Cross-Country Skiing: Lolo, MT

I am eager to jump into the outdoor life that living in Montana offers.  Fortunately, one of the only people I know here is the right person for the job.  Diana hikes, cross-country skis, and does many other outdoor things as the seasons permit.  She has invited both David and I on a nighttime cross-country (XC) ski event scheduled for the end of January.  I am concerned about that being my first time for a number of reasons.

1. You can XC ski at night?
2. I don't have the right equipment.  I just bought my first real winter coat a few weeks ago.
3. I am not in good enough shape.
4. The last time I went skiing it was downhill style and that was around 1982.
5. You can XC ski at night?

I learn that you can indeed do this at night when there is a full moon.  I woke up a few nights before the official full moon and suddenly understood why this was possible.  It gets dark here and the light coming from the moon is really bright.  I never experienced anything remotely like that when I lived in Texas.  I guess there was too much ambient light.

Probably due to my excess whining about all of the reasons not to go, Diana decides to see if we want to do a short daytime outing to see if we like it.  I think this is a good idea but some of the same problems remain. 

As for being out of shape, she assures me she will take it easy on me.  On the equipment front, it turns out our husbands won't be joining us so that means I can borrow equipment.

See me smiling? This is the before picture.  I suspect I am the only woman Diana knows who can borrow her husbands SHOES and have them fit.  In fact, they fit perfect. Those are his skis to but those are more of a one size fits all.  At least I assume.  The clothes all belong to me and have been acquired very recently.  After about 15 minutes the coat is in my backpack and I am down to the long-sleeve T-shirt and flannel shirt.

The removal of my jacket is only remarkable if you factor in this in.  This is the temperature gauge at the volunteer fire station by my house.  I took this on the way home so it was warmer by then than when we set out.

Diana and I are the only people on the trail.  I mean that quite literally.  Her truck is the only one in the parking lot.  We don't see any other people and there are still no other cars when we return.

This wouldn't concern me but there is no cell phone service here.  This is where the trail really begins for us.  I have heard numerous stories about bears (who are hibernating in theory), moose and mountain lions.  Also, I am clumsy.  I broke my ankle in the flat parking lot of a sporting goods store.  What if one of us (me) falls and breaks something.  No worries Diana assures me.  We would either carry the other out or leave them and go for help.  Yeah, I'm not worried.  Diana better be the one that has to be carried, I outweigh her by quite a lot.

I have to try really hard for this not to be my view the whole time.  It is really beautiful here and I quickly make a nuisance of myself by forcing Diana to stop while I take pictures.

Fortunately, she likes to take pictures too.

Diana takes the lead and I am happy for her to do that.  She has been here before and has done this before so it makes sense for her to stay in front. Plus, if I fall it will be harder for her to get an action shot on her camera.  And I do fall once.  Much to my surprise I manage to only go to my knee on top of the ski.  I don't fall all the way down.  I almost fall several times but all in all, I am proud of my ability to stay upright on my first time.

The only problem with having Diana lead is that I can't hear her when she talks to me.  In my old age I have a hard time hearing if the person is facing away from me.  Diana suggests we talk and generally make some noise so the animals know we are here and we don't surprise one which is apparently when the real problems occur.

And there are animals here.  We see several sets of fresh tracks from various animals of varying sizes.  I have mixed feelings about seeing an animal today.  Deer, bunnies, chipmunks, all okay.  Diana tells me that moose are really aggressive and though I really want to see one in the wild, I hope it is at a safe distance.

Not that I can recognize a moose track (yet) but I know they are nearby since we passed this sign on the way here.

At one point, this is my view.  Beautiful, yes.  The problem is...WHERE IS DIANA??

I generally prefer to keep her in sight.  She would probably prefer I put the camera away and keep up.

Maybe one day I won't be awed by my surroundings.  But truthfully, I hope not.

Diana kindly doesn't work me too hard.  I had real fears about being unable to walk the day after, especially since I have to get on a plane back to Dallas, but though I was sore (all over my body), I am not incapacitated sore.  And we weren't out there long enough for me to want to check out the inside of this building.  I bet it is really cold in there.

