Red Lodge market

If you take Highway 78 through Absarokee, you drive through a little bit of heaven to get to Red Lodge. A moment of this is captured in the photo above.

If they're fixing roads, like today, you might also drive over gravel and spend as long as half an hour waiting for your turn to pass heavy construction.

But it is so worth it to get to the Red Lodge farmers market.

Although rain fell and wind burst through in a breathtaking gulp today, good humor prevailed. Everyone just grabbed tent posts and held tightly to their dollar bills and produce and waited for the storm to pass. One vendor told me that this is a "warm" market, and I have to agree. People were very nice.

Several children showed off clever items they had made. From tiny dolls to handmade coloring books to dog biscuits to cards made from pressed wild flowers, youthful entrepreneurship was at its best.

Of course adults had plenty of things to offer, too: plants, purses, wooden cutting boards, vegetables, baked goods, and meats. This market is an excellent place to buy organic and naturally raised beef and pork.

If you're on your way to travel the Beartooth Highway (highly recommended; although it was closed due to snow a few days ago, so be warned), try to time your trip so you can pick up some granola and energy bars made by Jessica. She also sews lovely tote bags in case you forget your picnic basket.

On the way home I decided to avoid the road construction and go along Highway 212. I was tempted to take some side roads, but I'll save those adventures for another road trip.

Red Lodge Farmers Market

12th Street at Broadway

July 10 - October 2

Saturday, 8 am - noon

Food in the museum

I'll be honest here and say right out that a museum is not my favorite place to spend precious time. I prefer the present, alive with real people doing things in real time. Or else I like to spend my time alone, reading a favorite book.

But the Upper Musselshell Museum -- spread out in two buildings -- sounded like a worthwhile field trip. So while I was in Harlowton on business I stopped in to see their latest exhibits, "heritage rooms" created by area residents from items that represent their families and ranches.

Harlowton is a small town, with a sadly almost-empty main street. Some businesses do thrive on Central Avenue, like the Snowy Mountain coffee shop, Passage Creek Design, and Mugsy's barber shop. A few miles north is a wind farm. Wind is a major crop in this flat land.

Inside the museum, I enjoyed exhibits showing arrowheads found in the area, old medical equipment used by a much-loved doctor, and military uniforms proudly worn by local veterans.

The museum is on the Montana Dinosaur Trail, so I spent a few minutes with the Avaceratops lammersi, a small horned dinosaur found on a ranch near Shawmut. In case you don't know, whoever finds a new dinosaur gets to name it. Ava was the wife of Eddy Cole, who discovered the fossil in 1981 on a ranch owned by the Lammers.

Just as interesting to me as the dinosaur were the things related to food. Near the bones, a popcorn popper from an old movie house and a peanut roasting machine from a long-gone drug store were on display.

Upstairs I found the heritage rooms so worth the trip. Following are some food-related photos, plus one of the model railroad (who doesn't love miniature trains?). If you squint and maybe stand on your head, you can see a wind turbine rising up behind the tracks to the left of the mountain, a tiny reproduction of the ones on the wind farm.

Upper Musselshell Museum

11 & 36 South Central

Harlowton, Montana

(406) 632-5519

Open Memorial Day - Labor Day

Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm

Sunday, 1 pm - 5 pm

Laurel market 2010

It's an exciting season for the Laurel farmers market. They are in a new location at First and Main -- after you exit I-90, head toward town. On your right just after Main Street is a park where you'll see the booths set up. There is plenty of parking in the area; go into one of the nearby bank lots if you don't see anything on the street.

I was disappointed not to find my favorite tamales (see last year's market review), but there were plenty of other things to enjoy.

On this first day there were 8 vendors (many more are expected to fill the park in August), with a very good selection: jewelry, pottery, cards, baked goods, and produce. Although the crafts were nicely displayed and enticing, and the cakes, brownies, and pies were alluring, the vegetables attracted the crowds.

I bought a large bunch of sweet beets, a hefty bag of new potatoes, and a pound of peas in edible pods for $10, all grown on a third of an acre in Laurel. Other customers were piling onions, rhubarb, and cabbage into their bags.

This was such a treat. Throughout Montana, market managers have been telling me that gardens will be producing late this year because of a very wet June. But talented and persistent farmers and gardeners still manage to do their job no matter what the weather.

The following are a few photos of the day. I begin with cards made by the talented Tris Walls, whose passion for perfection is evident in her creative product. Be sure to look at her cards when you visit the market; you're bound to find something for someone who needs their spirits lifted.

Laurel Farmers Market

Town Square, on First Avenue

July 7 - September 29

Wednesday, 4 pm - 7 pm (or until sold out)