The carnival theme was: "We Potpourri of Splendor and Fun."

The carnival season celebrates Netherland's Queen Beatrix' birthday, culminating on April 30. It takes a couple of more days to wind down from month long party, so they toss in a holiday for rest, and carnival spills into May, with Last Lap Jump Up and presentation of prizes and burning of straw King Momo on final day. Carnival is a historical festival "Jump Up," a sea of unification with no borders or generation gaps, banging through island for over 30 years. The Queen wasn't present, and I doubt anyone really cared if she was having a birthday—it was just an excuse to "ParTee." Everyone was here for music!

When bands played, I knew why they called it a "Jump Up."

The Rolling Tones

The headline marquee one evening was Caribbean group that was restarted in 1994 by well-known businessman Adolphus Richardson, an original member of band's first generation, formed in 1964, with him as trumpeter and singer. The senior group dispersed in 1992 and reformed in 1994. Their 1999 Barbados produced album, "A Six for ah Nine," is their best yet. The band blends a mix of soca, reggae and calypso, as a united group of professional musicians. The band's musical journey landed it two USA-based 1997 Sunshine Award nominations for "Soca Man,"—for promotion of calypso and steel band music. The Rolling Tones CDs are very difficult to find, and are quite collector items, so it is probably best to rip your own in an MP3 file.

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Kriss Hammond, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com

Let's Bale Hay

Most ranches in this area have switched from older rectangular hay bales to large cylindrical ones (what, didn't you know that?), but rectangular ones make great pews. We sat on bales beside creek and sang "Amazing Grace" as several of our hosts played guitars and violins. Rancher Terry Terland conducted informal service and compared Christ's protection of his flock of believers to dedication of today's ranchers. He also read a passage from Jack Terry's "The Great Trail Ride" describing courage and loyalty of American cowboys, who often risked their own lives to protect their bosses' livestock. "They rode for brand," Terry said.

Did I mention ranch stays are a hands-on experience? After church we got a closer look at hay-baling operation. Guest Miki, from Tokyo, Japan, drove tractor under Matt's tutelage: she gathered up several rows of mown hay with towed baler and then released cylindrical bale behind tractor. Comparing her creation to sushi, we called it a "Miki roll."

With that, it was time for lunch.

The historic Grand Hotel was built in 1890 in nearby town of Big Timber. Before enjoying a delicious lunch in dining room, we looked at some wonderful black-and-white photographs by local artist Barbara Van Cleve. At Crazy Mountain Museum, lifelong resident Betty Jarrett gave us a sense of area's family history. How many places have sixth- and seventh-generation ranches and businesses? The museum featured lots of old photos, many showing ancestors of folks we were meeting on our visit. Rancher Leo Cremer showed me his great-grandfather's ornate saddle from his days as a rodeo producer. "I feel like a newcomer, since I'm only fourth generation," Leo grinned.

Is it okay to yell "Play!" in a crowded firehouse? In nearby town of Livingston, we saw an old-fashioned Vaudeville performance at Firehouse 5 Playhouse. Re-established here in 1990, it featured eight enthusiastic singers, many of them local kids from university in Bozeman. Their musical skits ranged from moderately serious (four ladies harmonizing "Don't Fence Me In") to hilariously absurd (an English dungeon scene with really bad Cockney accents). This theater survives in rural area because so many people, from Bozeman to Billings, know performers personally.

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Rob LaGrone, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com