BS: President Obama visiting my home town

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Alice
Date: 18 Aug 09 - 10:56 AM

Not just "Barry", but also called "Uncle Rocky". More follow up news in the local paper about last weekend:

"Mrs. Obama was an incredible paddler," said Jaye Gibb, raft guide with Gallatin Gateway-based Geyser Whitewater Expeditions and a kindergarten teacher at Heck/Quaw Elementary School in Belgrade. "She was even better than some of the Secret Service out there."

While President Barack Obama held a town meeting in Belgrade on Friday, Michelle Obama and daughters Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, along with some other relatives went whitewater rafting on the Gallatin River.

The group took four rafts in all, also accommodating Secret Service and other White House staff.

They put in at No Tel around 2 p.m. and took out about an hour and a half later at Storm Castle. It was rainy and chilly, but the Obama family still had a blast, said Gibb, who guided Michelle and the kids' boat.

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Gibb said they named the raft "The Fighting Iguana" after Malia's soccer team.

"Their favorite part was Prudential Rapids," Gibb said. "I put them right up front. They got soaked. They thought that was the best part of the whole trip."

To prepare for Friday's rafting trip, Geyser Whitewater staff took Secret Service out to the site on Monday.

After the town hall meeting, Obama went fly fishing on the East Gallatin River with his Deputy Chief of Staff, Jim Messina, who attended the University of Montana.

The First Family stayed in one of the eight penthouses on the tenth floor of Big Sky Resort's Summit Hotel on Friday night, said resort spokesman Dax Schieffer. The entire tenth and ninth floor were reserved for the Obamas and family as well as White House and Secret Service staff.

"All in all we had about 400 people as part of the group," Schieffer said.

The resort hosted the White House contingent in addition to an oncology group and a wedding party without closing anything down, he said.

While Obama was out fly fishing, his sister tried out the zip line and scenic lift at Big Sky Resort, Schieffer said. Her daughter, Obama's niece, was heard referring to the President as her "Uncle Rocky."

At the end of the day Friday, the family took dinner in their rooms before the kids cooked s'mores over a fire pit outside the Carabiner Lodge.

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Alice
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 10:03 PM

It's catch and release where he was fishing, anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Peace
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 09:59 PM

Well, it's a darned good thing he DIDN'T catch a fish. He'd have had PETA on his ass faster than the speed of light, and that's pretty fast, imo.

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Amos
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 09:55 PM

Damn that is a nice story!! Thanks, Alice.


A

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Alice
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 09:26 PM

While campaigning in Montana last year, Obama told the crowd at one of his rallies that he wanted to return and try fly fishing. Last weekend was his chance near Bozeman, even though the weather was rainy.

"Dan Vermillion, owner of the Sweetwater Fly Shop in Livingston, said, "When he showed up in his Suburban, he got out of the Suburban...your immediate reaction is 'I can't believe this is happening'. And then he came up and he shook my hand and he said 'My name's Barack Obama and I understand you're going to be my guide today'."

Looking up at rainy weather and thunderclouds, Vermillion was worried his three weeks of silent planning might not pay off. But he says the Commander in Chief was committed to getting on the water: "He pushed through some really tough weather that would have sent most of us back to the hotel or the bar instead of staying on the river."

Vermillion says security reasons prevented him from taking the President out on a drift boat, but he says he prefers it that way, since wading the East Gallatin river with Mr. Obama gave them more of a chance to talk."

"We talked about a lot of personal stuff, a lot of family stuff, and then fishing," said Vermillion.

And Vermillion says the President was quite focused on the task at hand.

"He was really good at stepping out of his life as the President and all the complications that entails and becoming very focused on fishing, and with that focus he ended up picking it up very, very quickly."

After two and a half hours and half a dozen bites, Mr. Obama had to move on empty-handed. And while no fish were caught, Vermillion says it was as much fun as he had ever had fly fishing."

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: DougR
Date: 15 Aug 09 - 04:00 PM

Alice: I don't know who will be with him, or if he is coming alone.

Seriously, though, I'm sorry you couldn't attend the Town Hall meeting. I know you would have enjoyed being there.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Little Hawk
Date: 15 Aug 09 - 03:14 AM

The people I'd really like to talk to for a couple of hours are Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich.

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Alice
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 08:27 PM

Will Alan Smithee be with him, Doug? Now that would really be something.

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: DougR
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 07:57 PM

I have heard a rumor that George Spelvin is coming to Scottsdale, Arizona, sometime in the near future. I sure hope I get to see HIM~
:>)

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Alice
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 05:01 PM

You can listen to recording of the town hall meeting at
http://ypradio.org/

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Alice
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 02:40 PM

He is here now, at the airport, with an audience of people who stood in line at the city hall in Bozeman and Belgrade to get tickets to be in the airport hanger where the town hall is being held.

I have an appt. at 1pm today and could not go to the town hall meeting. Darn it.

I think you can hear it streaming live at NPR.org or cspan.org.

Alice

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Amos
Date: 08 Aug 09 - 07:59 PM

Tell him I said hello and keep on trucking!

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Aug 09 - 06:50 PM

I heard it on NPR and wondered if you'd be around. I don't suppose he'll come to the Western Slope, but did get to see him last year. Pretty neat.

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: GUEST,Chongo Chimp
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 09:36 PM

I will be visitin' Bozeman in early September...even though there is not one chimp, ape, or monkey of votin' age IN the whole damn place. Match that, Obama.

- Chongo

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Alice
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 09:32 PM

I'm in Bozeman, but only for two more weeks... then have to go to Butte to work.

So,.... yup, I'll be here when the Secret Service swoop in and the First Family starts its vacation trip.

Apparently they are going to start here and then go down through Yellowstone and on to Colorado and then the Grand Canyon.

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Riginslinger
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 09:29 PM

My god, what if Michelle comes too?

Subject: RE: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Deckman
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 09:23 PM

So ... Alice ... He's in Bozeman, and you're NOT there? What's wrong with that picture? Bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: BS: President Obama visiting my home town
From: Alice
Date: 07 Aug 09 - 09:18 PM

Our local paper has printed a few rumors this week, then today the White House confirmed that President Obama will be in my home town on August 14. He was here as a candidate, but no president while in office has ever visited our town before. He was in Butte last year for the 4th of July parade and mentioned he'd like to come back and learn fly fishing. The first family apparently really liked visiting Montana when they were here before. When I stayed at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort last fall, where I work for my job part of the year, there is actually a suite now called the Obama Suite, as he stayed there while campaigning.

This is tonight's update:

"The White House has confirmed that President Barack Obama will be in Bozeman on Aug. 14. White House officials would not say Friday what Obama planned to do in Bozeman. They say the first family also plans to travel to Yellowstone National Park."