LV2LA

Just a quick note to let everyone know what we've been up to the last couple of days.

We spent Sunday and Monday in Vegas and are held up in Alex's apartment in LA for now. I am very much enjoying the below 100 degree weather.

We'll get off of our bums soon and experience the city but for now I'm turning on the boob tube.

Religious

"Welcome to Utah...Life Elevated"

I'm not ashamed to say it, I judged you Utah...polygamy, funky onesie underwear, prohibition, just plain a lot of Mormons. For a lot of our tread through the valley of Joe Smith I've been right. It doesn't seem to me that the people here expect people to think anything else. It's on every billboard, 20 white steeples per square mile, bumper stickers galore, Utah is religious. And, why shouldn't they be? Yeah, it's a bit overwhelming and though we're clear on the other side of the country, I can hear the banjos of deliverance warning me against these people and telling me to leave no trace of my wicked ways, it's understandable. If I came across Utah and there was no one else around, I may have thought that I too had found God and been so high on the altitude that I would think I could show everyone else the way. Knowing me I would also then after realizing that I had this following make up a bunch of rules and take it as far as I could before people drew a line.

I'm not religious much. I was baptized catholic and when I was a tween, I attended youth group for a while, I thought I was Buddhist for about five minutes once after Keanu's 1993 portrayal of Siddhartha. The thing about me and religion is that I never bought it. See, people always say that you will know when God is talking to you, there will be a holy moment when you know that you have been touched, awakened, enlightened. That's never happened to me. There's part of me that feels cheated about that. And as for faith I, even though I have a love for pull tabs and keno, am not willing to place all of my chips on the wrong bet for immortality. I would much rather live day by day and take leaps one at a time dealing with the consequences that will reveal themselves sooner than the afterlife.

Sometimes, things happen, and you can't help but question what is that thing that is outside of you, that seems to change the very person you are without you giving any permissions.

Submission
Zion was a place and an image burned into my head, as where Neo meets his people after learning to bend  spoons with his mind, long before I knew it was a National Park. Watching national Geographic and looking through travel books, I began to think that it was something that I wanted to see. The sandstone towers and tube like tunnels looked pretty cool but, Zion seemed not too distinct from any other place with well photographed geographic features. As we left the truck stop motel early on Thursday morning I knew we were taking a chance. Andrew had insisted that we wouldn't need to reserve a campsite or concern ourselves with back country permits before our arrival. Everything that we had seen on Tuesday night made us believe otherwise. I'm sure Andrew knew all along that we were gonna be fine, but I imagined us stranded in the middle of the Mojave wearing pee soaked turbans huddled next to our sand blown car. I'm sure I said a little prayer as we left Beaver, UT and questioned my faith in my partner to get us through.

The car ride was about two hours, I don't remember much about the drive except noting to myself all the places we could stay if we had to turn back. Then, just about when I put in the Shri Durga CD, Matt had burned for me, the horizon started to turn red and the land around us began to rise. We got small very fast. Between the two of of we must of said "This is crazy" for as many Hail Mary-s we'd be assigned should we ever have to go to confession. As we drove through the little towns on the way to the park, it began to get hotter and drier. Things looked unfamiliar and unreal. We got to the gate of the park and I took a deep breath as I was sure that there would be a good chance that the sites would be full and we would be turned away. We pulled up to the gate and there she was checking passes and passing out maps.
"How are we looking for camping tonight."
deep breath
"Well... (big smile) this is a perfect time to find a site at the south campground, just pass the turnoff for the visitor's center and head towards the upper road, it's there on your right. Would you like a park newspaper?"
We got in. Despite our poor planning and my lack of faith, we got in.
We grabbed a site, pitched our tent, and took a drive looking up at the Patriarchs and alters that scatter the landscape of the park.

