Are you guys ready for a couple of meet-ups in Great Falls? Good - because your presence is requested! The first event is officially called a Tweetup and is geared towards Great Falls twitterers. Online buddy Mark Mathson took the lead in organizing it (thanks Mark!), and it’s going to be held at - drum roll! - the Downtown Dog House! It will be on July 11, and we would love to see you there. Click here for more details and to sign up!

And the other gathering of online folks is being sponsored by GeeGuy of Electric City Weblog; it will be held a week later on July 18 and is open to bloggers, commenters, and lurkers - click here for more information!

So - to quote Ben Bailey - are you in?

Joking around a bit at work tonight, and we mentioned the “Great Falls sucks” attitude that too many people have…and we struck upon a possible new slogan for GreaterFalls. What do you think of this?
I LOVE GREAT FALLS SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO!

As noted on KRTV a few days ago, there’s a “Weiner War” going on in Great Falls, with THREE competing hot dog eateries vying for your attention (two restaurants, one cart vendor). So on Saturday, we ventured forth to sample the wares at the new Downtown Dog House, located on 5th Street just a few doors down from Central Avenue.
The verdict: woohoo! What a fun place! The dogs were tasty, and available with all sorts of condiments and toppings (even a veggie-dog!). And the super-skinny fries and onion rings/strings were delicious. And for dessert: ice-cream cupcakes! Seriously - try the Cotton Candy Fluff cupcake.

The atmosphere is fun, the staff (hi Tiffany!) was upbeat and happy, and owner Dave was on hand making sure that everyone was enjoying the food and the fun. A few flat-screen TVs above - two on sports and one on news - and free WiFi make this a winner. Oh, and the huge “garage-door” opening for patio dining is a very cool thing (sorry didn’t get picture yet).

And while we were enjoying our dogs, we saw a few friendly folks we know (including blog-buddy GeeGuy!) - everybody seemed to be in a good mood and enjoying the place.

So how did the Downtown Dog House stack up against it’s main competitor, Stinky’s? I haven’t tried Stinky’s yet, but Krista ate there a few days ago, and she said the Downtown Dog House was WAY better than Stinky’s. She noted that Stinky’s was OK - until we ate at the Dog House, which she said completely blew away the competition. Stinky’s has a more variety on their menu (sandwiches, etc), but the dog quality and atmosphere just didn’t even come close the Downtown Dog House.

So what do you think? Have you tried any of the hot dog eateries? How did they rate?

Some more pix - click to see larger size:


Downtown Dog House
#4 5th Street South; phone 406-454-DOGS (3647)
Open Monday through Saturday from (?) 11 am to 8 pm, closed Sunday

ZenPanda has tossed out the idea of a Great Falls photo-club and wants to know if any fellow bloggers or online folks are interested:

So I’m thinking we can get a good group of GF Flickrites/photogs/cameranuts to get together one evening, walk around downtown, shoot a few frames & grab a drink (not necessarily adult beverages) with conversation after.

Drop by her place and let her know if you’re in. Sounds cool.

Not only are Canadians welcome, but so are Candaians!

I know many of you are big fans of the GF Farmer’s Market - it’s truly awesome - and now there’s a way you can help our own Farmer’s Market win some cash. I got an e-mail from Barbara Murfield, one of the driving forces behind our Market:

Hi, I just voted to help my favorite farmers market win $5,000 in the “Love Your Farmers Market” online contest, sponsored by Care2.com and LocalHarvest.org. Every vote helps promote local food, family farms and sustainable agriculture. Please help the Great Falls Original Farmer’s Market win by voting today. Help us win the $5,000 so we can make our Farmer’s Market even more awesome. Thanks for your help!

You can vote for Great Falls Farmer’s Market by clicking this link; you have to provide your name and an e-mail address, and tell them what makes ours so special. Even though I’m not thrilled with the sponsors of the contest, it would be very cool to have the Great Falls team win!

Here’s some pix from one of my trips to the Farmer’s Market:

Hi! Just wanted to let you folks know that my mom & dad are taking me to meet someone today - his name is Doctor Mike, and they said that he’s a “puppy-atrician” and takes care of small fuzzy dogs - like me! He works at some place called Best Friends where I will get to see some other dogs and maybe even something called “cats.” I know what dogs are - I lived with my brothers and sisters for a while before mom and dad adopted me last week - but I’m not sure what a “cats” are. Are they sort of like food?

Mom and dad said that Doctor Mike is going to “check me out” to make sure that I’m doing OK. I guess people do that when they get a new puppy. I’ve got news for this “Doctor Mike” — I’m better than OK — I’m SUPER PUPPY! Did you know that I can fly?

Oh, and I think my mom and dad like the name Tiki - they keep saying it over and over to me, so I guess that’s what they want my name to be. I’m cool with that. I’m just glad that they didn’t pick a doofus name for me, like Max or Rover!

Oh, before I go, here’s a picture of me with one of my favorite friends - it’s a blue monkey that squeaks!