Missoula Montana Bed and Breakfast

Showing the size of my New Smart

It’s about time I share some on the New Car.  It is a dream come true for me after I fell in love with this little car about 6 years ago.  Our daughter had seen the Smart while on a school trip to Germany and when I saw the pictures I new instantly that I wanted one for the Mansion.  So July 28th, 2009 it became a reality.  The only sad part was saying goodbye to our Chevy Astro Van that we traded in on the “Cash For Clunkers” program. 

Chevy Astro aka The Cardboard Box

The car was originally Blue and Silver, But we decided that living in “Griz Nation” we would have it custom painted Maroon instead. Of course it is the Mansion car so It had to be all Logoed up, including the play on words “Follow me to the SMART place to stay”. 

A view From Behind

Peyton Loves to go for rides with the top down, yes it is a convertible, and seeing her tail wag out the back end while driving down the road is a real grin getter. It is way Bigger than it looks as we can fit our Costco Load in it just fine. So if you see us zipping around town be sure to give us a wave. 

Big House Little Car

I don’t want to brag to much about an average of  43 MPG so I will leave the Bragging to our Girls. 

Bragging Rights

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard comments like… 

“How do you fit in that?” 

“ Do you fold your knees under you to get in?” 

“ Do you take it as your carry on so you don’t have to rent a car on vacation?” 

 and the all time most popular  

“IT’S SO CUTE!”  

So I guess I have to agree, it is cute, but also so much fun.  If you want to see it up close I’d be happy to show it to you.

Hiking in Montana

It was a beautiful February day, clear skies and the temperatures in the mid 50’s…that is correct 50’s. Sad to say our snow pack levels are wwwaaayy down and with the warm weather, Tom and I were anxious to hit some of our favorite mountain trails. We didn’t know if we could make it to the trailhead in our Smart car, but figured is was a nice day for a drive and would go as far on the forest service road as we could.

Well to our surprise and pleasure we were able to drive to the trail head with no troubles. Like I said it is scary because we should not be able to get a non 4 wheel drive vehicle to that elevation, 5,000 ft at trailhead, in February!

Peyton, our 2 1/2 year old black lab, was very excited to be out in the forest. She was so excited that when it came time for the photo shot I got a little nervous of her being on the cliff edge. So being the over protective one in the group I held onto her collar during the shot. In all reality if she would have run forward it would have just meant we both went over the edge, and any dog person knows that dogs know the boundaries better then we humans….it just made me feel better.

Looking back to the "city" of Hamilton

The Bitterroot valley is one of the great treasures of Western Montana and the trail we took today gave us the best of both worlds. Looking back from where we had came was the valley and the town of Hamilton, but before us was the Blodgett canyon. Known for its jagged peaks and glacially craved canyon over 4,000 ft below. 

Blodgett Canyon...a Montana treasure

With my winter blues gone and my spring fever beginning, it was another glorious day in Montana no matter what season you call it!

Nancy catching the spring fever!

Gibson Mansion Bed and Breakfast Christmas

Wow wasn’t it just the Christmas Season?? Tom and I survived another whirlwind December with office Christmas Parties and private Dinners. It is such a different routine than our “normal lives” of running the BnB. We have a lot of fun cooking something other than breakfast dishes, Though we have a true appreciation for caterers and how hard they work, my feet are always glad when the day is done!!

With the Christmas Season done for another year, Tom and I took off for our time of being tourists and went to Grand Bahama Island for our vacation in the sun! We had a great condo right on the beach and enjoyed just being “Beach Bums” . We read books, played in the ocean, took long walks on the great beaches. It was a first for me to beat Tom in scrabble every time!!! That doesn’t happen very often so I have to make sure and tell everyone! 

Now we are back, relaxed and ready for another season at Gibson Mansion Bed and Breakfast!

Gold Rock Beach in the Bahamas

gibson house mansion—
Originally uploaded by svm

Gibson Mansion Bed and Breakfast built in 1903 is one of many Historic mansions in Missoula Montana. This home was relocated from it’s original location of 817 Gerald Ave. to 823 39th Street in 1979. Because of this move out of the original district, it currnently does not qualify for the National Historic Registry.

Peyton playing in the river

Wow I cannot believe how fast the time is going…It was just May yesterday right?

Summer in Missoula reminds me why I live here. The area is full of all variety of outdoor activities, so much so that you have too many things to do and you cannot do them all! From outdoor concerts down in Caras park, right at the rivers edge, to our semi-pro baseball team, The Osprey (did I mention there field is also right on the Clark Fork river banks?), to grabbing an inner tub and a cool beverage and floating one of the 3 major rivers running through town. If you do not feel like getting in the water yourself you can watch from the observation deck kayak’s on Brennan’s wave. That is just a snip-it of what all there is to do.

The people of Missoula are what make this place great! It is a very giving community that likes to combine the outdoor fun with fundraising for the local non-profit groups. We have our bike for shelters, where it promotes families biking through the Missoula valley and at the same time raising awareness and funds for the local Missoula Watson’s Children’s Center that cares for small children that are removed from unsafe homes. This is just one of the many events that helps out our Missoula community while promoting fitness and the great outdoors.

