missoula is like a western version of asheville. young hippy types everywhere. An outdoor culture; have never seen so much weathered skin. everyone has been in the sun alot, and most of the people over 30 look like it's been too much.
the bitterroot river runs through the center of downtown. it acts as the public waterpark. families wading and swimming, kids jumping into the water, tubists floating down river, even a kyacker playing in a small rapid. they bill themselves as a 'bike friendly city' and there are cyclists everywhere. this is the home of adventure cycling, the non-profit group that does the cross country route mapping. we made the pilgramage and there was a bike on the wall, one of their historical displays, from 1976 (the organization started under the name 'bikecentennial'). the bike was outfitted with the same model paniers that i'm using now. i did buy them in 1976 around the same time i bought the bike.
there was a marathon in the morning the day we arrived. 1,500 full, 3,000 half, plus kids and 5k. 8,000 total.
the downtown is more developed than knoxville's. population of 68,000. lots of commercial as sell as entertainment, restaurants, bars, cafes, etc. plenty of people downtown last night, sunday night, after 8:00. at 10pm walked by a group of 8 or so young people sitting on the sidewalk, playing and singing music. no tall buildings. most buildings are 2-3 story. our hotel is four, there are a few taller. streets are broad. we came in through the poorer side of town. you wouldn't know it existed if you just came downtown and to the university. jim had to go to REI to ship his bike. apparently, it's located in a turkey creek development, bigger than turkey creek. some urban dynamics exist everywhere.
the university of montana, the grizzlies, is here. located across the river from the downtown, easily walkable.
Strange town. certainly not what we expected.
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