A quaint settlement amongst the spectacular Bitterroot Mountains of western Montana, the Town of Darby is a picturesque and charming place. It is perhaps near or within some of the best recreational landscape of the whole country. Darby and the Bitterroot Valley are full of wildlife and offer endless recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts.
We tracked down former Berkeley Yacht Club acquaintances
Ken and Gina Coleman who retired to Darby, Montana seven years ago and enjoyed
a wonderful visit with them. These folks once owned Fog City (a 46 foot sailboat)
and circumnavigated the globe for six years. Later on
they purchased three
acres in Darby, settled down and had a beautiful custom log home built. The
house, designed with floor to ceiling windows and a grand porch, overlooks the
Bitterroot River flowing directly off the backside of the house. It holds the
best of what Montana is about and is definitely a little piece of paradise
along with their warm hospitality.
Sitting outside on their riverside porch
sharing stories together, we were entertained by drift boats floating down
stream, bald eagles catching fish, a small deer feeding in the grass across the
river bank, and assorted birds fluttering amongst the trees.
If there is an event that
embodies all that Montana stands for Darby Loggger Days is it. The town came
alive with a parade and timber competition event not to miss!
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| Everyone loves the Logger Days Parade on Main Street in Darby, Montana |
The laid back atmosphere of this fun and family
oriented weekend drew hundreds of enthusiastic onlookers and expert timber competitors.
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| Women loggers often out compete men |
Darby
Logger Days celebrates the skill and bravery of those who work in the time
honored tradition of logging. Along with the Colemans we watched seventeen traditional
logging competitions scheduled, including axe throwing, pole climbing, log
rolling and cross cut sawing.
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| Pole climbing event to ring a bell on top and slide back down for the fastest time. |
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| Log relays over the pond are dicey and many get wet... |
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| Log rolling means dumping one's opponent into the water |
Chopping in two lumberjack steps to climb up before splitting a log on top is another challenging competition.
An evening
in the community park listening to
a local western band sing and play at the Strawberry Festival wrapped up the grand
weekend in Darby.
