Speechless!

This past Saturday, I traveled to Glacier National Park with my friend Jeremy. We were planning to go in two weeks, however, Jeremy's camping trip got canceled due to blood sucking fiends (mosquitoes), so we went this weekend.

Now, I have gone through the mountains just on Highway 2 to go to Kalispell for my birthday. To me, those mountains were just not as big as I was thinking Majestic Mountains were supposed to be. I was right!

Jeremy and I went through one entrance to the park, only to find out that it was the wrong entrance for what we wanted to do. We planned on driving the "Going to the Sun Road." So, we turned around and drove to St. Mary, where it begins. The first view inside the boundary to the park was beautiful. It was St. Mary Lake surrounded by mountains. Throughout the drive, we frequently stopped for photo-ops. There was construction on the road as well, causing us to wait for several minutes at a time to get through the one-lane road. We got to the continental divide at Logan's Pass and got out to see the sights. There was LOTS of snow up there. I got a couple of pictures standing on the snow.

Taco, Jeremy's dog, accompanied us on this excursion. He is a mini chihuahua! (Pics below!) Taco is a ferocious dog when he wants to be, and a spoiled baby at other times. He was spoiled that day by me! Taco's mission in life is to chase anything that moves. While we were at Logan's pass, Taco caught sight of a ground squirrel. What a sight! He also poses for pictures!

After we left the park, Jeremy showed me a few places of interest on the West side of the mountains; Hungry Horse Dam, a natural spring (got to drink the water!), his sister's house, and his parent's house. I think the most beautiful sight after the park was his parent's log cabin. I was rendered speechless by its beauty! Everything in it is custom made! It has a tree in the middle of it! Not to mention, the black bear on the loft! It was truely a magnificent sight!

On the way home, Jeremy took me to get a Back Room Burger, which is made with Indian Fry Bread and is delicioso! After that, we stopped at the Goat Lick (a place where goats lick rocks for the salt), and took lots of pictures of the goats. Then we hit a hail storm on the road, saw two rainbows side by side and then made it home.

All in all, it was the best day that I've had in quite a few months. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Jeremy and Taco and the MAJESTIC ROCKY MOUNTAINS!

Here are some pictures from the trip!






Jeremy and Taco driving!

Train a few miles outside the park in East Glacier.

St. Mary Lake just inside the park boundary.

Me in the snow at Logan's Pass 6600 ft in elevation!

Jeremy (small) Mountains (BIG)!

The beautiful Taco on the rocks!

The clearest water I have ever seen!

Hungry Horse Dam

The best drinking water... The natural spring.

Baby goat at the Goat Lick!

HS Rodeo

I've been really busy lately trying to experience as much as I can here in Montana and around the community. For my birthday, I went to Kalispell, MT, which is over the mountains west of Shelby. I took lots of great pictures and was amazed at the scenery. As in America the Beautiful, the Rockies are Majestic! The Flathead river is a beautiful sea-green color and runs along the highway to get to Columbia Falls, on the west side of Glacier National Park. Kalispell is in a valley, to which you can turn 360 degrees and see a ring of mountains surrounding the flat land.

Today, I went to the Montana High School Rodeo Qualifier over at the Marias Fairgrounds right outside town. It was just like a regular rodeo, except the competitors were teenagers. I took lots of pictures which will be posted on FB in a bit. I've been to rodeos before, but being at one in Montana was a different experience. Here, you have the surrounding scenery to go with it.

In April????

This was NOT what I wanted to wake up to this morning!

I actually didn't wake up to this, but there was still snow on the ground. This is 7:30 pm after heavy snowfall all day! And it's going to continue tomorrow!

I made it through a Montana winter. I did not want to have to make it through a snowy April in Montana!

Now I gotta dig out my boots again in order to make it to work in the morning...

Sweet Grass Hills

Today I finally went around town to take pictures of small town USA of Shelby, MT. I had time to kill until I went hopping around the Sweet Grass Hills with Victoria and Greg. I posted them on facebook, so I'm sure if you follow me on here, then you are probably on there too! If not, e-mail me and I can send some pics to you. It was cool driving around town today, going places I've never been.


The Sweet Grass Hills are to the North of Shelby, near the Canadian border. You can see them starting just outside of Great Falls. That's one thing I've noticed about North Central Montana. It's very flat in most places where you can see landmarks for miles and miles. The Rockies are easy to see to the West due to the massiveness of them, even though they are 100 miles away!