Since a picnic is out of the question - yes, that is a picnic table and benches - we go back to her house after a couple of hours.

I would do this again, in fact, we have plans to go this weekend, this time with the boys.  This means David and I will rent equipment and Diana won't have to put up with me leaving the skis in the back of the truck for her to deal with. 

Ultimately, we didn't go on the full moon outing.  Diana's family was under the weather at that time and it turned out to be cloudy anyway.  We will try again next month.  In the meantime, here are some of my favorite photos from that day.  Some of these have obviously been modified from the original.

Silhouettes

Stand Out

No Shortage of Trees

The Twins

Purple Mountain Majesty

Frosting

Here Comes the Sun

Alone in a Crowd

Between

Winter on Mars

The Road Trip: Grapevine, TX to Stevensville, MT

David was gone 3 weeks, off to his new job in Missoula, Montana.  This left me behind to work on packing and finalizing the details for the sale of our house in Texas.  Truthfully, this went pretty smoothly.  Our house was only on the market 2 weeks when we had an offer.  The inspection only turned up 3 things the buyer wanted fixed and all of those were relatively minor.  Packing showed me how much stuff I own, both necessary and not.  I had a hard time imagining moving with all 3 of the kids at home.  I had to make several repeat trips for bubble wrap and boxes.  We haven't moved in 10 years and most of the things in the house were accumulated during that time.  I didn't know how to even estimate what would be needed. 

David returned to Texas on Christmas Eve to pack up his garage and to drive back to Montana with me.  The original plan was for me to stay though the closing of the house on January 7 and drive up by myself with our dog Karma.  But David was not comfortable with that plan for a number of reasons, many of them related to possible weather problems.  We may not have much of a winter in Texas but they do in Montana and other states generally north of us.

Ironically, it snowed on Christmas in Dallas.  This little snowman is about 8 inches tall and is on a small table on our back patio.  He didn't last long.

We spent the last few days visiting with my parents, our daughter and granddaughter and my brother and his family.

Aaron and Ashley at our house playing The Redneck Game of Life.  Highly recommended game.  Just like Life only redneck.  Which is why it is shocking that David has never won.  Aaron won this round forcing his wife Cathy to hand over the trophy:  a large glow in the dark plastic tooth.

You win by having the most teeth left at the end of the game.  As you can see from my scorecard, I am down to 7 teeth.  You end up with a lot of kids named Daryl.  At one time I had 7 but I got to give them all away and was left with only Gene.  This helps my paltry salary as the Monster Truck Announcer since each kid reduces your payday by $10. 

Plus, your rig has to hold all of your young en's.

I have room for 8 (total for both rigs).  One more and I would have had to buy another rig.

David and I also went to the Black & White Play at the Eismann Center in Richardson, TX.  We have gone to this play right after Christmas for the past 3 years.  The first year I correctly guessed who the killer was (a guess based strictly on the name of the character).  Neither of us have gotten it right since.

The main character with a random kid.  The actors clothing, makeup and the scenery are done to look like a 40's film noir.  When they come out to the lobby after the performance it is shocking to see them next to things that are "in color".  This play is a lot of fun and if you are in the Dallas area around the end of the year and enjoy plays, I highly recommend it.

 

David's plan for the drive up is to follow the same route he drove back in December when he moved.  The only difference is he moved to a motel in Missoula.  This time we are moving to the house David rented 3 days before returning to Texas.  It is about 25 miles outside of Missoula in the small town of Stevensville.

The route will take us north to our first stop in Oklahoma City.  Now, for those of you who aren't familiar with this area, that is about a 3 hour drive from where we lived in Grapevine.  Not a long first day but this is going to be the first stop for 2 reasons. 

The movers are expected to finish emptying our house and leave by around 5 pm.  It seems a little senseless to sit around our empty house or to stay in a local hotel.  It was a little odd to be back where we started, sitting in this house with it totally empty.  David and I did this almost 10 years ago when we bought the house (it was already vacant) on the day of the inspection.  We will miss the 10 year anniversary in this house by one month.  We moved in on February 1, 2003.  We moved out on January 2, 2013.

