Great Falls, MT

Well, I've been stateside now for almost a full year. Spent 9 months in Southern Illinois hanging with Superman in Metropolis, IL and then about two months back in Chicago. It was great spending that time in Chicago since I spent well over a year in SE Asia prior to my assignment in So IL.

One of my coworkers flew in from Sicily and needed to fly directly to Great Falls, MT with a short stop in Chicago. Her drivers licence had just expired and had received an extension in the mail at our office. I had volunteered to drop the extension sticker off at O Hare. When I arrived, instead of handing her the sticker through the window of my car and wishing her a safe trip to Montana, she climbed into the car and explained to me that all of her luggage was lost and she needs to be to the customer site by tomorrow morning AND catch the flight in three hours. And so I became her chauffeur for the afternoon...

We went back to work to gather safety equipment, stopped at her storage locker and also made a quick stop at Target. While back in the office, my managers decided that it would be a good idea for me to travel to Montana as well, as long as the customer approved. I got an e-mail from my coworker with the lost luggage the next day saying I should fly out that night. I packed my bags and was on a plane to Denver 6 hours after recieving the e-mail.

Great Falls, MT was visited by Lewis and Clark in 1805 and was one of their more challenging ordeals of their westerly expedition. Great Falls is split right down the middle by the Missouri River and today has several hydroelectric damns as shown by the picture below. There are five in total.

Great Falls is also known for a fantastic lounge called the "Sip 'n Dip" named for mermaid viewing while having a cold one at the bar. The customer suggested this place and me and coworker with the lost luggage decided that we had to make some time in our busy schedule to visit. Friday night after completion of a 20 hour day at the plant suited us well.

The Sip 'n Dip is a small lounge and casino in a small local Motel called the O' Haire Motor Inn. We arrived around 8:30, grabbed a beverage and waited for the mermaids to arrive at 9. One mermaid swam into view followed by another one about 15 minutes later. It was very bizarre, but really cool at the same time. Around 10, Piano Pat started playing lounge songs on her organ. With the old lady on the keys and mermaids swimming around in the pool behind the bar, this perfected the Sip 'n Dip experience.

The mermaids collected tips through out the night, and i decided to give em a 5 so I could get a picture with em.

GQ voted Sip 'n Dip the best Cocktail Lounge on earth and I can see why. Where else can you hear old timey songs played by Piano Pat AND watch Mermaids swim around the back of the bar. What an experience...what a night!