So far, or as far as I can tell, springtime in Montana has always been somewhat of a grab bag of weather conditions.

Sometimes it’s 70 degrees, and as many well worn and seasoned Montanans know, it can be anything but 70 degrees.
I’ve seen, along with many others, 15 degree days in April.

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The video above is from last week.

Though the weather today was for the most part fairly pleasant for the springtime, in the upper 30’s, there are still winter weather warnings posted for the eastern part of the state this afternoon, with roads still being shut from Hardin to the Wyoming boarder because of the snow drifting.

I’ve seen it snow in June in the Bitterroot up Pierce Creek, and I don’t have any reason to doubt those who’ve said they’ve seen it snow in August here in the state.

For the huge number of people moving here recently from the Covid police states of Washington, Oregon, and California, I’d like to say that the weather here in April is normal for it’s time of year in the state. We don’t harvest Rhubarb here in April.

Posted below are the actual weather conditions for today:

Saturday snow in the Beartooths.#mtwx pic.twitter.com/Vfh3Zl0WUh

— YourOtherMotherLisa (@YourOtherMom) April 23, 2022

❌⚠️❌Blizzard conditions continue east of Billings with most roads at 𝘕𝘰 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 or 𝘙𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥. Snow reports of 7-10" with gusts of 55 mph. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄!
Picture from Powder River County Sheriff's Office.#mtwx pic.twitter.com/1TWvdGbSwL

— NWS Billings (@NWSBillings) April 23, 2022

This is 8 to 1. Still 2 foot totals. 😳 #WYwx #MTwx pic.twitter.com/kx4WxVia0u

— Rob Bradley (@WxRobBradley) April 23, 2022

The image below is from today:

Seems it’s always a pretty big deal when the circus comes to town. At least in our house it’s a big deal.

Last weekend we went over to the 4 Seasons Arena here in town to attend the Algeria Shrine Circus, and as usual, there was fun to be had by all.
There were the elephants of course, and a wide variety of different talents from juggling, to dog tricks, to the high wire performances.

When we consider the high wire acts, it’s somewhat disappointing that the ceiling on the 4 Seasons Arena is so low. Back in the day whenever the circus came to town, it was held outdoors. and the high wire acts were … well … higher.

When I look at all of the running these people do, setting up for the next act while the current act is ongoing, I can only imagine just how exhausting it might be for all who work to put it all together. 2 shows over a 4 hour period of time probably keeps these guys in great shape.

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Though there are rumors going around that the circus won’t be back after this year. I asked Cascade County Commissioner Joe Briggs about it and haven’t heard back so far. I’ll update this post when I do hear back from him however.

Had an occasion recently to visit the Burger Bunker here in Great Falls at 24 5th Street South.

Upon after getting dry burgers at places like Tracy’s and the Halftime, I was somewhat surprised to learn that these burgers were anything but dry. The condiments were piled on generously by default, along with onions, tomatoes, pickles, and lettuce.

The breaded fries were sort of an added bonus.

The burgers came to us in the classic burger style served up in little baskets that included the fries — Sort of like how they did in the olden days. The young aged crew were helpful and courteous.

The burgers all have their own names, like “The Malmstrom”, “The Sherman”, or “The Desert Fox” for instance. Each one has it’s own somewhat unique toppings and sauces.
I know that a lot of these places around town have their reviews left on places like Trip Advisor and the like, some reviews are good, while other reviews are not so good. In the case of the this place however, the reviews are as advertised. Trying some of these places out first hand is usually the best way to learn about them though.

Stop in to the Burger Bunker and take the challenge:

Food Challenge – The General

2 Malmstrom burgers, side of fries, and side of Onion rings. Finish in 20 min or less and it’s free, fail and it costs you $19

Burger Bunker hours:

Sun 11AM–6PM
Mon 11AM–8PM
Tue 11AM–8PM
Wed 11AM–8PM
Thu 11AM–8PM
Fri 11AM–8PM
Sat 11AM–8PM

Phone: 406-952-0130 – (tap number to call from your smartphone)

You can visit the Burger Bunker website here: https://www.burgerbunkermt.com/
You can visit the Burger Bunker menu here: https://www.burgerbunkermt.com/menu/

So I visited the Halftime Sports Bar. Seems I’ve never been one for the bars, at least in the traditional sense. I learned years ago in Missoula, when I was the designated driver for all of my drunk buddies, that bar food can be pretty tasty.

Today we had the great pleasure of meeting up with some of my wife’s old co-workers from her Pasta Montana years at the Halftime Bar & Casino.
Sports bars are what they are and the Halftime wasn’t any different. Huge TV’s adorned every wall, and it was dark.

We decided to have something to eat, so I settled for the old cheeseburger standby. Bar food is usually pretty good as a rule, but if you’ve never been into a certain place before, the cheeseburger is usually a pretty safe bet. You can tell a lot about a bar by the way they make and serve up the cheeseburger.
Since I had never been in the place before, my safe bet was the cheeseburger.

I don’t eat out as often as I might have done back in the 80’s, and lately I’ve been somewhat disappointed at how totally dry the food is. The best burger I ever had at a bar was in Dixon, Montana at the Dixon bar. The thing dripped with condiments by default. These days however, the burger is served up dry without any mayo/catsup/mustard. A plain sometimes toasted dry bun is about all you’ll get.

One of the few redeeming qualities of the Halftime Bar cheeseburger was that the beef was fairly thick and it appeared to be hand pressed (like the kind you make on the BBQ at home).

For all of the years that I’ve lived here, this was the first time I had ever been in the Halftime Sports Bar. I’m not much of a bar person to begin with so it’s hard to say if I’ll go in again anytime in the near or distant future.

Want to check out the Halftime Sports Bar & Casino yourself? They’re located at: 1101 NW Bypass Great Falls, MT 59404
Visit their website: https://www.halftimesportsbar.net/
Here’s the menu: https://www.halftimesportsbar.net/eat