The second reason for our stop in OKC is that it is free.  David's brother lives there and he and his family kindly let us come stay.  A special thanks to Abby for the use of her bed for the night.

I have to stop here for the one-liners since David started them up less than a block from our old house:

• Damn, we are packed in here like a &%$@* clown car!
• My butt is going to get itchy.
• Look...Elvis and Bigfoot had a kid.
• Cleaning the bathroom is clearly a loose term here.
• I am trying to control my weirdos, I don't need them making a hasty exit later.
• As long as no train comes by while you're doing that, it will be fine.
• The only panting I want to hear in my ear when my eyes are closed is yours.
• We'd make it the sweetest little hotel this side of whatever the hell town this is.
• I better leave the room then so there won't be any witnesses.
• This is where the deer and the antelope play.
• I think you are making that shit up as you go.
• I've got weak-ass fingernails.
• And just like BOOM, sun's up.
• I am looking kind of roguish.
• You still have like half an hour or so to say something ignorant.

I know that's a lot but that isn't even all of them and we were in the car for over 3 days.

The next day we go from OKC to Valentine, Nebraska.  Everyone keeps saying how cold it will be in Montana but right now, I all I know is that it is bitterly cold in Kansas and Nebraska.  And for anyone planning a drive across Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska, here is some advice:

Take a nap.  It looks like this most of the way.

When you travel with animals, it makes the hotel situation a little harder - assuming you are honest and don't try to sneak them in where they aren't allowed, which we didn't do.  The difficulty of finding a decent place to stay with your pet is increased in places like Valentine, NE.

I guess David and I will have to make alternate dinner plans.  This is the place that prompted the comment about the lack of bathroom cleanliness.  There was a wad of hair (human?) on the shower wall and some dried blood spots on the wall behind the door.

Karma did really well after the first day.  She got into a routine and did what needed to be done when we stopped.  Mostly she looked out the window.

She was in the back of the clown car.  After OKC, we managed to get her a little more room on the seat.  She did manage to roll the window down in the back once.  I had to lock them to keep her from doing it again.  She's a smart girl.

I was really happy to see this sign but sadly, it doesn't mean we are there yet.  We are on the far east side near South Dakota and our house is on the far west side, almost to Idaho.  We have another night in a hotel to go.  It was worse than the one in Valentine.

This sign, right after the one above, was a little more confusing.

I might need more description than "invasive species".  Maybe there should be a little brochure available at this sign for those of us who don't know what exactly is covered.

Finally after 4 days, 2 crappy hotels, 1 not crappy borrowed bed, and lots of McDonald's over 7 states (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana), we arrived at our new home!

David rented this house after seeing it online.  When he came out to see it we connected on Skype so I could see it too.  This is my first time to see it in person and I must say, David did good.  We decided to wait to buy.  It was too hard to do with him in Montana and me in Texas.  Plus, this gives us a chance to get the "lay of the land".

The best part of the house is the view from my office. 

My old view

My new view. 

This was taken outside but it is the same view I have when I am sitting at my desk.  Only with a big sliding glass door between.

I found out from my travels for work that there are some places in the world where you just feel like you belong.  My new friend here, Diana, said, "There are places that make your heart sing".  This is one of those places for me.  I love it here.  And all of those people worried about me and the cold can stop.  It was much colder in Kansas than it is here.  I can already see though that I am going to have to invest in a lot more moisturizer and lotion because it is so much drier here than back in Texas. 

I only have one disappointment so far...

The snowmen.  I expected lots of fantastic snowmen here but this specimen from the Lowe's garden center in Missoula is pretty typical of what I have seen.  The snow here is very powdery and not conducive to packing.

I also learned one more thing about snow people in general, courtesy of someone who shall remain anonymous.  Do you know how to tell the difference between a snowman and a snowwoman?

Snowballs.

















