How quickly it turns.

As long as I'm in Montana, I might as well be productive.

I met with our draftsman in Billings to make some changes to the exterior of the house plan and talk about some interior changes.  Once I was done there I was able to schedule a meeting with our builder to meet at the property to discuss house placement and orientation on the lot.  Joining us was our excavator.

As I drove from Billings to Absarokee (pronounced ub-ZOR-kee), I thought I would document how long it takes to get from the highway to our property.  No sooner had I hit the stopwatch, I encountered an obstacle...one of Montana's (and the west in general) extremely long freight trains.    

A few minutes down the road (after the train passed and I could make my turn) I cross the Yellowstone River.  This river runs straight through Livingston (where we will live while we build the house) as well.

In Vermont, we had an art installation known as The Whale Tails.  In Absarokee we have a tall white cross.  I haven't found anything about the significance of this cross yet, and there is no church nearby that might claim ownership, so I'll have to keep looking.

Shortly after the cross is the sign for Absarokee and then you turn the corner into the bustling metropolis that is our future home town.  Well, maybe bustling is a bit...exaggerated.

Then you cross the Rosebud River as you enter the prairie where Crow Chief Meadows is located.  Crow Chief is the name of the subdivision where our property is.

Now, just a little further and we made it.  You can't see the mountains today because they're being hidden by clouds which promise to bring "weather" as in "these clouds will bring the weather".  But for now, the temperature is a friendly 57F with some stiff winds from the south.

I met the builder and excavator and we marked out house location and position, talked terrain, and they started to educate me on the wind and drift patterns of the prairie here.

While we talked, walked, measured, and discussed, the wind shifted from south to north and the temperature dropped like a stone; from 57F to 26F.  The weather they were talking about had arrived.

We finished up and everyone sought shelter in their vehicles.  I began the drive back to Livingston.

Just outside of Columbus (a neighboring town to Absarokee) the weather made a noticeable shift from windy and cold to winter mush and poor visibility.  It was mostly messy but as I returned to Livingston, I had to slow down as the other drivers became distracted by this truck.

Once in Livingston, the weather cleared a bit (although in the end we got 3-5 inches of snow) and I watched these deer wander down the road.  The deer in the area are surprisingly domesticated.

It was a full and long day but many things were accomplished.  And I had the opportunity to watch how quickly the weather could turn from windy and warm to cold and snowy.

And, as this day is our anniversary, we went to Neptune's in town for a little sushi.  It was a nice evening out.

Tomorrow I'll do some stuff at the bank and tackle some administrative tasks before Katherine and I prepare for our Wednesday departure bound for Grand Rapids.