Now, I didn't go up the mountain, but I got really close to the base in my car. Victoria was sitting beside me in the passenger seat underneath my parka (it was warm in Shelby, so she didn't bring a coat and it was chilly up near the mountain), while Greg was taking pictures with his awesome Nokia professional camera, bending in awkward positions to get the best pictures. I was a little sad and whistful that my OLD digital camera doesn't have a zoom. I'm seriously thinking of buying a nice new one!


We saw many of God's lovely creatures on this ride through the mountains. Many mule deer, antelope, black angus cows, birds, sheep, and geese. We even saw two bald eagles just sitting on top of a hill together.


I now see why my friend Jeremy calls us Flatlanders. The ride past the mountains and back down toward US Highway 2, was FLAT. Shelby has lots of hills around it and is set in a Coulee (a term I just learned today!), while the surrounding area to the east and just north is very flat. This makes it easy to see windfarms that are 30-40 miles away.


I can't wait for my next adventure!


Some pics:




The bustling town of Shelby, MT looking North form atop the hill with West Butte way in the background.






Some Black Angus cow babies I couldn't resist!



This is West Butte. It's pronounced 'beaut' as in beaut-i-ful not butt!

Planet Earth

Yesterday, I attempted to go skiing for the first time in my life. It was a disaster!!!! I didn't even make it to the bunny hill. Oh, well. Skiing is not for me!

After skiing, I went to my friend Jeremy's house to watch Planet Earth. It was incredible! There was this freaky bird that looked like a neon monster when it was puffed up. Being able to see predators on the hunt was facinating. Although I do not like hyenas, it was kind of cool how they have strategies while hunting.

p.d.

It's 71 degrees outside right now! This weather is unbelieveable! I've actually had my windows open to the breeze for the past 3 days. Lana is loving it, unless she gets her long claws caught in the screen! I really should trim those.

One thing out in abundance are prairie dogs. Yes, prairie dogs. It actually a sport here in Montana... Gopher hunting! the p.d.'s are all over. They are fast little buggers too.

Cacti

I took some pictures today that I wanted to share with you, but I seem to have misplaced my transfer cord.

Anyway, everyone at the alternative school went for a walk today for PE class. This walk started at the school, went through the campgrounds near Lake Shel-loole, up the dam next to the water, up another hill to a dirt trail, winding down a non-trail near a fence line, up another hill that was rather MUDDY, then down the road back to the school. First, I'm not used to walking long distances anymore. Second, the hills here are steeper than anywhere I've been before. Third, it was MUDDY. While trying to walk up the last hill, I had to try to claw my way up it because my sneakers have no tread in the MUD. Unsuccessfully, I slipped and fell down the hill on my backside in the MUD. I went down the hill and tried to walk along the fence line that was at the bottom. There was ice and MUD. About 1/3 of the way through, I fell again in the MUD. At this point, I was half under the fence line. Instead of trying to fight my way through the MUD again, I slid on through under the fence line and walked on the flat ground.

I'm glad I live so close to the school because I went home to clean up and change. Now I have scrapes and stuff on my hands and legs!

Boy was it fun!

P.S. I had my first experience with cacti today. I didn't even know that cacti grew in Montana!

Iditarod

I've realized that when I lived in NY, I knew way more about the Eastern US than the Western. Since coming to Montana, I've already regained and gained alot of history that I either forgot from school, or was never taught. The information that has been regained, is fascinating. I know a lot more about Canada than I have ever known, thanks in part to Dallas, my friend and co-worker who is proud of her Canadian roots. Even Alaska has become a great point of interest for me since I'm closer than I've ever been. Don't get me wrong; I do realize that Alaska is still thousands of miles away!

I found out that the Iditarod is starting within minutes up in Anchorage. Knowing that 5 mushers out of Montana are racing gives me a sense of pride even though I've only been here for a limited time. I always gave dog sledding a passing thought, but never went in-depth before in gathering information. That has changed since moving here. I watched the movie 'Snow Dogs' this morning and actually knew the terms and what they were talking about!

FYI: There is a musher out of Jamaica racing today! Jamaica?!?! It reminds me of 'Cool Runnings'. ;-)

updating

I really need to update this blog more often. I just realized it's been 3 weeks since my last entry, and a lot has happened since then.

Can I say.... I'm sick of this gosh darn weather! I have cabin fever like crazy! Today is actually a nice day, although am I outside? No. So, I guess I should stop complaining.

