Seems it’s always a pretty big deal when the circus comes to town. At least in our house it’s a big deal.

Last weekend we went over to the 4 Seasons Arena here in town to attend the Algeria Shrine Circus, and as usual, there was fun to be had by all.
There were the elephants of course, and a wide variety of different talents from juggling, to dog tricks, to the high wire performances.

When we consider the high wire acts, it’s somewhat disappointing that the ceiling on the 4 Seasons Arena is so low. Back in the day whenever the circus came to town, it was held outdoors. and the high wire acts were … well … higher.

When I look at all of the running these people do, setting up for the next act while the current act is ongoing, I can only imagine just how exhausting it might be for all who work to put it all together. 2 shows over a 4 hour period of time probably keeps these guys in great shape.

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Though there are rumors going around that the circus won’t be back after this year. I asked Cascade County Commissioner Joe Briggs about it and haven’t heard back so far. I’ll update this post when I do hear back from him however.

Had an occasion recently to visit the Burger Bunker here in Great Falls at 24 5th Street South.

Upon after getting dry burgers at places like Tracy’s and the Halftime, I was somewhat surprised to learn that the Burger Bunker burgers were anything but dry. The condiments were piled on generously by default, along with onions, tomatoes, pickles, and lettuce.

The breaded fries were sort of an added bonus.

The burgers came to us in the classic burger style served up in little baskets that included the fries — Sort of like how they did in the olden days. The young aged crew were helpful and courteous.

The burgers all have their own names, like “The Malmstrom”, “The Sherman”, or “The Desert Fox” for instance. Each one has it’s own somewhat unique toppings and sauces.
I know that a lot of these places around town have their reviews left on places like Trip Advisor and the like, some reviews are good, while other reviews are not so good. In the case of the Burger Bunker however, the reviews are as advertised. Trying some of these places out first hand is usually the best way to learn about them though.

Stop in to the Burger Bunker and take the challenge:

Food Challenge – The General

2 Malmstrom burgers, side of fries, and side of Onion rings. Finish in 20 min or less and it’s free, fail and it costs you $19

Burger Bunker hours:

Sun 11AM–6PM
Mon 11AM–8PM
Tue 11AM–8PM
Wed 11AM–8PM
Thu 11AM–8PM
Fri 11AM–8PM
Sat 11AM–8PM

Phone: 406-952-0130 – (tap number to call from your smartphone)

You can visit the Burger Bunker website here: https://www.burgerbunkermt.com/
You can visit the Burger Bunker menu here: https://www.burgerbunkermt.com/menu/

Seems I’ve never been one for the bars, at least in the traditional sense. I learned years ago in Missoula, when I was the designated driver for all of my drunk buddies, that bar food can be pretty tasty.

Today we had the great pleasure of meeting up with some of my wife’s old co-workers from her Pasta Montana years at the Halftime Bar & Casino.
Sports bars are what they are and the Halftime wasn’t any different. Huge TV’s adorned every wall, and it was dark.

We decided to have something to eat, so I settled for the old cheeseburger standby. Bar food is usually pretty good as a rule, but if you’ve never been into a certain place before, the cheeseburger is usually a pretty safe bet. You can tell a lot about a bar by the way they make and serve up the cheeseburger.
Since I had never been in the place before, my safe bet was the cheeseburger.

I don’t eat out as often as I might have done back in the 80’s, and lately I’ve been somewhat disappointed at how totally dry the food is. The best burger I ever had at a bar was in Dixon, Montana at the Dixon bar. The thing dripped with condiments by default. These days however, the burger is served up dry without any mayo/catsup/mustard. A plain sometimes toasted dry bun is about all you’ll get.

One of the few redeeming qualities of the Halftime Bar cheeseburger was that the beef was fairly thick and it appeared to be hand pressed (like the kind you make on the BBQ at home).

For all of the years that I’ve lived here, this was the first time I had ever been in the Halftime Sports Bar. I’m not much of a bar person to begin with so it’s hard to say if I’ll go in again anytime in the near or distant future.

Want to check out the Halftime Sports Bar & Casino yourself? They’re located at: 1101 NW Bypass Great Falls, MT 59404
Visit their website: https://www.halftimesportsbar.net/
Here’s the menu: https://www.halftimesportsbar.net/eat

Okay guys, lets all pile into the truck and head on down City Motors or Bison Ford to buy a new car.

Sounds so simple … Right?

Not so fast.

Car shopping, at least for us, is anything but simple. Car shopping for us requires a bit of reserve in that we don’t just jump up and run right out to buy something we might have seen in a commercial somewhere.

We might spend literally months, driving around town during our regular activities noticing all of the rigs around us in the process.

What rigs look horrible when they’re dirty, or look rather terrible even when they’re clean … and what rigs are used for various different things. Looking at a rig that’s a bit banged up can say a lot about the rig itself.

Then we notice which rigs there are out there that do poorly in town during winter conditions. If I buy that, am I going to have to park it for 4 months out of the year? Sure, it looks all cool and all, but just how well will the bumper cowling that’s only 4 inches above the street fair when the ice ruts form in the middle of February?

When I look around town throughout the year, I come away with the notion that there are a large number people that are driving mostly what they’re able to afford. If the heater and the radio works, then it’s a done deal.

There are also those who drive around in rigs that are totally impractical for the area driving conditions. Those who might still be ignorant of just how bad the weather can get here, or those who don’t care about the conditions because they’re too busy showing off to their buddies.

Then we’ve got the guys that are literally 7 feet tall … I mean who in their right mind is going to put a tool box on a truck that has a 12 inch lift kit with 18 inch tires. Surely the owner of that truck has to be at least 7 feet tall, or he just likes to climb into the back of his truck via step ladder just to get to his tools, because … you know … he’s cool and all.

Most of us around here all pretty much drive what’s practical. 4 wheel drive trucks (that we actually get into without the use of a ladder) and all wheel drive SUV’s are common place.

Our son will be driving himself to school next year, and he’s already got our F-150 4×4 in his sights — Good for him I reckon, because I wouldn’t want to put him behind the 8 ball with a 2 wheel drive.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single car commercial for any of the rigs we have now.

The rigs we have now … sold themselves … in the wild … long before we considered stepping on to the lot of a dealership. Ours is basically the process of elimination when we do our car shopping. If it sells by just driving down the street, then who needs a car commercial or a dealer to tell you about it?