Our Helena Adventure... Beginnings...

Helena Airport

I came across this picture of the Helena airport, it brought back fond memories of the time when we saw Helena airport for the first time.  We were struck by the architecture, the beams and the pillars that are quite charming and characteristic of Montana.
It was the year 2008, a little after midnight, and yet we were awestruck by the beauty of the wooden structure and the ambience of the airport. It was refreshingly different, especially coming from South Carolina, on that beautiful night in the middle of summer. It definitely set the tone of appreciating Helena for us.  Of course we remembered the pretty downtown walking mall and the Gates of the Mountains from a previous road trip to the Glacier national park, as we had stopped by Helena along the way. Back then, having driven from North Dakota, where we lived, it seemed like it would be a dream to live in Helena.

Seven years later, the dream did come true. Our hosts, from St Peter’s HR department were very warm and genuinely hospitable. We enjoyed our stay at the Great Northern hotel, the job interview was followed by several dinners, a baby sitter was arranged for the boys, and we were encouraged to stay another night to explore the area. So, we took a trolley to the Helena Ridge trail and enjoyed the 8-mile hike back, limped our way to the Park Ave bakery for some cake and drinks. The people we met were so nice and cheerful. Comparing it to other job interviews as a family, this had been truly a unique and an enjoyable experience for us.

Initially, when we moved here, we had a lot of people come over for dinner. Most people from Helena enjoyed Indian food, even if it was their first time. The boys celebrated Halloween with the boys in the neighborhood.There were a good number of Indian families, so everyone got together and played cricket, we also had a couple of fun Indian get-togethers at our house followed by farewell dinners, almost all the families left in a span of few years.

Halloween in the neighborhood - 2008

Then my brother and sister-in-law, who live in India, came for a visit. They were visiting me in for the very first time in our 14 years in the US, so it was exciting. My brother was struck by the by the picturesque beauty of Montana, the expansive clear skies, sunshine and the easy access to nature, especially after having traveled all over the world. He took a lot of beautiful pictures, he felt like he could point his camera almost anywhere and get a perfect picture. My sister-in-law had to leave a few days earlier than him, so when we went to drop her off to the airport, he took a couple pictures. This one of the airport, captures it exactly the way I first saw it.