I am telling myself, "If I had never been to big collegetown and I arrived on a dry day towards the end of summer, and I saw a city resting among gentle hills beside a sky blue lake, with creeks with huge waterfalls in the middle of the city, and buildings with astonishingly beautiful architecture, and the sounds of live music in streets, I might not realize that nine days out of ten it is overcast and nine months out of the year it is so cold that you must wear a jacket, and that in those months when it is not cold it is usually so humid that heat quickly becomes oppressive." (hey cool! one sentence!)

So I am telling myself that as gorgeous as Montana seems to be on these two days I have visited on this judicial training trip, as breathtaking as the yellow hills may seem, as wonderful as the warm dry air feels, as pretty as the canyons and plains may seem right now, it is probably not all that great the rest of the year. AFter all, it must get very cold here in the winter. Surely, an atheist such as myself would never be accepted out here in God's country.

Still, I'm wistfully wondering if their state bar has reciprocity with mine.

Tomorrow we are only in training half the day, and I think I may drive to Yellowstone afterwards. I'm actually getting paid to be here.