A Long Overdue Update

Much has happened since I last blogged. This has been a crazy year of travel for me and my boyfriend. We went to Hawaii in April:

Shortly after we got back from Oahu we flew to Wyoming to visit with Tyler's family at his Grandfather's ranch:

The ranch is in Wilson, WY just outside of Jackson Hole. We were so busy the whole time! I could have spent a year there trying to get in all the hiking and canoeing and biking I wanted to do. At least we got to go on one hike that was an absolute treat. I have never seen such diversity and beauty in wildflowers as I did on this hike just past Wilson. See how happy I am?! :)

We also got the opportunity to go white water rafting!! I was a bit worried because I heard it would be pretty intense but not long into the rafting trip I realized it was a LOT of fun and I had a blast. We went on the Snake River which was gorgeous and wild as heck! Your life vest is supposed to be tight enough that if you fall out of the boat somebody can pick you up by it, without it slipping over your head. The picture below is of Tyler being a nice boyfriend and making sure my vest was tight enough (hahahahaha):

After about a week in Wyoming we drove back to Montana with Tyler's brother Alex and his wife Katrina.
A couple days later my parents came to visit for a week in Missoula and Western Montana in general. The below pic was taken at the National Bison Range in Charlo, MT:

Then my parents, Tyler (my bf), Hanz (my dog), and I all drove to California to visit my family!

Tyler, Hanz and I then drove back to Montana in a day and a half!!!

After a day of rest, just enough time to unpack and then re-pack, I was off to Butte to be a counselor at a fly fishing camp!!

It was such a great experience to be at the camp! I learned how to fly fish, which I had never done before and I got to see some really remote parts of Montana that I probably won't ever get to see again. I don't even think I could find some of them without help... so many dirt roads that wind around mountains and deposit you in these beautifully remote locations. We fished on the Big Hole River and the Clark Fork River. I realized that I don't believe you should kill (or hurt) any living thing unless you plan on eating it, and then you should take pains to treat it respectfully so I didn't really want to catch anything if I was going to be releasing it. Even with this belief I still had a great time. It is incredibly relaxing and meditative to stand in the water in waders (or without if it's nice out!) practicing your cast and just being still and aware. I now understand the appeal of fly fishing and now it makes sense why you will see people casting on a river when the conditions are very unfavorable (blue skies, strong sun, middle of the day, etc). I am hoping to find an inexpensive fly rod and reel for my next adventure, which I have yet to inform you of!