Neighbor
I have spent a lot of my life worrying about performance, judgment, getting ahead, being the first, best, better than. Comparison is a great motivator, sometimes.
There are a lot of things to see in Zion, they are rated by their difficulty, distance, meters, feet, time consumption, etc. It's over 100 degrees here at noon and it's dry. There are bugs. There are tourists. Moving two feet is pretty difficult already in the middle of the day so trekking to the many attractions around here starts at a pretty heightened "level" of difficulty.
Everyone has prepared differently-REI, Columbia, Nalgene, Payless, Walmart, RV, Pinto, Honda Accord. They all bring their own G-factor- age, weight, kids, language barrier, overbearing boy scout troop barrier, nagging wife. It's a park, it's a lot like other parks.
I've decided that the greatest appeal of the National Parks, is they're ability to make everyone feel like they've discovered something bigger than themselves, by themselves, first.
I invented Zion.

No one has ever done this before.

We get up early, we "gear up", we set out to do it the best, the farthest, the craziest, most extreme, the safest, the longest, the smartest, and coolest.
Andrew and I decided that we would first do The Narrows. The Narrows are a set of canyons that wind far into the park. Originally, we were hoping to do it the "harder" way, hiking down from the top, camping overnight, back country style. Due to lack of planning we had to settle for the day hike way. Five miles-ish up and back down the Virgin River. Everything I had read had prepared me with the knowledge that we'd need at least a gallon of water each, we should pack extra food in case, extra clothes, first aid and orienteering stuff. I didn't want to be up the river without a paddle so it were, so I insisted that Andrew and I each take our hiking packs with all of the necessities and settled for 1.5 gallons of water to split. I will tell you now,  I was wrong. We would have been fine with swimsuits, t-shirts, and a small water bottle (a snack is nice too). Now, I wouldn't advise it, but the truth is we saw this bro, wading down the river about half the way up from where we got, barefoot with his flip flops in his hands.
But, here's the thing. When Andrew and I started out on the shuttle up to the Temple of Sinawava, I started wondering, were all these people going to go up The Narrows, how far were they planning to go, had they done it before? It wasn't just me, we were all sizing each other up. "What if they invent Zion first? No way, they have kids, look at his shoes, they're obviously just tourists." Last stop, everyone off the bus. We all begin to wander up the path. The 3/4 mile hike in is gorgeous, but we had been promised the hard part. "You will be wading in the river, the difficulty level is "strenuous." Watch out for flash floods! Once your in the water you are chosen, you are one of the few that is "for real" enough to attempt the journey."
Andrew and I set off! Right as you enter the river you get knee high pretty much. You traverse the river fairly immediately. My feet suddenly were struggling for stability and my legs adjusted to the sensation of walking up river. 5 miles, 4 hours to go, and that's one way. I was already thinking about how much harder it could be to get back. But, I am for real, I have to press on.

We waded for a couple of hours the canyon narrowing ahead of us as the sun became less and less visible. We met a man on his way back that advised us to stay right at the fork. When we got there, we did as told and after hauling up and over rocks we got to a waterfall. We met another couple who decided to turn back there. As they sat and ate their sandwiches, Andrew found a way to climb up and over. We could do it, but it probably wasn't safe. Nervous, that we may be making the wrong decision and may miss the canyon supernova, breakout revolution, that may lie ahead, we stopped to eat our sandwiches and decided that we'd turn around and try the other fork, for a more impressive and honestly, easier experience. As we sat there eating PB&J a group of five with a twelve year old boy made it up the fall and into the canyon. We later ran into them again and they assured up that it wasn't much longer before you got into too sticky a situation and it was "just more of the same".

By the time we found ourselves at the other fork, our almost deserted canyon had filled up with boy scouts and tons people of all shapes, sizes, and ages that had mostly been outfitted in river walking shoes and with rented walking sticks in hand from the outfitters back in town. We headed up through the canyon. It was amazing. All along the way people were so friendly and saying "hi" and sharing travel tips. We got to the end and turned back.
No, it wasn't really the end. Really the end, you can't get to from our direction. And though, we probably could have gotten further, it was the end for us. We stopped, got a picture of our great journey our accomplishment and headed down. All along the way we came across people we had seen. "How far did you make it? Oh man did you guys go all the way?" No doubt, Andrew and I made it further than most. But, as we came back down and saw all the people scattered on the water's edge, a little worse for wear, it became obvious that they had or were all going to make it to the end.

