4th of July

So why, you may ask, do we go to Montana every year to celebrate Independence Day? Are you kidding? In Butte, Montana, it is perfectly legal and acceptable to purchase all kinds of fireworks and light them off in front of your house any time of the day for the weeks before and after this holiday. What man doesn't want to be able to blow things up without getting into trouble?
The first tradition is watching the annual firework show from the "Big M" in Butte. We bring our camp chairs and blankets and set up on the front lawn of the hospital. Sound strange? Well, almost everyone else in the city is there, so it's quite the experience! This takes place on the night of July 3rd. Then, at 10 am July 4th, there's a parade down Harrison Avenue. This year, after the parade, we really had to keep with the Butte experience and have lunch at Pork Chop Johns. And the evening of the 4th? The legal explosives, of course! The great thing is that it's just as entertaining for the women as it is for the men, since we get to see them acting like little boys!