2012 In Review

2012 saw me traveling more than I ever have in the past.  Once upon a time, my job might take me on the road 10 times a year.  This year, out of a possible 48 weeks (if you take out my vacation), I traveled 27 of those.  I even traveled the week of Thanksgiving.

This is not all of the room photos.  There were a few trips towards the end of the year where I simply forgot.  I had a lot on my mind.  More on that in a moment.

David made numerous jokes about how it was like having a girlfriend on the weekend only.  One stretch in the summer saw me gone 8 weeks in a row.  Here's where I went, in order:

• Hazelwood, MO
• Washington, DC with stops in Knoxville, TN and Bethesda, MD to see our brand new grandbaby (this was a combined work/family trip).
• Laredo, TX
• York, PA (with a side trip to Maryland to see my daughter and granddaughter)
• Fort Worth, TX (I only count this local trip because I had to stay at the hotel where my company was hosting our annual conference)
• Omaha, NE
• Amarillo, TX
• San Francisco, CA
• Santa Rosa, CA
• Oakland, CA (Vacation with David)
• Yosemite National Park (Vacation with David)
• San Francisco, CA (Vacation with David)
• Houston, TX
• Jacksonville, FL
• Omaha, NE (again)
• Lubbock, TX
• Georgetown, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Victoria, TX
• Corpus Christi, TX
• Omaha, NE (yes, again)
• Kansas City, MO
• Alexander City, AL
• Pensacola, FL (Vacation with Kendall, my parents & my niece)
• Hammond, IN
• Malta, NY (Vacation with David to see our son)
• Cooperstown, NY (Vacation)
• Miami, FL
• Dickson, TN
• Franklin, TN
• Columbia, TN
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Missoula, MT (with David)
• Edwardsville, IN
• Chambersburg, PA (with a side trip to Maryland to visit my daughter and granddaughter)

The idea behind this blog was to force me to get out.  Get out of the hotel.  Get out of my own way.  Over the 12 years I have traveled for work I spent the bulk of that in the hotel watching television and/or working.  As much as I hate to travel, that didn't help.  So this year I was going to get out and do something, find out what these places had to offer.  So I did.  And now I can't imagine ever going back to my old ways.

I saw a bunch of plays and musicals - both community theatre and national tours of Broadway shows.  I saw the Texas Rangers play in Oakland and San Francisco.  David and I took our first real vacation after 25 years of marriage.  I went to a couple of interesting museums and ate at a few good (and a couple of bad) places featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  For the first time ever, I looked forward to traveling because I looked forward to exploring something other than my hotel.

Best Work Outing:
This would probably have to be the two times at Jersey Boys in Pittsburgh.  First time was planned, the second just two days later was spur of the moment.

Worst Work Outing:
The Samuel Beckett plays I saw in San Francisco, Xanadu was a close second.

Favorite City of 2012 - Work Trip:
Omaha was a nice surprise, especially since I went three times.  They are already on the calendar for 2013 so I am going to have to start being creative.

Least Favorite City of 2012 - Work Trip:
Miami.  I still don't like this city and this was my third time there. 

Best Vacation Outing:
Sitting in "they yard" at Alcatraz watching the sun set behind the Golden Gate Bridge.

Worst Vacation Outing:
The Texas Rangers game at Oakland.  The stadium was awful and the man in front of me was completely obnoxious.  Also, Texas lost.  Badly.

In the beginning I was writing three blog posts a week.  Now I am down to about once a week.  Life sometimes gets in the way.  I still have a few from 2012 to write about but I have been busy.  This is because the trip with David to Missoula, Montana back in October resulted in us deciding to move there. 

So this coming Wednesday, we will get in the car and begin the 1,798 mile trip from our current Grapevine, Texas home to our new one in Stevensville, Montana.

I won't be posting for a couple of weeks.  Be patient with me because I will be back once I am settled in our new home and back out on the road.  I already have trips set up for Phoenix, Bakersfield, CA and New Orleans.  I think the strangest thing will be returning to the Dallas area as a tourist.  This is something I will do 4-5 times a year as part of my job (I am taking my current job with me).  Also, there will be lots of exploring in Montana to do. 