Revelation
I really didn't think I was going to be up for it but, this morning we decided to hike up Angel's Landing. 5 miles round trip, 4 hours. I knew that we had left too late to avoid the mid-day sun and was already coming up with 380523548 excuses why I probably wasn't going to make it the whole way. But, when Andrew's shining face just awake turned to me and asked if I would go of course I was. No regrets right? "The only failure is failing to try." Angel's landing is 5785' at it's peak and it's also considered "strenuous." We packed a little lighter today, cameras and a bottle of water each. I was already sore this morning and could have happily sat in a tub of Ben Gay all day, so I knew this was going to be hard. Note: WAY HARDER THAN THE NARROWS. We had to stop every three minutes for me to catch my breath. Andrew was probably winded too, but he didn't show it. He knows that at any sign of his own weakness I will play up my own. He is very much the man. He is also a great and skilled leader. I had vaguely remembered the outline of the hike from the recording on the shuttle. Hike, hike, hike, 22 switchbacks- just when you think you can't go any further, Scout's Lookout and for the real outdoorsman...another .5 miles to the top. About an hour into it we ran into to waterfall couple from the day before. "It's amazing, but it's a haul." I knew that they weren't going to lie to me. All the way up, friendly faces coming down assured that it was worth it. But, holy moly, it was tough. So, many times I thought I had met my match. Could I stop? Would I be for real? How far was far enough?

Just passed Scout's Landing is the most talked about point on the journey, it's where the path narrows to 3' and there are steep drops at least 800' on both sides. It was when we crossed that, that it happened. I almost started to cry. It was hot, I was tired, I didn't care anymore if others had made it to the top. I didn't care if I was going to invent Zion, I wanted to be back on the ground safe and with a Pina Colada. I knew that Andrew wanted to get to the top. I couldn't let him down. Then he turned to me and said ,"Okay, that's it we need to turn back this isn't the place for you to be breaking down, you can just wait, I'll run up and come back for you." It was at that moment that I realized, I could do it. Not because it was important to the people on the shuttle, the people on the ground, the people that had done it before, Andrew, or anyone. It was important to me. I hadn't met my match yet. I knew that I had not been challenged with something I couldn't conquer.
I made it.

We made it. At the top, I was so scared of the height I could hardly enjoy the view. I pretty much kept checking to make sure that my feet were planted safely on the ground. I started to notice the names people had carved into the rock. Erik, I chose Erik. I wasn't going to carve my name in the rock, so Erik was good enough for me. Erik and I had both made it.
Heading back down, like the day before, we began to meet people at there stopping points. "Oh man, how far did you make it?" "Far enough." As we passed the red, winded faces headed up, it was now our turn to encourage them, "You're really close, just a little further, it's beautiful." I wanted them to make it and if not to the top to the end, far enough for them.
Being here I've really learned that it's not about the competition. Everyone gets far enough for them. We all got to the end, whether it was the top or a half mile in. We all shared in the accomplishment. We had all come further than we had come before, probably further than we thought. We were all Eriks. No one invented Zion or any national park, mountain, lake, anything. What I did invent was my own way of experiencing it.
The most amazing part was watching everyone else invent that too.

Andrew said today, "Doing this makes me feel so human."

I haven't found God in Utah. But, I get it. I have never been so pressed physically and mentally to question the things outside myself. It's important to do. I've spent a little time outside of this ego of mine. Call it being touched or enlightened, but I really think that the real thing is being human. I have spent so much time worried about things I don't need to. In the end what its about is, enjoying yourself and being good to others cause they're traveling too.

So go ahead Utah, you go with your 3.4% alcoholic beers and BYU sweatshirts. I could think of no better place to be religious.

Nicole's Zion Tips

Camping
-Choose a site with trees (we didn't and thus get no shade during peak hours)
-Swim in the creek
-The bathrooms actually flush!
-Don't leave anything melty in the car

The Narrows
-Wear good water proof shoes that are good for hiking
-DO NOT wear jean shorts
-Do wear clothes that dry quickly
-A liter of water per person is probably fine
-Bring lunch
-Leave early, at least by 9am

Angel's Landing
-If you can get one of those fanny packs with water holders, I was so jealous of people who had them
-Don't bring walking sticks- we didn't and I heard a lot of people complaining about them that did.
-Leave early, it gets really hot by noon.
-The hardest part is the top and no exaggeration you could die.
-Take your time it is exhausting.
-I really wish I had put ice in my water.
-Bring plenty of water, it's not Y2K but a liter was barely enough.
-Be nice to everyone.

