Turns out this town of 60,000 or so is an excellent place to be an artist or art appreciator.

Susan Bjelland showcases the work of several local painters, sketchers, sculptors and writers at Tsunami, her eclectic toys and art store on S. Higgins Ave.

Here she's pouring a complimentary drink for one of the attendees of First Friday Art Walk, a monthly event where people stroll from gallery to gallery to check out what's new.

I had a Pacifico and walked up and down the streets. It felt so weird to be drinking a beer in public. I kept wanting to hide it in my purse, but apparently it's OK here? (I know in Seattle there are strict no-liquor-in-public laws.)

Anyway, I also caught a screening of "Herb & Dorothy," an indie flick about the legendary art collecting couple from Manhattan.

I am proud to say I knew who they were from reading past articles in my W Magazines, religiously.

I also visited the Missoula Art Museum, which is free and open to the public, as all galleries ought to be. Who was it who said, "art is silent where money talks" or something like that?

Caras Park near downtown Missoula really is a magical place from a kid's perspective. There is a fantastic play area, modeled after a big scary dragon; walkways studded with colored glass and plastic; a giant cement cat; swings, slides, etcetera; and this whimsical merry-go-round.

Here is the story of the carousel, because I couldn't make up something better if I tried (you should be able to click on the pic to make it full size):

Each horse has a history. I was drawn to this particular steed, as was a little girl who'd been waiting in line. Before I had time to press my shutter button, she'd already climbed aboard to claim it for the ride.