Last night, I went to the high school to watch the Divisional Boys Basketball Championship between Shelby and RockyBoy. RockyBoy is a reservation about 1 1/2 hours away. The game was awesome, even though some of the fans were not. I think that if fans start booing at a high school game, they should be thrown out! Unfortunately, we lost by 1 point!

I've been becoming very active in the First Baptist Church here. I'm in the choir, on the decorating committee, and attend services whenever they have them. I'm beginning to feel emotionally and physically better than I was a few months ago while renewing my relationship with God. I still haven't mastered the 'Cleanliness is next to Godliness' line though. :)

I recently bought an Amazon Kindle! For those who don't know what that is, it is an electronic book reader. It was pricey, but books are to me like videogames are to my brothers. When I moved to Montana, I had to donate loads of my books, due to a lack of space. This way, I can store the books on my device or Amazon account and it takes up less space than a magazine or paperback book. (it's about the size of a kids chapter book like the Boxcar Children or something like that!)

I'm really loving that it's getting closer to spring, due to all of the sales on winter items at Pamida (our Ames-like store in town that's rather pricey.) I'm getting sweaters and long sleeved tops for $5! I still can use them for the rest of this season, and save them for next winter as well!

All right, off to see if I can become more Godly by washing my dishes!

Miss you all back home!

February!

I can't believe it's the 1st of February! Last month just flew by!

Believe it or not, it has been warmer here over the last few days than back home in NY! I've been getting used to the cold here, but I'm excited for Spring to pop up!

I think I'm officially experiencing cabin fever. Yes, I am actually participating in a lot of activities. However, I would love to take walks outside, but I can't. It's just too cold! I hate getting into my car because my car is frozen on the inside, and I don't want to waste the gas warming it up! Also, I want to clean my car out, but again, it's too cold to be outside!

I hope that we get a warm spell soon!

Frost

So, I have survived half of my first Montana winter! I was so afraid of what winter could have brought, but it's a breeze! I was expecting it to be continuously cold in the negatives, however, that only lasts a couple of days at a time. It's been consistantly in the 20s for the last week, but the wind chill is freezing! There hasn't been snow in awhile, but I woke up this morning to all the trees being white! It's actually very pretty as you can see from the pic I posted.

Work is going well, and I have found I still hate paperwork. I don't think that is ever going to change. Being with the kids in the sessions has been awesome! I'm reminded everyday why I went into this field. There is more planning than I thought, though. I love supervision with Nellie because I'm able to get feedback about what I'm doing and how I can do it better. Hopefully, someday soon I won't feel so new at all of this and be more confident.

Love Y'all!

Toto, we're not in NY anymore!

I just got my new license plates today!

So, now I can go to state parks for free, and I won't have to worry about the cops coming after me about my car having out of state plates!

P.S. Here's my Chunker Butt, Leo!

-20!!!!

It is cold in Montana today!

My car tried not to start this morning, however, I made it do so! I have yet to get my headbolt heater installed, so I need to do that soon!

The one thing that bugs me about this weather is that when I track snow into my car, it doesn't melt and it stays there for days on end. It just keeps piling up. Lana and Leo are so lucky to be able to stay inside and not venture out into this abominable coldness.

On a side note, a new elementary therapist has been hired and now I'm showing her some of the ropes since she is new to Shelby. It feels good to not be the newbie anymore!

Hallelujah! I'm home!

Hey everyone!!!

I made it back to Montana in one piece! Although I didn't come back with my luggage... In fact, I didn't arrive in Syracuse with it either! To those of you who haven't heard, United Airlines lost my suitcase. I'm over it though, as long as I get reimbursed for it! Then, I was delayed almost 24 hours in the travel process from Syracuse to Montana.

Well, the time spent with my family was great, even though the traveling wasn't. I got to see my grandpa (and I didn't think I would since he was in Atlanta). I didn't get to see any of my college friends because of the weather. :( Sorry Mama!

Happy New Year to you all! 2009 was great and I hope 2010 is even better. Who knows, maybe I'll meet the man of my dreams in small town Shelby! I'm made some resolutions, although I haven't really planned the details of them yet.

Lana and Leo survived a week without me, thanks to Jill! I think I missed them more than they missed me!

See ya!

Chinooks!

