A Description of the Premise of the Epic Adventure

Okay so let me explain what Tyler and I are doing. We left September 15th with our dog Hanz planning on travelling for three months in our Springdale 179 travel trailer. We first headed down to the Bitterroot valley to work at Lifeline Dairy in Victor, MT. We are planning on travelling all the way down to the US/ Mexico border, stopping to work on farms for food and experience, visiting all the national parks, and visiting family and friends along the way. I am aiming to write every single day on my computer but I won't have internet most of the time so I will update the blog every chance I get. Tyler and I both wanted to take this chance to explore the American southwest and meet as many different kinds of people and experience as many different types of lifestyles as possible. In every place that we stop I want to learn something about the area and hopefully get some recipes to add to my collection. We are going to stop at farmers markets and roadside stands to sample the local goods and see if a carrot tastes different in Idaho than it tastes in Montana. We also want plenty of time for reflection so we can figure out which of the many directions we want our lives to take. I have so many interests that it has been hard for me to decide what it is exactly that I want to do with my life. I am considering veterinary school, even though it would be a huge time commitment (7 years to be exact) so I will be shadowing different types of veterinarians along the way. In Montana I shadowed an equine vet several times, and I've worked at a small animal veterinary clinic in Halesite, NY for a long time and I am looking forward to adding a marine mammal vet to my list. This trip is not being embarked upon for any particular reason but rather for a huge collective number of reasons. Each of the blogs that I post will follow our trip along the road.

Let the Journey Begin!

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!

Lee "Alexander" McQueen Tribute

How sad for fashion that Alexander McQueen is no longer with us. And how sad it is that he felt his only option was to kill himself. Below I've put some of my favorite Alexander McQueen designs. He was a brilliant artist and he manifested his visions magnificently. I find it amazing how someone who lives such a glamorous and enviable lifestyle can be secretly so unhappy. It is a reminder that nobody's life is perfect and that everyone should be grateful for the good things in their lives. RIP Lee

Montana and Thoughts on the City

I am still fascinated by the rich history that surrounds Montana and much of the west. I'm re-reading some parts of Undaunted Courage now that I'm here. Have you ever been to a place that has such a rich history that it's almost as if you can actually feel the energy of the past? Thats the feeling I get being here because while a lot has been developed in this state, a lot (in comparison to much of the rest of the country) has remained the same. You can look at something like a natural hot spring and know that it has been around for a very long time. I love to think of all the people who have come before me in the very same spot. Who stood on this very ground before me? Who footsteps do mine embrace with each step? I love it. This is the very least of the connection that we have to each other. Because what are the chances that you will step exactly where someone else stepped? Well, with so many people on this earth the chances are pretty good but still... what are the chances that your footsteps will lay exactly on this one particular person's?

I feel that when you live close to the earth, you put your energy into it, and it's almost as it it gets captured and stored. And then those who come after you feel this energy, this life, and don't realize its source. When you live in an area with lower population density and access to natural environments you interact diffierently with the world. It's not the same as walking through a city, surrounded by carbon-neutral buildings but finding no real semblance of the real place in which you are walking. By place I mean the natural formation and landscape of the area. Even Central Park, as beautiful as it is, is engineered to fit what the tree-loving city-dweller would need in their life. And when thats the only nature you see, you miss out on all of the other amazing ecosystems.... grasslands, wetlands, desert, sub-alpine forests, etc. There is just city and then there is "nature." I'm not saying that is wrong. I am merely questioning the legitimacy of a city-dweller's experience in life without knowing what this earth is really made of. It certainly isn't pavement. I'm also just exploring the thoughts that I have about life as I contemplate where I will live. If it didn't take 2 plane rides to get to my parent's house in New York I would definitely stay here in Montana. I hope that at some point in their lives, everyone gets the chance to visit or live in their "Montana." A part of my doesn't want anyone else to go to Montana though because people are starting to realize how amazing it is. Unfortunately, that materializes itself in their destroying it through developments and sub-developments. How ironic that in our quest to better experience something we have to damage or destroy it. I think that really says something about the way we live and view life. Something to ponder.

