“Nothing is the same so we keep moving…we keep moving” Deep Kick – Red Hot Chili Peppers (July 15, 2015) Leaving Glacier National Park was both easy and hard to do. … Continue reading The Last of Montana
Tag: traveling
Glacier National Park
“So I’m packing my bags for the Misty Mountains where the spirits go now. Over the hills where the spirits fly, oh, I really don’t know.” Misty Mountain Hop – Led Zeppelin
(July 15, 2015) I stepped out of the van, took a stretch and like a punch to the face I was taken by surprise. Whilst picking my jaw up off of the ground, this glorious and wondrous feeling swept through me. It felt like butterflies fluttering through my stomach and up into my heart; this was Glacier National Park.
There’s absolutely nothing else to say. Any more words would be lost by how amazing this place looks and is. Truly, this is one of the most beautiful sites I’ve ever seen.
Kalispell, MT
“In a big country dreams stay with you, like a lover’s voice fires the mountainside. Stay alive.” In a Big Country – Big Country
(July 14, 2015) state has a not-so-nice area or region, however I have not found it thus far. Montana amazes and astounds at every turn. This wasn’t lost in Kalispell.
This town gives you the feeling that it possesses history while also displaying modern living. Mountains play softly in the background of what looks to be a town that stepped out of the old west. In fact, there is one place here named, “Moose’s Saloon” where they have saloon doors and there was some talk of having those same swinging saloon doors since their established date but of this I am not certain.
We were hungry and in need of nourishment and this place looked cool. It was definitely different because the people were NOT friendly who were serving us.
It may have been deliberate or unintentional, either way it wasn’t my favorite place but I definitely appreciated it for what it was. We made it a good time anyway 😊
If I lived in this state I would sit outside every day - on not so cold or hot days – and gaze at these mountains. I have fallen in love. Too bad I have no interest in ranching. 
LOOK OUT CALIFORNIA here we come!
“Goodbye to all my friends at home, goodbye to people I’ve trusted.” Jet Airliner – Steve Miller Band
We set off for what was an EXTREMELY smooth ride! Starting from the beginning, everything came into place and even though we were very tired, we were not letting that get us down. The weather was absolutely beautiful in North Carolina so it wasn’t hard to enjoy mother nature’s gift.
Our friends Beth and her husband Roy drove us to the airport and we couldn’t have been more thankful. For those of you who are not aware, Raleigh is about 3.5 hours from our home so it’s a bit of a stretch. So thank you Beth and Roy 🙂
We arrived a bit early at RDU. I should mention I was a bit taken aback by the complimentary luggage check-in that was stationed directly outside of the terminal. I thought, “Oh sweet! Delta is uping their checki-in game by making it faster.” We assumed they were employed by Delta and before we could even make a decision as to whether or not we would utilize that service, a gentleman came over and started check our luggage. So we just went with the flow and before you know it the guy says, “We are not employed by Delta. We are contracted to do this work.” Which then it dawned on me that they were looking for a tip. So the thought I came away with was how much and how fast things change or I must not notice a lot through my experiences. *note to self, notice your surroundings*
Security and Cary On was a bit wild. The line moved entirely too fast and, as usual, I always feel like I never know how they want me to go about this process; which items go in what containers etc. I began sympathizing with those individuals that feel the 360 x-ray machine (not sure of the term) is a bit invasive. Still, I would rather be invaded in that way than to be a victim from lack of security. So I’m appreciative.
After such stress we finally settled down for a nice lunch at one of the airport pubs. Our food was decent and we got out of there in great time.
Check out a little video update from the Minneapolis Airport: http://youtu.be/UGWn406plu8
We had a 2.5 hour layover in Minneapolis. Our flight ended up changing and our arrival time into Sacramento went from 7:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
But as you can see we were super exhausted because in California it was 10:00 p.m. but in North Carolina it was 1:00 a.m.
Imagine our relief when we finally got to California! We were so tired but so happy to be here.
Our cousins, Bob and Glenda picked us up from the airport in the Nissan Quest we purchased from them. The weather was really cool, around 50 degrees which is extremely abnormal for this area of California.
By the time we actually went to bed it was around 1 a.m.
*yawns*
The Storyteller
“I tried to go back, as if I could, all spec house and plywood.” Copperline – James Taylor
I woke up this morning with an agenda. My mother and I planned on attending Greenville’s, “Pirate Festival” located downtown Greenville. I had thought about it for roughly a week before the event was to take place, and contemplated whether or not it would be something I would follow through with. Well, it seemed that I WAS going to go through with this today. I was about to get ready when mom said, “I really don’t feel well.” Knowing that she felt bad, I knew it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. So there wasn’t anything really lost by not attending and I wasn’t trying to put mom through something that was probably going to torture her.
So as I drank my coffee I started thinking about the conversation I had with my cousin Rick via text – by the way I feel like I should add into this that when Rick texts, he uses no commas so it takes a minute to decipher the text lol (I still love him). He lives in a very small town in Illinois called, “Cowden”. The population, last I heard, was around 400. I’m sure that number has grown since 1999. Let me check with the almighty Oracle………okay Google says it’s around 599. So there are roughly 600 people in this small town. The last time I was there, I was only aware of a post office, gas station, band stand and cemetery. Even though it was a small town, I was young and it was new so it has fond memories with me.
Rick is my mother’s first cousin. Have you ever heard someone say, “That guy is a trip!”? If you have, well, I’m most certain they were speaking of Rick. He’s hilarious. There’s no getting around that. As his reputation holds honest and true, he is funny and can tell a story that is out of this world interesting. He INSISTS he is NOT lying when he comes up with a tall tale that seems flabbergasting. No matter what tale he’s telling, you’re always entertained and it will stay with you forever. Not only are his tales outrageous, but he lives on a quiet little farm that is home to several horses and recently some baby chicks! The most recent news I became privy to was that he and his son Luke put up some fencing for his baby chickens that he purchased.
I’ve been to Illinois three times, and all of those times I stayed in Cowden at Rick’s farm. The first time I was 13 yrs old and attended a family reunion? I’m not entirely sure it was a family reunion but I’m almost positive. The second time I was 16. It was also my first plane ride! I stayed on the farm for around 2 – 3 weeks and it was really great. We rode 4-wheelers and visited people and went places. The third time I visited I was 18. That was even cooler because I was familiar with my surrounding and in a different age bracket so I enjoyed different things like hanging out with other people my age and riding around and doing silly stuff. Since 1999, I haven’t been back. Thinking about that makes it a little sad.
SO…what my parents and I have decided is that we will actually stop in and visit Rick on our way back from WA! YAY!! I’m REALLY excited about that and today I kind of sat back and day dreamed about what we will do when we visit. Will we ride horses? Yes. Will we ride 4-wheelers? Maybe. I’m not sure if he has one, but I’m pretty sure he does. Will we visit people? Yes. Will we enjoy our time with Rick? Absolutely. I’m hoping that we may even get to see Luke and Kim (Rick’s son and daughter in-law). It’s been many years since we’ve all seen each other. I would love to get ahold of those chickens. 🙂 But the one thing I’m most ready for is…
Rick’s story telling. 🙂
1000 Leagues Between 