So little time ... so many places

As Zion comes to an end, our bodies are beginning to see a new light from the hours of intense hiking and heat. It's been an incredible 3.2 days and Vegas better watch out for these two! Those penny slots and free drinks will be raining down like a busted fire hydrant from the local kids. Thank you to Brian for the hookup on the condo living on Tropicana boulevard ... it will be nice to do some laundry and hang pool side for a little bit before we head off to some more wilderness in Cali. I'll save my Zion post for later when we have more time ...

As my partner in crime is writing a novel on her post, I have been uploading some new pics and vids for you to get viral on! Enjoy!!

Campfire Review at the Eagle's Landing Motel

If you've ever been to Yellowstone I'm sure that you have experienced the strange sensation that is being out in the wilderness with beautiful landscapes and wild animals while simultaneously feeling as if you are at an amusement park. It's like being at Jurassic Park but on top of a gigantic underground volcano that upon eruption would destroy the world as we know it. So, it was no surprise to me that there were tons of Japanese tourists.

Even with our neighbors from the far side of the ring of fire present and plenty, it don't get much more American than Yellowstone. Tons of nuclear families in rented RV's making the homage to grizzly bear country. Last night we camped next to a Dad who was preaching about how he couldn't believe the rangers asked him to get into his car while the bears safely wandered back out into the woods.
"I couldn't believe she told me to sit my butt in that car, that's what we're here for, the bears!"
I'll admit, I'm a little disappointed that we didn't see a bear. But, there was plenty of threatening wildlife around and close!

Andrew and I have settled well into our roles of the road. We're not as bad as the Griswolds but, I bet we're pretty entertaining. He is overly confident and am wary of EVERYTHING. One of us always turns out to be right. I'm hoping its usually going to be him. If not we would have already been eaten by bears, mauled by bison, robbed, run out of gas, and the Yellowstone caldera would have exploded about 10 hours ago.
I love Andrew in the wild. He get's so manly. He knows just what wood to gather, the best way to build the fire, he can take down camp in less than fifteen minutes!

Four states in two days. Right now we're held up at the Eagle's Landing in Beaver, UT. Can't say that I'm in love with Utah thus far. It stinks here, literally. And I'm from the land of the Tacoma Aroma. There have been some pretty epic billboards and some really terrible driving. Speaking of, I safely drove my first leg of our journey. I'm a little slower than Andrew but, we got here just fine. 

Tomorrow, we've got an early start, 5am or so. We've got about 100 miles until we get to Zion. Cross you fingers for us that we get a campsite. Against my better judgment Andrew assured me that we won't be needing one. I'm sure it'll be fine. 

Here's our last couple days in photos:

Return to Sender

So here we are, pent up in a cheap, swanky hotel in Beaver, UT. It's 11:36 and the mood is right ... for blogging.

I'm going way back with this one ... there was a lot that has happened in the past couple of weeks that may be of some importance to yous all! Being home in Montana for more than a weekend for a dentist trip sure makes me want to stay forever. As my good buddy Pat Mumme would say, "It's the great Montana curse. You'll never find better!" And by gosh I think he's right! Of course he's off in the Mediterranean sailing some big ass yachts for fun, and not thinking twice about the Mad Cow right now so whatever ... he doesn't know anything! No, I love that man ... in a completely non-homoerotic way ...

So where was I? Ah yes, Montucky. What a sesh it's been! From the time we last spoke, Nicole's sister Linda and her man Patrick came into town with high hopes of adventure and entertainment, and that's just what they got!

Within minutes of their arrival, we saw a good family friend Lark who was going to check on her sheep who were in their birthing season. As soon as we got there and saw all the baby lambs, we were put to work. No more than four minutes in I was holding a mama ewe and, as the bartender at McCormick and Schmicks in downtown Seattle would say, "Ta DOW!", I gave birth to a little baby lamb. Aww ... it was a pretty crazy experience that is for sure, but I'd do it again no problem!