So as my dad used to say, "Hang in there, we'll see you on the flip side".

Scavenger Hunt: Arlington, TX

Thanksgiving was a little odd this year.  David and I are preparing to go our separate ways with him heading up to his new job in Montana leaving me here to sell the house.  We went back and forth over what do and where to go for Thanksgiving.  With our move coming so soon, both families were anxious to have us there for our "last" Texas Thanksgiving (at least the possibility of that).

Ultimately, we decided he would go see his dad and brother out in East Texas and I would go to Arlington and be with my parents and some of the extended family.  A few days before, I ran across a scavenger hunt idea on Pintrest aimed at getting you out to walk off some of the excessive amounts of food ingested during the day.  I didn't go crazy with the food but I still thought the idea would be fun to do.

After eating I rounded up a small group and we set out in my parent's neighborhood to find:

1. A family playing football
2. Smoke coming from a chimney
3. 5 or more cars parked at one house
4. An out of state license plate
5. A family on a walk
6. Pinecones and/or acorns
7. A pile of leaves
8. Thanksgiving decorations
9. Early Christmas decorations
10. Decorations for a holiday that has gone by
11. Trash bags on the curb
12. A college football flag/yard decoration

I admit that I modified the Pintrest list some.  The original list had "a black bird" on it and I decided to change that to trash bags on the curb since that is totally similar.  I took a few off but wanted an even dozen.  The original list I found had write in blanks at the bottom for your "own ideas" so I didn't completely go off-script.

And away we go:

1.  We didn't see any families playing football which made me kind of sad.  We always played football at my grandparent's house on Thanksgiving.  However I did see:

My niece and my brother abusing each other with Ping-Pong paddles.  I have conflicting stories about whether my niece or my dad won the game they played later.

2.  It is in the upper 70's on Thanksgiving day so seeing smoke coming from a chimney is unlikely.  Unless...

You count my daughter who smokes.  I can't take credit for this brilliant substitution.  My sister-in-law thought of it.

3.  5 or more cars in front of a house was really easy.

This house is right across the street from my parent's house.  We are really working hard on this walk/hunt.

4.  Out of state plates (California) and the walk still hasn't taken us far.

That white truck in the background is parked at the house next door to my parent's house.

5.   I cheated on this one and I knew I was going to before we even set out.

My family on a walk.  When I re-read the Pintrest list later I noticed it said "another family".  Sometimes I think I might need to join another family.

6.  Pinecones and acorns and sparkly shoes are Kendall's specialty.

She is definitely paying attention and helping us find the things on the list.

7.  In fact, she is very helpful on the next item: a pile of leaves.

"Here grandma, I made you a pile of leaves."

8.  I knew Thanksgiving decorations would be too easy. 



The good news is we finally made it off of my parent's street.

9.  Early Christmas decorations were harder to find than I expected.

My niece is bolder than I am.  She will walk up in a stranger's yard to get a picture.  I prefer to stay in the street lest someone look up from their turkey leg and say, "Why is some woman I don't know outside taking pictures of my house?"

10.  I know Halloween wasn't that long ago but let's keep up people.

Actually I am a little surprised I couldn't go further back, like to the 4th of July.

We interrupt this scavenger hunt for:

"Take my picture grandma."

11.  I added the trash idea to the list thinking that there would be bags of leaves on the curb even though trash is certainly not going to be picked up on a holiday.

I am pretty sure those two bags don't contain leaves.

12.  We found lots of yard décor for the local high school (Kick Em Colts!) and even one for the local elementary school (Go Shorthorns!) but...

We never saw a college flag or anything else related to college teams other than this one house that had the University of Texas Longhorn on their painted curb-side street number.

We only ended up going one short block but it was fun.  I would definitely do this again at Christmas or at some other get together if the situation arose.  

The hunters:  Rob, Miranda, Kendall ("don't take my picture anymore"), Aaron, Me, Ashley (in front) & Cathy.