enjoy tour

Before I write about our trip to the fort, I wish to mention some other details about the town of Missoula. If you are fortunate to be here over the summer season, make sure to visit the farmer's markets. There are two of them in town on Saturdays during the summer months. I have never seen such a variety of vegetables, fruits and bakery goods before, especially not in one small town! A popular fruit right now, besides sweet cherries, are huckleberries. However, we found the huckleberries to be a bit expensive. I did buy a small bag of them. They are about the size of wild blueberries, which makes them quite small. After checking out the farmer's market, and buying more vegetables and breads than we needed, we went on a walking tour of Missoula's downtown. Our first stop was Saint Xavier Catholic Church, built in 1892. Its style of Romanesque Revival provides large interior expanses suitable for murals. The interior was decorated by an Italian native and Jesuit lay brother, Joseph Carignano. The murals reminded me of the religious paintings we had seen in the interior of the Sistine Chapel. An interpretive sign outside the church notes that the artist "employs many of the devices used by early Renaissance artists as feathery trees, oval female faces, classical costumes..". Our next stop was Missoula Art Museum where we encountered much different artwork. MAM fosters the creation of new art and contemporary artists. READ MORE...schrammjourney.blogspot.com