From there we traveled to the big beautiful city of Virginia (Virginia City). A place known by few but cherished by all ... once you get there. I began to start playing tour guide and remember as much as I could about the town I spent so many great summers in doing odd jobs for the state. You know that it's a small town when you work just about every business possible within a couple of years! I do recommend visiting this place if you haven't yet. The town is stuck in 1867 and you can only pay in gold and rupees! We enjoyed a great meal at Banditos where I had the bacon wrapped Lamb meatloaf (no offense Lark). Lamb is sooooo good though, and Amy at Bandito's is doing it right! We did a quick raid on the candy shop, and then bartered our way into the Brewery Follies where we got a great show and a couple of Gilbert Brewery beers. Mmmm mmm !

After a night of laughter and amazement at the fact that you can still walk around the cities with open beverages, it was off to the next adventure. Even though the rivers are at all times high all around the state, we managed to find things to do. Weird eh? Our next stop was the Upper Ruby (UR). A place known for its beauty and home to famous celebrities like Ted Turner and David Letterman. Why must they find the places next to where we live? Can't they stay in Ennis or Big Sky? We managed to slay a couple of gophers, in true Halo fashion, and have some good old can shooting fun at an old cattle loading station deep in the heart of the UR.

Our next journey was to a place that many locals to the valley know is there but hardly go to. The Lewis and Clark Caverns are only about 45 minutes from the homestead, and well worth the drive. You have to take a nice jaunt up the hill to get there, and can be quite cumbersome in the pouring rain but whatever! It's always worth it! We explored, watched people break stuff, and hit our heads for an hour or so, all loving it and trying to get great pictures in a space where light is never present. At least now they are starting to move up in the world and put natural LED lights in the last parts of the cave so you can see how truly beautiful and full of color they actually are!

The next day was spent in the beautiful city of Butte, MT. There is a lot of history here for a town that some people still call 'Butt, MT.' The Berkeley Pit is home to the largest copper mine in the history of the world. And as some may know, Butte holds one of the best St. Patrick's Day bashes you could ever imagine (see previous paragraph, first line). We visited one of the premier blade shops of the west. It held a tremendous collection of knives, most that serve no purpose except being on your wall and getting your geek friends to gawk and awe at. Then it was off to the world museum of mining were you can go underground and see how god awful those conditions were back when they were digging a mile into the earth looking for ore of any sort. Naturally we didn't want to hang around for almost two hours to go on a tour so we passed on that one. But it looks pretty interesting! :) The last point of interest was the memorial for the great fire that struck the mining town in 1917. It started down deep in the mine and resulted in the death of over 100 miners, the most ever lost in the town. I have a personal connection to that fire as my great, great uncle Arthur Murray was lost in that accident. It was, and still is, a very dangerous job. I can't imagine working in those conditions even now! Being under the Earth with just some poles and shafts keeping you alive. No thank you! Interesting enough they had some of the old sayings laid in brick that were common in the olden days. My favorite being, "GO GET HER!" meaning get your time card cause your butt is fired! On our way home from Butte, we stopped by the Ringing Rocks of Pipestone pass. It's a pile of boulders that, when struck by a hammer, make different tones of noise. Quite a little interesting side track ...

As our time came to an end with Linda and Patrick, so began the Morgan/Jezierny family invasion. My sister Annie and Brian came out with my nephew Luke. Followed soon by my other sister Malia coming out from Minnesota. It was a blast having everyone around, and never a dull moment. My nephew is always the first one to let you know if it's getting boring or not.

We proceeded to cook some tremendous, delicious meals. Got a few rounds of badmitton (sp?) in, and gave some more of my unneeded belongs to Luke. If anyone is looking to donate, I'm sure he'll put his hand out for you! We were able to catch the Virginia City Players and see a play about the fire in Butte that I mentioned previously. But most exciting of all was the time we got to just hang out and not do anything ... man I love those days! Isn't that what vacation is suppose to be???

