Tenors, Touchdowns, & Travel! University of Montana Grizzly Football Play-offs

A great advantage to Montana’s small towns and regional airlines is the friendliness and very individual service. While in the airport, I met Montana's son and newest, most famous tenor, Chris Benegochea, who is from the Lambert/Culbertson area but is currently with the San Jose Opera Company.
I caught a ride with the Big Sky pilots from the hotel to the airport for the 6am flight out of Sidney. One way to guarantee making the flight is to ride with the pilots :) I was flying across the state to Missoula that morning and we were delayed because of our ever variable Montana winter weather. I made it just in time to rehearse quickly on the field and experience the huge delay between the microphone and the stadium speakers – an enormous challenge for a singer. The game was the first round of I-AA playoffs for the UM Grizzly football team and had a record attendance (19,900) for their victorious game in Washington-Grizzle Stadium on the University of Montana campus. I spent the rest of the day in Missoula and tried to catch up with a little paperwork. My thanks to the Hoiland Family for hosting me on such a busy weekend.
Sunday was longer than originally planned. My parents were in Seattle with my sister for Thanksgiving and were driving all the way through on Sunday. They planned to pick me up in Missoula at 3pm on their way through to Billings. However, a huge storm had moved in to the northwest and caused numerous road conditions. On the first mountain pass outside of Seattle, chains were required for all cars without 4-wheel or all-wheel drive. My parents said they didn’t go over 20 mph until they reached Coeur D’Alene around 7:30pm. Six hours after the initial estimated time, my parents picked me up in Missoula at 9:30 and we drove home. We arrived at 3am to warm beds.
I figured that everyday this week I was in at least two different towns. Luckily two of those nights I spent at home so my poor dog could sleep inside since she was left at home. She kept a close eye on us the following week to make sure we were not going to leave her again.