The weather had transitioned again as the weather is apt to do at this time of year.
The morning before, it had snowed heavily.
By early afternoon that same day, the sun had reappeared and every large, wet snow flake had melted.
By the next morning Kory and I were greeted with bright sunshine, endless blue skies and temps in the fifties.
October is a beautiful month out west...........
After walking out of the motel room I gently yanked on the pups leash, and together we hurried across the road and wandered down the hill, headed for town which was only two minutes away.
Quickly we bypassed this structure.
Built in the early 1900s, LC and I had wandered into this building the same day we arrived in Meeteetse, curious about both the "antiques" sign and the "guns" sign.
It's difficult to describe the utter chaos of what we found inside.
When we first walked through the door I was immediately overwhelmed by not only the volume of things inside but also the mess.
"Things" (some interesting, some antique, most of it junk) were everywhere.
Haphazardly filling every table, every counter and every shelf in the cavernous room.
Laying all over the floor and it was impossible to not step on things, although out of respect I tried very hard not to.
Filling every square inch of wall space.
Hanging from the ceilings.
As I was taking in the chaotic scene in front of me I heard a voice coming from somewhere in the middle of the room.
For a moment I scanned the mess and quickly realized that an elderly man dressed in overalls and wearing a beat up hat was sitting at a table, looking in our direction and smiling at us...............
For the next 20 minutes I picked my way through the mess while LC sat at the table and enthusiastically talked with the old timer.
There were a handful of things in the room that I thought were interesting, but only a handful in a room that contained thousands and thousands of random objects.
As I stepped on store things and garbage things (the place wasn't exactly the cleanest, which shouldn't have come as a surprise) I slowly circled back to the table hoping that LC was ready to move on.
He wasn't.
The two men had obviously clicked and seemed to be enjoying conversation.
Hovering for a few minutes it quickly became obvious that we wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
That was OK.
I was happy to see LC enjoying his time in this quirky place and with this quirky man.
The man smiled at me and told me that there was also plenty more stuff to look at on the second floor.
Good naturedly willing to stick around and curious to see what lay upstairs, I climbed the steep steps and walked through the entrance door to the second floor.
If it was possible, the second floor was even more cluttered and chaotic than the first.
Cluttered doesn't even cover it.
The word "hoarder" came to mind.
I stepped over and walked around, quickly did one loop of the second floor and then got out of there before I broke something or hurt myself.
10 minutes later LC was (thankfully) ready to go.
Walking out of the chaos, I was grateful for the fresh air.
Too much.
Just way too much.............
On THIS day, with my dog, I was thankful to just be able to bypass this beautiful and historic old building and just.........keep moving................
Ferret Park.
Why "ferret" I wondered absently before heading further into the tiny park...........
For this late in the year it was still running fast and full, and it was beautiful.............
As I looked at the cold and rushing water I spent a moment absorbing just how much I've missed the water over these past few years.
To just be able to walk along the river whenever I wanted to (as I was doing now) was a foreign experience.
But one I could get used to again easily............
There is not a whole lot to downtown Meeteetsee.
A couple of authentic "cowboy bars", a couple of small museums, a gas station-slash-convenience-store, a garage, and a tiny restaurant serving breakfast and lunch only (choice of biscuits and gravy or scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast, and choice of sub sandwiches for lunch).
But it is also filled with.........things.........interesting things.........that make this town special.
Flags, paintings, boardwalks, hitching posts, carvings, banners and so much more..................
Well over 4000 square feet, this two story structure was built during the early part of the 20th century.
The wood work inside - the wood floors, the carved decoration, the stair cases - all of it - that can be seen through the huge front windows speak to a time of craftsmanship and detail that is long gone.
It's for sale.
Just over $200,000 which is a steal for such workmanship in a one-of-a-kind building.
But the roof is leaking, and all the electrical and plumbing is shot, and it would cost a good deal to bring this building back to its former glory.
I hope that somebody soon will buy this building and bring it back to life.
Another 10 years or less, and I believe that the building will be irretrievable, and that would be a real loss..................
For such a small town Meeteetse has a surprisingly vibrant and active community base.
An active Senior Citizens Center, Recreation District (complete with programming and facilities including a year round indoor swimming pool), an American Legion, huge Volunteer Fire Department, an After School Center, community Library and more.
Kory checking out the long horn statue outside the library................
Meeteetsee Visitor Center..............
Property (as it is all over Park County) is pricey.
But the wild life inside and outside the town limits, the rivers, the reservoirs, the quirky little downtown, the mountains in all directions were mesmerizing.
The longer I stayed here, the more I liked it....................
The owner of the antique store is featured in a brief video highlighting Meeteetse:
http://meeteetsewy.com/meeteetse-attractions/
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