Car Washes and other Luxuries

There are a few things I miss about the "big city" of Billings.  Espresso shops....Olive Garden....my friends there and my church family.  And I sure miss automatic car washes!!!  My poor van is really, really dirty!  But in this weather I'm not exactly going to bust out the hoses and bucket to give her a bath!  I haven't even been able to find a car wash in Fort Benton.  I'm also pretty sure that if I washed the van in Great Falls the next time I make the trip, by the time I got home no one would be able to tell I went to the trouble. So I guess the van and my ol' blue pickup will just carry that layer of road dirt and grime that every other vehicle in this town wears.  At least until summer....

I have moments here and there that I really enjoy shopping.  But those moments don't come too often.  I can spend hours in a great tack store.... I can spend a good bit of time and energy shopping for my children and trying to find nice things for them without breaking the bank.  But one of the things I have had the blessing to realize.... I do not miss Wal-Mart.

In Fort Benton there is a small grocery store.  It has a very limited selection of things, but enough to keep our families fed a variety of good, home cooked meals.  You just won't find Keurig Coffee K-cups, special yogurt for babies, organic anything....you get the picture.  Down the block is the True Value hardware store.  A real, old fashioned hardware store....that happens to have a furniture section in the basement with some very nice, reasonably priced pieces!  You can also by a Maytag or fridge there if you need one.  Next door to the True Value is the Pharmacy.  When you walk in the huge, ancient  front door there's a place to get a soda and all the free popcorn you'd like.  They provide the drugs the town needs and a lot more.  You can find interesting toys, gifts, material for quilting, crafts, dishes....you name it!  They do not however, carry cat de-wormer....I asked the day the barn cat showed signs of needing it. 

Several trips I've made to Fort Benton have required a stop to each of those three places in order to fetch the items needed at home.  Bandaging tape, milk, outlet covers.... So I park the van at the Pharmacy and then walk along to the next store!  It's a nice stroll in one of the prettiest little towns on the planet.  The big ol' Missouri river on my right, shops on the left.  There are several more little shops I haven't had the time to cruise through....but soon.  Back in Billings, I'd drag myself to Wal-Mart more often than I like to think about.  "Easier to just make one stop."

But here that's no longer an option.  I am forced to slow down, take a breath down by the river and enjoy my outing.