(Fall colors near Missoula)
Traveling with a seasonal change is a natural thing to do. As everything around us changes, I think about the nomadic patterns of the Neanderthals and Native Americans moving their camps for Winter. We are mentally ready for a change. Feeling the clutch of the fingers of travelust, I'm finally ready for my journey over to Europe.
But first I must pause to catch you up on the incredible summer we've had here in Montana. The weather couldn't have been any better as we successfully avoided the normal extreme heat, forest fires, and therefore lots of local complaining. As promised, a few shots of where I grew up:
(Sunset over the Madison River at Bear Trap Canyon)
(Wheat field near Bozeman and the Bridger Mountains)
(Gallitan River near Big Sky, MT)
(Snowcrest Mtn Range in Southwest MT)
(Taylor's Fork stream near Yellowstone National Park)
(Gallitan River near Big Sky, MT)
I feel fulfilled with the amount of enjoyment I've had here this summer getting back into fly fishing, taking drives on old mountain roads, floating the Missouri River on an inter tube, and spending lots of time with family. Montana is truly beautiful and the mountains here seem to have an unmatched spiritual draw to them: something so pure, wild, and inviting.
(Snowcrest Mtn Range in Southwest MT)
(Taylor's Fork stream near Yellowstone National Park)
I quit my bartending job in late August and decided to really enjoy what was left of the nice weather. My sister Susan and I took a trip to Seattle to visit friends and to get to enjoy a city again. My friend Pierre-Luc and his family later visited Montana from Seattle and we snapped some beautiful photos in Reader's Alley, a historic part of Helena that was constructed during Helena's gold mining beginnings to house the workers.
(Reeder's Alley, Helena, MT)
(Pierre-Luc, Ryan and Becky at Park Lake)
Over the last 2 months, I've been doing construction work for a friend helping to build his house. Its been a goal of mine for a while to learn more about building a house and this has been a great experience since its not like any house. It is constructed mainly of concrete and will be powered entirely by solar energy. This house will be independent from the power company and self-sufficient. It was great to be a part of making something so permanent, like a house, with your own sweat.
Finally. After many months of thinking, saving and planning, I am venturing off to Europe. The journey begins in Ireland and Scotland as I will visit some of my good friends I made in NZ. After the wet and the cold has gotten to me in the U.K., I plan to fly to Italy to visit my friend Max, who lives on the coast of the Mediterranean. As of now, these are my only plans over there but I'm going to keep an open mind and give myself the option to stay long term if I find a cool place to lay low! I made a lot of European friends in NZ, so I hope to visit as many as I can while I'm there.
Being home for the last year has been a surreal experience. I can't believe how much I've changed since I got back from NZ. Your environment influences your life patterns which can change your views, your attitude, your goals, and of course, your experiences. I view the US as a very stable and long-term oriented place, with our main objectives on career, money, and possessions. As a result of spending more time here with these stimulants, I have become unsure of my future path. Do I want to stay in the US and get that engineering job again? Or do I want to keep traveling, or go back to NZ again?
When you travel you uncover so many more things about the world and about yourself and you gain perspective and understanding of how it all works together. Its like uncovering dark areas of an uncharted map in a game and making them clearer. I hope this next trip will be refreshing and will help me see things from a different perspective, directing me onto a new path.
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