowers are just incredible.  People here buy as many flowers as they do vegetables.

If you’re ever in Missoula & visit the Farmer’s Market, know that it isn’t all flowers, fruit & vegetables. A small area of the market is exclusively for bakers.  Oooh, my goodness.  Wonderful stuff. This guy makes the best bread you ever ate!

Waiting patiently for their owners, who are shopping at the Farmers’ Market.

This gave me my giggle for the day.

On the weekends especially, the hard working families, students & anyone else who wants to seek out flotation devices to throw into the nearest river & float the afternoon away.  Groups too big for a raft often have several inner tubes to tie to the raft and 14 people can float together with a raft meant for 6. They are all having a great time.  Occasionally, you will see a dog in a life vest floating along, too.

Leaving the river & heading back to the campground, we got a reminder to always be aware & alert when driving our motorhomes.  These two tow trucks are attempting to remove a rather large class C motorhome from a ditch about 6 feet deep on the edge of the freeway I-90.  It had rolled over after a driver crossed the freeway & hit another car. In trying to avoid the first collision, the class C driver swerved, lost control & rolled into the ditch. Total wrecks-all 3 vehicles. The driver who crossed over & caused the 1st collision was killed.