Back Story: Montana

I had a little time today, I thought that I would share some of our back story with you.

Where it all began

I thought this part would be easier to do. Start telling the origins of our travels; okay sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. Where do I begin? I could start by telling you how I was born in one state and then moved around a ton until I was about 9 or I could start by relaying the story of how I had parents that took my siblings and me traveling every summer. What about starting from when I lived in a minivan or when I bought a Winnebago? All of these points in my life created the Journey that I am on now.

I think the easiest part to start with would be when I moved to Montana. From Wisconsin.

I had been working for the Animal Humane Society in Woodbury, MN for 6 1/2 years when I had a realization that this was going to be my life. I was going to adopt animals out to loving families, share in the joys and the tears of my amazing co-workers, get covered in more disgusting liquids than I care to share everyday for the rest of my life. And I would've been happy. The thought entered my head and my first reaction was to run. So I switched my job within AHS and as it turns out, that didn't work too well and I found myself looking for another job.

I got a minimum wage job working an unhealthy profession for all of 4-ish months when I was wrongfully terminated. This matters less than the big picture; I was without a job again and all because my instincts had told me to run a few months back. The Universe was simply helping me along the way to the road.

While talking to my friend, Crystal, on the phone about all of this; she suggested that I come and move out to her neck of the woods. I had payed her a visit in September 2014 several months after she had moved and she had found herself loving every moment of life. What's not to love? She had mountains, clean fresh air, water, a small town and tons of wildlife surrounding her. We discussed some details and I made a plan to come check it out, find work and a babysitter, while she arranged for a place for me to live. I'd be there a week; then head back to Wisconsin to pick up Zion, my son, come back, and start this new life.

Montana May 22, 2015

Wow. What an amazing place! I had been here before, but this was going to be a new home. The property Crystal lived on was gorgeous and just outside of town. Just look at that view.

The drive from Wisconsin to Montana really wore me out, so I got settled down on a bed and went to sleep. A few hours later, Crystal called me up and said to drive into town asap because it was the running of the horses today. I reluctantly rolled myself over, tossing the blankets off to my side and sat up. In the last 36 hours I only had about 4 hours of sleep and was in no way ready to face people. Horses. Horses running through a town! "Okay," I thought, "I can do this. I don't want to miss this. Get moving!"

I quickly threw on some clothes, organized my hair a little, jumped into my car, and headed down the gravel road into town. I called Crystal as soon as I got close, trying to figure out where to park and where to meet her. I found a spot to pull over as there was congestion already all over the roads. I parked in the nearby parking lot and started to walk towards the bridge, thinking about how awesome this was going to be and then I saw them. Oh the magnificent creatures of every little girls' dreams! There were tons of them and it took everything in me just to keep myself from screaming like a little girl. Okay, I may have let a little squeal out, but just a little one. It was awesome and amazing and damn, I wish I had gotten here ten minutes earlier to see them better.

After the last of the horses and riders made their way up the road and past the last house I could see them from, Crystal and I got back in touch. She came walking towards me on the bridge with a few new faces I was about to meet.

We all said our "hello"s and the rest of the afternoon was pretty much a blur. I'm sure Crystal and I did some more things, but I couldn't recall what they were to save me. I do remember being able to take a shower and get myself ready to go into town, was that before or after the horses? I remember being in a feisty mood come evening time and was ready to drink! I am a mom and right then, I didn't have to worry about coming home to a kid. Party on.

Crystal and I strolled into Red's Blue Goose Saloon, I got my favorite; Whiskey Sour and our night began. Now this bar, according to Crystal at the time, was the place to go, but when we first got there, my thoughts were, "5 people? I know I saw more people than this when the horses were running." Little did I know that what she meant was, this was the bar that the townsfolk go to, not the tourists, and most of this town is filled with tourists. I'd already heard from her that this was the case, but it's such a different thing to experience it first hand. A little town full of hustle and bustle, but 90% of what you see, doesn't belong. How strange to put yourself into a view of what everyone in this town and many others like it all over the country, go through. Half the year you have friends and acquaintances that you know intimately and thoroughly, the other half of the year, you barely see them because you are surrounded by strangers. Strangers you have to be polite, nice, warm, and welcoming to because they are the ones financing you in this quaint life. Strangers that invade every nook and cranny of your life, judging you, your livelihood, your town, and your friends; never really knowing what it is like from your perspective. They take this experience, their judgement, and then exploit it, blasting their opinions good or bad all over the internet so that everyone can read or see if you or your friends have had a good or bad day. Take this into consideration next time you have an unpleasant experience when you go on your next vacation.

Back to the evening.....

A few more drinks and a couple Rob Zombie songs later, I was finally comfortable enough to start talking to the strangers around me. I looked down the bar and saw a man sitting alone, he looked sad & lonely, so I exchanged a few pleasantries and patted the seat next to me. "Come sit next to me," I said, glancing at Crystal, my invitation to this guy was unwanted. She was having a great time with me and the man serving us drinks, but I was in need of some more conversation and the alcohol had taken its effects, so I didn't care. The man I invited over mentioned that he wasn't wanted and I told him to scoot on over anyway. While blathering on, I tell this guy about all the things I want to do while I'm in Montana and I can see his eyes light up as I talk about how much I love to travel and how much I want to find all the cool things that Mama Earth has to give us if only we look. I tell him how Crystal has to work for the next few days and I have no idea what I'm going to do with myself, so of course, he says he'll take me out rock hunting. To this idea I get excited, but also suspect that he won't follow through. We end up parting ways for the night after giving him my phone number and challenging him to uphold his rock-hounding claims.

Waking up the next morning, I get to take a shower outside. Oh one of my favorite things! A brisk mountain air fills my nose, while the hot water flows down my body. This experience, I highly recommend to everyone as it is one of the most refreshing showers ever!

The mountain view from my shower.

After one of the best showers of my life, I ponder what to do with my day. Shall I make the drive into Yellowstone? Peruse the shops in town? Sit back at the property and draw? Turning on my cell phone, I find that I have a voicemail. It was the guy from the bar and he wants to take me to find rocks. For the next 5 days, I took pictures, went on hikes, and got to know this Mountain Man a little better.

After laughing at the animals together and finding joy in our time together, I invited him to go back with me to Wisconsin to get Zion. It just sort of slipped out of my mouth. I hardly knew this man and here I was inviting him to come with me on a 1,000 mile journey back to my home, my family, & my world. "Please say no" was all I could think. He said yes and soon we were off back to the Midwest.