We’ve been hanging out in the small town of Conrad, Montana for about two and a half weeks.  I bought a house here a while back and we are renovating it.  We don’t frequent very many places, there is the Hardware store, the coffee hut, five restaurants (not including Subway or A&W) and the motel.  That’s about the extent of our travels.  Not that there are many other choices, but that’s it for us, we are either at the house or at one of these spots.

Last night we thought we deserved, or was that needed, a couple of drinks with alcoholic content, I had a minor meltdown yesterday, so a cocktail seemed in order.  We went out to the Branding Iron, the local bowling alley.  So imagine our surprise when we knew people there.  Our hotel manager was behind the bar, the waitress from the only breakfast café was in the house, after we left there and went to Joe’s for dinner, our favorite barista was there.  I guess it might be a small town.

Earlier in the week we had been leaving the house to go for parts and as we drove out of the alley, we noticed a car behind us, Rich laughed that he thought we were being followed.  We made a turn, then another turn because we needed to u-turn to find a parking spot, and we were being followed.  A lady who works at the local medical center is looking for a home for the new Physical Therapist that is moving to town and our little old lady neighbor had told her we were renovating ours.  So she followed us to get more information.  Yep, it feels like a small town.

The last indicator we had that it is a small town was our next door neighbor.  Earlier this week she was moved out of her home in to a nursing facility, her son stopped by and told us “If you need any food, the kitchen is full, help yourself.”  Really, help yourself.  That’s awesome.  The house is unlocked, just like ours.  We’ve owned the home for two years and left the key in the mailbox for the whole time we’ve had it.  Did I mention, I love small towns?