The last day in Montana was spent cooking a glorious meal based around the Sardinian way of life. We made (by 'we' I mean Nicole made and I helped prep) a beautiful bolognese to go with a hand made malloreddus, a nice little selection of antipastos to go with it, and a bottle of Buty wine that was made for the well known restaurateur Peter Canlis I was able to get a hold of (only 120 bottles made a year!). Yeah I'm proud of that ... so what ?!

So it's off to Yellowstone National Park, our journey is really beginning! Now I am off to sleep ... I hope you all could bear to read this whole post !

Send my love to you all ...

A little list of wildlife seen on this trip so far:

Whitetail deer . Elk . Bison . Owl . Fox . Sandhill Cranes . Gophers . Pheasants . Bald Eagles . Osprey . exotic birds . Cows . Antelope . Big Horn Sheep . . . TBC

Now at this hotel in Beaver Utah ... we've traveled our first 1000 miles ... and a lot more to go !

checking in

Ciambellone allo Zafferano
13oz-ish Ricotta
2.5c flour
1c sugar
3 eggs
lemon and orange zest
pinch of saffron
seeds from one vanilla bean
1tsp baking powder
orange juice

mix well and bake at 400 for 40min

(I'm waiting for it to bake so I'll tell you if it's good after I try it.)

I once had to take a Myers Brigg type personality test when I started a new job. They gave me a little placard to keep at my desk so people knew how to interact with me professionally. Hmmm, multiple choice personality. The thing I really didn't like about it was that people would be like, "So, what do you do for fun?" I would then respond something about having gone to art school or cooking or something and they would look at me blankly as if photography was something they had never heard of and then search my desk frantically for my personality venn diagram as if it was going to translate the meaning of my life...wait for it...wait for it...ahhhhh..."Photography, I can see that about you." It was like when people tell me I"m totally an Aries. But,, my moon is in Pisces...But the real trouble with that was those pesky little lines that I had to read twice, those little ten word tidbits that could maybe, possibly, be true. "

Nicole, you are 40% blue, 34% green, you work well as a leader except when grouped with a 20%+ purple, and you have a BAD HABIT OF NOT FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH THINGS."

Okay, to my defense it said that my greatest strength is my initiative, starting the task with great enthusiasm, I'm just supposedly horrible and finishing the job.Though the job didn't work out and within two months I was packing the little plastic placard in a box to take home ;) , I refuse to accept it as a Nicole Laverty truth and instead would like to think it was a little reminder of a personality trait I do not want Mr. Briggs to one day feature in the pie chart on my headstone. That is why I (we) must keep blogging. That and Andrew has passed out 49760483 business cards with this web address on it in SW Montana alone and I refuse to look like that one girl that had a cool business card and nothing to show for it.

We leave for Yellowstone on Monday so, tomorrow is our last full day in Laurin. The water is running high this year and the sun's been having a hard time of coming out. It's still heaven. Being stationed here for the last two weeks has really given me a chance to prepare myself for the big journey ahead. Seattle seems a thousand miles and years away and I can't believe how quickly the little things untied themselves from me. I don't carry my cell phone and haven't checked yelp once. Things are different. As we were driving through the valley today, I was telling Andrew how being out here has really helped me to understand what clarity and focus is all about.Things just seem to reveal themselves as important or not here and it is seldom what I would have told you was important before. Even tonight as we began repacking the car load we began to realize that somehow our pile of things that "we had to have" had Jenny Craiged itself into a reasonable Honda Accord sized roadtrip package.

There are a lot of blanks to fill in about how we exactly got from there to here in such a short time and we'll get around to it. We've got pictures and stories to dot the map. But, for now I just needed to let myself know that I'm following through.

It's nice to be in a new state of mind and I've been soaking it up as much as I can.

Cake's done, Andrew's waited up patiently for me to finish. Thank god for Angry Birds.

confessions of a backseat driver

Andrew is a terrific driver. On top of having a grasp on the arts of driving that my half-Korean genes have only experienced before in "Days of Thunder," he also knows Montana well, very well, and very much better than I do. I know all this and still, uncontrollably, against my will, I try to take the wheel. From my little throne six inches to the right on the center console, I cringe and I sigh and I bite my tongue until it erupts, "Maybe you should slow down"..."can you just not pass this ONE semi, we're already going fifty and it's raining."

