The Real Snowbirds of Missoula County

By JEN SLAYDEN

Well, Missoula, I think winter is finally here!

That means some folks take off, heading for Yuma or other warm places to spend the winter.

I personally have had fantasies about being a snowbird after retirement during a few dark and gloomy winters in Missoula that wouldn’t go away. But I also love the snow, and the winter sports.

What I think we all overlook, though, are the snowbirds that wait all summer long for the warm, skimpy clothed young beach bums to leave their hangout.

How do I know? Because just the other day, as I was heading home from a long day in town, I took a detour the back way to Bonner, through East Missoula.

Ducks paddle the icy Clark Fork River in East Missoula.

I decided to take a little walk down to the river to get my Zen back, which I had left behind somewhere between the warm sheets of my bed that morning. Watching the river always makes me happy.

When I showed up, I saw there was a party going on.

The hosts seems a little annoyed by my party crashing, but finally warmed up to the idea of letting me hang out a little, as long as I didn’t get too close. They were using the ice for their inner tubes.

I happened to have my camera with me. So from East Missoula, I bring to you our very own Missoula Snowbirds. Hope this Minute of Missoula helps you get find a little peace and Zen in your day.

Enjoy!

 

 

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Enjoy this post by Jen Slayden? You might like some of her other musings on life in Missoula: Missoula Moms Test Senator Tester, Line-Gaming: A Bit of Vegas Comes to Missoula, and MissouLOVE: Things That Make Missoula Home.

  Visit The Other Side of the Mountain archive.

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Jen Slayden is a Missoulian who makes her home on the outskirts of town with three outdoorsy kids, a fly-fishing guide husband, and an outdoors-loving black lab named Cody. She juggles her time teaching music, life coaching, playing music in her family bluegrass band, and taking in all the great recreational and cultural activities that Missoula has to offer. Then, she writes about it all on her own website: Find Your Harmony.