naming the roads

Sometime in my younger years, the county started numbering the houses so that the fire department could figure out where to go in an emergency. The houses were numbered according to which mile marker was closest (yes, it's rural). A few years after I went to college, some hotshot up in the county government decided that instead of the logical system already in place, a more creative system ought to be established. Each family could name the road they lived on (there's normally only one family per road, so this wasn't a problem). Mom and Dad had a great time with figuring out what to name their road, and they finally settled on Blackberry Lane, since we grow blackberries along our road. Some roads, like ours, are fairly normal: Orchard Lane, Rocky Point Road, Pinewood Drive. Some are more creative: Lake To Sky Drive (it really does go right up the mountain), Hellroaring Road (same mountain, just going down), Lumpy Road Lumpy Road. Some did not get creative: Road 1, Road 2. Some thought they'd get fancy: Hydeaway Lane, Silver Salmon Shores Road. The ones on the Indian Reservation are interesting: Squeque Road, Kaltomee Lane, Amigo Drive (?). My favorite, so far, has been the one where the family wasn't up-to-date on their spelling: Hard Road to Ho. Oops! I'm pretty sure they meant 'hoe' instead of 'ho,' but too late now. Can you imagine writing to your friend (or living at) 1342 Hard Road To Ho? How embarrassing.

It's been snowing steadily since the night before I arrived, and we have nearly two feet now. Almost time to break out the snowshoes! Hooray for winter in Montana!