So, yesterday as we were driving through the Madison Valley on a June afternoon, it came.

We had left Angry Birds at the house, so I had no choice but to watch the rain turn to more rain on the windshield. I start to play it out in my head, a bear or a moose just appears on the slick road in the rainy haze and we break, hydroplane, skid, fly, across the road. I won't go any further.

Now if this actually happened and I was driving, it would be a problem and that's why when it rains, Andrew always drives. But, this time, the more rain turned into a... BLIZZARD! (dun dun dun...) 

This blog is not only about a young couples journey across the US or our coming of age journey to a new city, it's also about love. <3 

Love is when we are driving through the Rocky Mountains and it starts to lightly snow and the ground gets dusted with less white than IHOP has on their pancakes, and Andrew lets me believe that its a Blizzard. He let's me believe that so that my backseat driving doesn't seem so irrational. So that, I don't have to feel crazy or handicapped about my fear of "weather" and driving. We climb a few feet in altitude and it gets a little bit worse and then as quick as it came, it starts to let off. By the time we are in VC the snow is gone and there is no trace. 

"Wow, wasn't that crazy, I mean that was crazy, right? I mean that was a blizzard, in June."

"Yeah, crazy."

"I mean a blizzard, right."

"I mean...I wouldn't really call it a blizzard"

"?..."

"No, baby, I mean it was a snowstorm"

That to me is love. Andrew knows that I only do it cause I'm looking out for us, even if that means I'm not seeing the danger clearly, or the lack of. It's his hands at the wheel, and I know he's looking out for us, eyes steady on the road ahead. Even when, he's the one who's making sure every mile that we're alright,  he's also with all the tenderness in the world making sure that I'm alright, and that I know that he loves me despite my backseat driving.

a couple of mooo vies

A good interruption to lawn mowing



A short video of a back road bike journey ... quite lovely !

A Call to Barns

Montana has a funny way of reminding me that, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." For as slow pokin' as the vibe is out here in cowboy country, a lot sure happens every moment of the day. One minute you're mowing the grass or watching someone mowing the grass...and the next a herd of cows could be making its way through town to a nearby pasture. There's always a bunny looking really vulnerable and adorable or a young buck dashing through the neighboring property.

What have we been up to?

Monday- cloudy

-ran down the back road about a mile and a half, saw a dead fox, a live fox and some other ntwl (1)

- drove to Nevada city that for a Monday seemed pretty busy, I saw at least 25 people

- sought out a Bob's place pizza in Virginia City, but they were unexpectedly closed for a few days (no explanation desired or required)

- so we, drove to Ennis and grabbed a bite to eat and stopped by the local grocery store hoping to find Kombucha

- I now feel very confidant that there is no kombucha in Ennis or the Ruby valley as a whole. As a matter of fact Andrew and I searching out "fermented Chinese tea that comes in an assortment of natural and organic flavors" was probably a lost cause in these parts from the get go.

- returned home to do clip some edges while Andrew mowed some grass-picked up our friends Ted Sautes with Pans and Matt who work at the lodge, and went to play some pool at Chicks (Chicks will come with better explanation later, most likely in form of a photograph)

Tuesday

- Andrew headed into Ennis with his dad to drop off the car for a pre-7000 mile journey tune up (we have since heard it will be $1400 and we won't get the car back till Friday)

- went for a walk with Andrews mom through the Woodson property- I really find myself interested in learning about the different families and property politics out here, we're talking hundreds of acres of mountains and rivers bought, owned, split, traded, loaned, and leased by mostly the same players since Calamity Jane rode through town looking for love. It's pretty cool.

- Andrew then spent the next hour or so mowing the grass (I admittedly do not understand, but fully respect the dedication people have to keeping their lawns kept up here in the mountains, I would have given up to nature a long time ago. I also admittedly, have a lot to learn from Montana)

- saw a cattle drive come up from the back road, where I was hugged by the best cow dog ever.