Missoula has also hit it off with our Marathon that is held in July. It is so fun to see people coming in from all areas, but more so, to watch local Missoulians going out and completing a race they never would have thought they could do, or would travel to participate in.

This is why it is so hard to find time to blog…with the early sunrises and late sunsets who wants to be at a computer monitor when there is fun to be had!  So hopefully you are enjoy the summer as much as we are….if not jump in a car/plane/train/bike whatever it takes and come enjoy Missoula with me!

Deanna's Moment

Over the years we have hosted many families celebrating their sons/daughters graduation from the  University of Montana. It is a joyous event, with the parents beaming from ear to ear as they see their child achieve this academic honor. This year was no different in that respect. We had Mom and Dad, Grandma’s from both sides, and the Aunt as well. The house was a buzz with laughter and celebration over their family members big day.

The difference this year was that Tom and I were not around to enjoy and personally host this weekends festivities. Tom and I stepped into the role that we have observed from the sidelines, becoming the grinning and proud parents of a graduate. Our baby graduated from University of Puget sound this past weekend!

It was a grand weekend with mother nature even smiling down on us…beautiful sunny weather in Tacoma,WA…that can be a rare event in itself. As the weekend unfolded with all of the different activities and ceremonies, I found myself reflecting on the past 21 years of my baby’s life. The good and the bad, the ups and downs and to see her now as a young women ready to take on the next journey of her life. I understood the actions I had observed over the years from other parents who had stayed with us. The smile on the face, yet the hint of misty eyes. As we came to the finale of the actual graduation ceremony, I sat in the grand stands and watched as all of our “baby’s” marched in with there black gowns and mortar boards….and yes the misty eyes were everywhere…but also to see grown adults jumping up and down and frantically waving at the sea of graduates trying to get the attention of their baby. It made me realize how we as parents will go to any measure to be apart of our children’s lives even if it means cheering from the sidelines. We are no longer in the director of children’s lives, those years are gone, but instead we are the cheerleaders in there future. 

So Congratulations to our you graduates of the classes of 2009, but also congratulations to all you fellow parents out there for your graduation to the sideline.

Despite the cold Missoula spring this year, nature is working overtime in the greenhouse. This year is the biggest crop ever, with 49 flats planted and growing like weeds? One mans weeds are another ones flowers right? 

You would think I would have made it an even 50 trays, but the shelves are bursting as is. It always amazes me to plant a seed that is so tiny you cannot pick up just one at a time and then by the end of the summer it is 2 foot tall!

Every year I plant my usual 300 plus zinna’s of all varieties. Then they are the other stables of asters, sunflowers (pollen-less as to not make such a mess on the tables when brought into the house), snap dragons, marigolds (something the deer do not eat), alyssum, black eyed susan vines, bachelor buttons, comos…and the list goes on. I try a new flower every year and this year it is called 4 o’clock. I know really nothing about them so it will be interested to see how they do. It is always fun to see a new style of leaf sprouting.

It has finally happened….today our guest checked in from Delaware. That means Gibson Mansion Bed and Breakfast has had guests from all 50 States!

As we opened for business in June 2001, we decided to keep track with our Large US map of where all our guests have come from. At the end of our first year we have 80% of the States represented and were amazed. The next couple of years filled in all but one lonely State…Delaware. We have been in a holding pattern for over 2 years waiting for that guest to arrive.

So now we are looking International, with our first goal of  having a guest  from each continent and then one from each country. We will need to check into it and see how we are today on that goal and let you know.  We can tell you this…it has been a great time getting to know people from every part of the world!

Yesterday while cleaning our Garden room I heard a noise coming out of the Sunset room, which was suppose to be empty. I went in and found a Finch had made its way through
the open window and couldn’t figure out how to get out.
After many attempts to get out it found a resting place on the foot of the bed.

With my husband Tom’s help we were able to guide it out the window
where it quickly found its proper bed in one of our poplar trees.

Since purchasing the Gibson Mansion bed and breakfast I have been trying to attract different types of birds into the yard by planting shrubs, flowers, and trees that they are looking for. It has been fun to watch a yard that had no bird life to a place that the sounds of many different chirping calls can be heard.

I must say though when I was trying to attract them to our home I never expected them to actually check into our Bed and Breakfast!

After over 8 lonnnggg months of scraping, sanding, and priming the Gibson Mansion Paint restoration work is complete.

In May of 2007 the crew of 6 began scraping and taking layers of 100 years of paint off and in some areas just sanding the bare wood. Of course it was also one of the hottest summers in Missoula, so being against a white house that draws heat and using heat guns it was a grueling task….but so worth it.

It went from every extreme with the weather, like I said the 105 degree days in the summer to finishing in the end of October in snow and freezing temperatures. I can honestly say I don’t remember a painting project where you had issues with it being too hot to paint and then to cold to paint.

The end result was beautiful, Gibson Mansion Bed and Breakfast now almost radiates with a shine so bright you have to wear sunglasses! It is amazing how it transformed all the ornate details of the exterior. They just don’t do that kind of craftsmanship anymore.

Weddings at the Mansion are by far more elegant with the renovations! It is wonderful to see the Historic mansion being used as a backdrop for outdoor wedding and special events.