The Clark Family: Glasgow Montana

Last December we decided to send in an application to BNSF Railway. Hayden's cousin is a conductor for BNSF and he loves his job. It seemed like a great fit for Hayden so we thought we would give it a shot. We heard that it was not an easy task getting hired by the railroad. Luckily we were offered to interview at 4 different locations. We felt the best about interviewing in Glasgow, MT. It just happened to be the furthest most remote location. We drove 10 hours there for the job interview. It was a major risk to drive so far for a job we weren't sure we would get. A few days later Hayden was offered a job, but only if he could pass the physical, and background checks. We didn't receive the final offer until mid January. So after spending Christmas with Hayden's family in Colorado, we went to his parents house in Texas and helped them with some remodeling. We then went back to Idaho, packed up our stuff, and drove to our new home in Glasgow, MT.

Glasgow is a town of about 3,000 people. It is very small, very country, and we really liked it. The only downfall was that there was no housing for rent. So we ended up having to get a place in a town 20 miles outside of town called St. Marie. It is an abandoned air force base. Some of the town houses have been kept up, but most of them are all falling to pieces. It is seriously like the twilight zone there. There are probably about 400 people living in St. Marie. The only business there is the Post Office, which doesn't deliver mail, so you have to pick it up every day.

The night we arrived it was a wind chill of -34 degrees. We had arranged with some people from the church to come help us unload. Luckily there was an AMAZING ward there and they sent 9 guys to help us. It was so cold, and so dark, but they still helped us get everything unloaded in under 45 minutes. Someone from the ward even sent us dinner. Which was such a relief because the nearest store or restaurant was 20 miles away.

Our town house was old, smelly, but livable. The plumbing in the basement was clogged so every time we turned on the kitchen sink, water would gush all over the basement. Luckily our landlord got that fixed. The roads were unpaved, neighboring buildings were abandoned and falling apart, and there were deer everywhere. But there was something kind of cozy about it. I felt like I was living in an old farm house which has been a dream of mine.

Hayden and I were called to be primary teachers in the ward for the 10-11 year old kids. I love kids that age and I really enjoyed teaching them. I was also called to be the activity days leader. Hayden was pretty busy with training. It was a 4 month training program. He was on call most of the time and would get called in to work in the middle of the night a lot. We got a dog to keep me company. We named her Willow. After having her I decided I might not be cut out for having a dog, but I have a feeling that will never fly with Hayden. I did get used to her and grew to love her.

After training was over, Hayden and all of the guys he was training with were sent to different locations because there was not enough work for them in Glasgow at the time. We knew that would be very likely. Hayden was sent to Minot, ND. I went with him and we really liked Minot, so we decided to make Minot our home for now. The work will be more secure here and the town has much more to offer (stores, mall, jobs for me, etc) We are planning on being here for a few years but ya never know. We like to wander.

Moving day in Idaho Falls. We woke up to a foot of snow. It made loading up very difficult

-34 degrees wind chill.

View out of our front door in St. Marie, MT

The walls were gross and dirty, so we talked our landlord into letting us paint our bedroom. This is the only room I bothered to partially decorate because I was not planning on being there long.

The road to St. Marie also took you to Canada. Canada was only like 40 miles away.

Our retro kitchen. Luckily we had all new appliances.

St. Marie fire department

Our neighbors

The Post Office

St. Marie, MT

We made friends with another couple who moved to town for training. We went with them to the bowling alley a few times.

Lake Fort Peck

Darts with Joel and Jessica

I would brave the weather and walk to the post office to pick up the mail

Ice fishing at the base ponds

For activity days, I taught the girls about Armenia

Willow Grace Clark

We would take Willow out to the field by our house a few times a day. One day we decided to have a contest to see who could jump over the 4ft snow drifts. This is Hayden stuck in a drift and being attacked by Willow.