- went for a bike ride, I got fussy over not wanting to peddle up hill

- met Rebecca's new German Shepard pups

- BBQ at Ted's for Matt's bday...so delicious

- heard some stories about white tiger hunting and big racked bucks

- a little breyers ice cream and Rachel Maddow

Today

- walk/ run down the back road and through Woodsons

- lunch

- put together the trampoline at the neighbors

- watched Andrew mow some grass

- started digging out some grass from behind the gas tank

- got rained out, so since then we've been sitting in the dining room working away on our blog and trying to get our apartment all set up in Tejas

Oof!... what a long blog post. Work with me, I'm still trying to figure out how I want to format this masterpiece. I had to get something down cause if I don't just do it, I'll get entirely too cerebral and meticulous about aesthetics. I hope though like the little map of the Ruby valley and the goings on here that I have drawn up in my head, you can start following along and figure out the latitudes and longitudes of our journey. Over a week left here in the mountains, I'm excited to share the rest of our do nothings.

1. ntwl- (n) non-threatening wildlife

Ted's "Matt's Birthday BBQ Sausage"

- 1 giant Montana Top Hills kielbasa sausage on a soft roll-chopped onion-ketchup

- Ted's tequila bottle of habanero mustard (secret recipe)

Barbecue over low hot coals in your backyard on the first hot and sunny days in the Ruby Valley. Serve to a couple friends while jamming to Notorious MSG and admiring your lawn.

Big Sky Country ... whadya know

Well here we are ... three days in! It's been a semi-relaxing journey thus far, but alas the workloads are increasing!

The drive over was anything but dry and hot. All I can say is that it's a good thing that Angry Birds is a very entertaining app that Nicole can play so that she doesn't freak about my 'expert' driving through the rainy passes. I do love me a challenge!

We made our traditional stop at the newly claimed 50,000 silver dollars in Haugan, MT. It used to be 10,000 silver dollars but it seems that people are spending all their time and money here to make its claim to fame that much greater! It is a place where all you can get is beer in a bottle or can, any booze you want, and naturally handles of everclear are on sale. Highly recommended for a quick stop to gamble, have a drink, and buy some sweet knives!

By the time we got to the homestead our total travel time was about 12 hours. If one were to gaze upon our overstuffed ride, they would wonder how Nicole was comfortable for that long in a 3 ft by 3 ft car cubicle.

Total miles traveled thus far : 654

Finger lickin' fried chicken

As excited as I am about our journey of a lifetime, this new chapter begins with a bit of heartache and a hard farewell. As I sit here typing away my mother is pacing through our Washington home making sure theres not just one more thing I need. Baby wipes, cold cream, a 24 pack of spicy ramen. "Nicole, when you make ramen for you and Andrew use 2 bags, you know, one isn't enough."

I woke up this morning just as the sun was coming up to see my stepfather off to work. Dressed in his blue jumpsuit, he says, "We're going to be okay." I know that they are going to be okay and that I am going to be okay and that everything is going to be okay and if it's not...I know that, "you can always come back." And with this reassuring piece of advice that has become a chant, a mantra, a piece of life truth that I hope that I don't have to utilize anytime soon I curled my hair, pack up the last packed lunch my mommy will make for me for some time and ready myself to leave. I'm so excited for the open road and the journey ahead, and know that the possibilities are endless but, it's not the "leap and the net will follow" that's helping me on this first step it's knowing that no matter what, you can always come home.

Thank you to everyone who has made this possible, I love you all, I miss you already and take this as your own, after all we do this for you too.

Mommy's Road Lunch
1 paper bag of finger lickin' friend chicken
1 tupperware container of Spam Kimpop
1 retelling of family camping trips gone wrong, that I was too young to remember

How the west was won

The time has come! Our journey is set to start in t-minus 20 minutes, and naturally it's raining outside. Will the rain be missed? I think not! Will the peeling of bare flesh off hot seats in 90+ weather be welcomed? We will soon find out! Our first stop will be in Montucky, a time to re-organize our over-stuffed car, and get rid of some of those sweet electronics I tend to hold on to for reasons unknown. We feel like the television hit 'Hoarders' has found its way into our poor little Honda Accord.

Send us good luck as our adventure into the Great American West begins! We'll take you with us so you won't feel left out sitting at that desk loving your job or wherever you may be!

Happy Anniversary to my rents as well ! A good day to start, as this day marks the 34th year they have been together. Such love still exists people!