Thoughts and a List

Well it has certainly been some time since I've posted here. With my trying to figure out what I'm doing with my life the blog has kind of taken the back-burner but I missed it so here I am!

The field season with CFWEP (the Clark Fork Watershed Education Program- http://www.cfwep.org/) wrapped up with the fall newsletter being published. I wrote an article about the work we did in the local schools, educating 5th through 8th grade students on issues surrounding the Mill Town Dam and its removal, along with the effects, in general of mining which takes place up-stream of the dam. I encourage anyone who might read this to check out the CFWEP website because the history of this area is fascinating! In training to give these lectures and lead field stations on the river I got a real crash-course not only in this incredible and extensive history but also in the social and environmental impacts of mining, watershed health and the indicators of ecosystem health.

I went home to New York for a month to spend the holiday season with my parents and extended family. I got to see a bunch of my friends, which is always great and I got to work a bit at Harborside Veterinary Hospital. It was difficult finding a job in Montana. I moved there around the first of July but was unable to find work until the middle of October and even that was only seasonal, ending in mid-December. It was actually pretty fun though. I worked at a plant nursery called Pink Grizzly in Missoula that operates a wreath business and christmas tree lot in the colder months. The plant nursery work is due to start up soon. We should begin planting in March, which I'm looking forward to.

So anyways, when I was home and working at the animal hospital I realized that I'd been working there for a long time but I was always super excited about it. Since I've been trying to figure out the direction in which to take my life, in terms of possible careers, it made sense to reconsider going to veterinary school. So I've decided to do it! I'm gonna get my Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine!! I have to take a bunch of classes that are going to be difficult (a year each of physics, biochem, organic chem, inorganic chem, microbio, etc) before I can actually apply so I'm trying to figure out when and where I will take those classes. It gets complicated with the difficult job/ finance situation, having a serious boyfriend in Montana, and having my family in New York. I'm thinking though that I'm going to need to really focus on the classes while I am taking them so I can do my best, and hopefully also work at Harborside for the experience and the money to finance my education so I'll probably return to New York at some point this year.

Having a possible end, or at least a hiatus, to my living in Montana has made me realize how amazing it is that I am living here now. I am super excited for the spring so I can ride my bike and hike more. I ordered some micro-spikes to put on my shoes so I can hike in the winter when there isn't much snow but plenty of ice to make up for it! I'm making a list of everything I want to do. Keep in mind this is a working list so it's sure to expand greatly. If anyone has anything they think I should add to this list please let me know!
Here it is so far:
Watch a sled-dog race
Go snow-shoeing
Go cross-country skiing
Visit historic Fort Missoula
go to interesting lectures/ talks offered at the UM campus (it's 3 blocks from my apt!)
Go to Jerry Johnson hot springs in Idaho
Bike to trail from Lolo to Hamilton
Sit outside and draw
Go for a hike with my camera and just take my time noticing all the beauty
Go to a Missoula Maulers hockey game
Check out the MT Natural History Center
Hike the trail west of Missoula that follows the train tracks
Run in a race
Shadow an equine veterinarian
Volunteer at a farm in Missoula in exchange for some produce
Work at least one day at Homestead Organics in Hamilton, MT

For now, since I don't have work until March I'm going to try to take advantage of the time I have to do some of these fun things. A lot of them will be more fun in the spring when it's nicer out but since hot springs are nicer in the winter I'm planning on heading to Jerry Johnson tomorrow with my boyfriend and dog. It sounds like a really cool place because you have to hike before reaching the hot springs. I like the idea of that a lot more than commercializing the hot springs like they have done in Lolo. I was so surprised when I first saw Lolo hot springs because I had been expecting them to be in their natural form but it was really just an indoor pool that happened to be heated by geothermal energy. It might as well have had an electric heater though, since you couldn't really tell. I'm excited to see some legit hot springs! AND to make things even more exciting... I'm going to Lincoln, MT this weekend with Tyler to watch the Race to the Sky sled-dog races! I am soooooo excited! And afterwards we're going to go snow-shoeing. I am really looking forward to that!