Friendly Faces

A couple of weeks ago, my sweet friend Kyra, (who was one of my students when I started teaching and has always felt like a little sister to me)  called to find out exactly where in Montana I was living.  Her dad & younger brother were planning a fly fishing trip and we were hoping we would get to meet up somewhere while they were here.  After a little phone tag, Ray & I figured out that they were going to be about 3 hours away from me.  I was worried at the time that I was going to have to work the whole time they were here and not get to see them, but when I accepted my new job, (more on that later this week)  I was able to give them a start date that allowed me to drive over and spend a little bit of time with my old friends.  

Driving down from Bozeman to Ennis 

Ennis is the fly fishing capital of Montana (I think they claim the world, but we'll be more conservative here)  And boasts of some great rainbow and brown trout in its streams.   I met Ray & Layton in town, (They were staying about 10-15 miles south in Cameron, MT)

Main Street Ennis, Montana

While I was waiting for them to arrive, I rambled through the little downtown area and came across some John Wayne goodies that I almost wanted to bring home with me!  (Anyone who knows me knows how much I LOVE The Duke!)

This metal lunchbox was especially hard to pass up... but I did manage to restrain myself!

After lunch, we headed back to the fishing camp to hang out for a little while.  Layton loves to fish and he fished up and down the creek about twice that afternoon.  Evidently, he had a great week and got pictures with some of the brown and rainbow trout that he caught.  (Several that were in the 17-21 inch range I believe)  On a side note here, I've known Layton since he was about 8 years old and am very proud of the young man he's become.  Even more proud of him for the decision that he made to serve his country in the Marines!

The next morning I met up with the guys again and ventured into the Park with them.  We parked my car at one of the information/visitor areas and I climbed in with them to tour the southern loop of the park.  As we were driving in from West Yellowstone Entrance, we evidently passed a Moose Cow with two calves (Layton saw them, I didnt...)  But when we pulled up to park my car, there was an Elk cow wandering around the bathroom building, so we had to snap a few pictures.  We could hear her calf calling her from the trees on the edge of the clearing and she wandered off after them while we were standing there.  

We arrived at Old Faithful at almost the perfect time.  We made a quick stop to the general store and then headed over to the Visitor Center and only had about 10-15 minutes to wait until the geyser erupted.  According to the park website, Old Faithful shoots off every 60-110 minutes.

We drove on around the loop past Yellowstone Lake, the Hayden Valley & many of the small sights to drive up to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.  All I can say is wow... It is unbelievable what the Lord created for us to enjoy!

On the way back to where we parked my car, we saw plenty of buffalo and canadian geese, but now a whole lot more wildlife.  They dropped me off at my car and I headed home, and they headed off to fish some more before they had to head to the airport. I'm so thankful they were willing to take some time out of their trip to meet up!   I loved having that time to visit and catch up with old friends... next time I hope Kyra gets to come too!

Ketchup

What did the Daddy tomato tell the Baby tomato when he walked too slow? Ketchup (Catch-up) Sorry, I know it's corny, but hey, that's about where I am sometimes lately!  I feel like I've fallen down on my writing, partially because I haven't been ready to write about work yet, and partially because, well, I've been too lazy to get the computer out and set it up at night to do some writing.  So, this post is just that, a catch up of what I've been up to for the last month!  I've got two other posts in my head that I hope to get done this week, we'll see if I stay motivated or not!  HA!  

Angie decided a couple of weeks ago that she wanted to ride the horses up into some of the lakes above Red Lodge, so we planned up a girls day trip.  I loaded up with Angie, her friend, Amber, and Star (her dog, also female) for a day of riding up Lake Fork Creek.  I can honestly say that I've ridden more since I've been out here, than I have in a couple of years before that... and I haven't even ridden that much!  

 We started out to find Lost Lake, which we thought was about 4 miles up the trail. To get there, we had to pass Broadwater Lake, (Which as far as I could tell was just a really wide spot in the creek)  There were a lot of places where the trail was pretty narrow or on the edge of a ledge, but it was a really fun ride in.  We almost missed the trail up to the lake because it was so inconspicuous!  Thank goodness Amber was working the hand held GPS!  

Angie packed her folding fishing rod and once we got there, we chilled out on the banks of the lake for a while and she drowned worms.  That's all she did... not a single bite!  I guess she should have been fly fishing, because another guy who was fishing that way caught a big one!  Star probably covered half again as much distance as we did, she would run ahead and then run back to us the whole time.  She took a swim in the lake, but it was a bit too cold for me to be getting in!

Lost Lake

 On the way back down, we almost had a wreck!  I kept feeling my saddle slip to either side, but I couldn't believe that the mare i was riding had blown out so much when I cinched her up... evidently, I didn't hook something quite tight enough and the whole front cinch came loose!  Thank goodness she didn't pitch a fit!  That was the worst almost accident all day.

We found this sign on the way back out the trail, and realized that we had covered about 10 miles on our ride!  (Talk about a bit of a sore back/backside the next day!) If we hadn't found our turn off, we would have ended up at Keyser Brown Lake (14 mile ride)  

Lake Fork Creek

 We packed in water to drink, but fogot to grab snacks, so by the time we made it back to Red Lodge, we were starving!  We stopped at the Red Box Car for a quick supper.  Angie & I both ordered the Indian Taco, which is like a taco salad on top of fried bread... two words... YUM YUM!

Several of my other days off from work have been spent hanging out with Jeannie & the Girls.  I'm so thankful for the family that I have out here.  They've welcomed me in and made sure I had a place to stay/sleep wherever I end up for the night!  I especially love the door decorations on the spare bedroom at Jeannie's house ;-) !  We've done quite a lot of different things... made pesto, canned beets, irrigated hay fields, gone shopping, got hair cuts, and whatever else we could think to do!  

Setting Irrigation Dams
 

Lucy... well, she's loving it out here!  I mean seriously, how could you not when you get to do all kinds of things like ride horses.  (BTW... Addison's horse, Hanky, is known for letting dogs ride behind the saddle... otherwise I don't think I would have thrown her up there!)  She's learned a couple of new tricks (maybe actually some manners rather than tricks) and stays out of trouble because she's cute!  

 And last, but not least... I got a "Tattoo".  My friend Nicole's daughter, Cortlin, thought I should get an airbrush one at the fair, and of course I had to get an owl!  She went back later and got her own!  It was kinda fun to do, but it seriously didn't look very much like a tattoo... Don't worry, Mom... it's gone now!

I'm sure there's a lot more I've missed... but you'd probably be bored by more!  Until Next Time!

Regrets

Just a quick post today... before I head out with some friends from church.  I've gotten several calls and texts the last couple of days asking if I regret coming yet or if I'm ready to come home.  For the sake of being completely honest, I have to admit that sometimes I think of what I would be doing if I was home right now and I miss it.  I miss you.  I miss the people and places I know like the back of my hand.  And I miss the security of being at home where I'm a known commodity.  But do I regret it?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!  

Who knows where this year is going to lead, but I know deep down, that I am right where I am supposed to be right now and that God's plan for my life, while scary, is unfolding in an amazing way!  So, If I forget to call, feel free to pick up that phone and call or text me... goodness knows that there's very few people out here calling/texting me these days! Either way, you are loved and missed... and thought of often!  

On another note... I do have several posts coming... just havent gotten around to them between work and play... hopefully I'll get back in the groove of posting again here soon!  

Until Next time!