So I've been hearing this term from several people... Chinook (sp?). I know that it's a town here in Montana, but the way people talk, it's defenitely not a town in that sense. Apparently, a chinook is when them temperature goes from the low negative temps (like -30) to 40-50 degrees above zero in a matter of hours. Now, I think I would enjoy the temps going in that direction, however, I would not care for them to go the opposite way from above zero to way below.

It has been very cold here for over a week. It seems like I have permanent snow in my car down by the pedals due to what I track in on my shoes. It hasn't gone away! I've learned my lesson several times over to make sure I have gloves when I leave my house.

A teacher asked me tonight if I preferred the dry cold here to the high humidity cold in NY. I picked NY's cold right away. Here in Montana, You don't recognize the cold until your fingers have frozen off!

When I go home for Christmas next week, I will be in a heat wave! Don't be surprised if you see me in shorts and a t-shirt in 30 degree weather!

P.S. Shelby played Browning in B-ball tonight and won! But, Browning's team is mainly made up of Natives. Watching them made me think of survival of the fittest; Shelby boys would definitely not survive if forced to run and jump for very long! Those boys are huge and fast!

BRRRRRRRR........

Well, winter has hit Montana!!!

Yesterday, I woke up and the temperature was -31! I was expecting this so I took measures to help my car be able to start. It actually started at that temp! This morning, it decided not to start and it was above zero. It confused me too!

I love how at twilight, the snow covered ground makes the scenery look blue tinted. I was walking in the horseshoe above the gym (the equivalent to an indoor track) and I looked out the window and stopped to watch this view. It was beautiful. I keep being amazed with what I see here. I've never seen anything like it before.

Good news!!!! I'm flying home for Christmas!!!! I arrive on the 23rd and leave on the 30th.

I hope to see some of you while I'm home!

A long 8 weeks of no internet at my house!

Hey all!

So, I FINALLY have internet in my apartment. It's been a month since my last post and now I will be able to keep up with it. Montana is awesome! I love it here! My job is great, the people are so nice, and the scenery is beautiful. From the top of any hill in Shelby, you can see the Rockies to the East on a clear day.

So far, I've only been to two places since I arrived in Shelby. I went to Butte, MT for training for work for 3 days, and to Cut Bank, MT, which is the next town to the east from here, for a football game. Let me tell you... the drive to Butte was amazing! Once I drove past Great Falls (86 miles away), I drove through the mountains for 2 hours. They were snow covered too, so that was gorgeous. I'm surprised how not homesick I am. I think my cats help, but I'm having a great time. I know this was the right move for me. I love my job. The kids are great and my cohort Jill and I get along great!

Some things I've seen/heard since coming to Shelby:
~Tumbleweed! Like in American Tail: Fievel Goes West!
~Our Lady of the Rockies- a 100 ft. statue of a woman in Butte that sort of represents the Virgin Mary.
~Border Patrol all over the place
~NO SALES TAX!
~More dogs in the cab of trucks than ever before in my life!
~A "root" is not pronounced root. It is "rut."
~Wind like you wouldn't believe! It's like the wind is getting knocked INTO me!

Here are some pics from Montana! I'll post albums on Facebook this weekend.

The state border!
The scene a few miles South of Shelby on I-15.

Lana and Leo in the car on the road.

Back in Communication!

Hey all!

So I finally made it to the Library to get on the internet. I still don't have it at my apartment yet. I've been writing about my adventures in a journal and will post them here soon.

I didn't want you guys to think I was forgetting about you!

Hope all is well.

So the Adventure REALLY Begins!

If you haven't seen my facebook status, you have not heard that my car broke down 9 miles outside Billings, MT! White smoke started coming out from the hood. I hope it's not too expensive to fix! AAA will get a piece of my mind tomorrow! First, the said that my account covered the whole tow to an approved AAA garage. Second, instead of saying that the truck towing my car might be able to tow my trailer too for a fee, they make me call Uhaul to do it. So 2 wrecker trucks came to my rescue. One to put my poor car on the flatbead, and one to tow my trailer to the same place.


Now, I'm going to have to reschedule my pre-employment drug screen yet again!

Howe, IN

Are those the right initials for Indiana? I never aced those in Social Studies...

Well, I made it to the Crossroads of America! On both sides of I-90 is.... CORN!!! along with those water thingies that span a mile of field.

The drive was exciting. I'm physically tired, but not tired of driving. I'm excited to get on the road tomorrow morning!


Gotta check on the kitties before One Tree Hill!