End of the Line

Tomorrow is the last day of this great adventure. I started out in Winter Park, Colorado on August 1st and will end up in Billings, Montana tomorrow, August 29th. I've never been on a one month leave before and it has been wonderful, challenging, interesting and lot's of fun. I am grateful to my staff at my shop who are the reason I can do this. I am grateful to my sister who kept watch over my home while I was away. I'm grateful to all of my friends who followed my travels and patiently looked at my facebook photos everyday!

Norm and I have truly had a fabulous time and lot's of adventures. We've been through The Colorado Rockies, Utah, The Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Wyoming, up the Western part of Montana to Glacier National Park and back. This part of the country holds my heart with it's beauty and mountainous terrain. It has a feel that is comfortable and begs me to come back.

We've met all sorts of people, seen bears, buffalo's, deer, elk, antelopes, mountain goats, moose, and even met a few friendly dogs and cats along the way! Norm has driven over 7700 miles and I have taken 4163 photos. Thank goodness for digital cameras, wifi and hard drives.

We've stayed in friends condominiums, tents, cabins, a beautiful lodge on a lake and another friends cottage on Echo Lake. We've been frozen and thawed out again many times on this journey and we've eaten a lot of eggs, turkey and canned beans!

We've been on two rafting trips, to three National Parks, fly fishing, shopping, boating, hiking, on ski lifts up two mountains and numerous other activities.

It has been an experience I would not trade and I am so grateful to have had. Montana is truly big sky country, I can't get enough of it. Love the sky. Love the horses and cows everywhere, the old barns, the valleys, the mountain ranges, the mountain lakes, the cool evenings, the people.

This trip has given me the opportunity to see new visions, think new thoughts, take steps toward overcoming fears. I've had to trust, be patient and figure out how to get things done when it's inconvenient. I've been incredibly happy, incredibly content, tired, sad and sometimes wanted to go home!

I know that these days will bleed over into my everyday life when I get home, creating a newness in me that will help me think better, care more, enjoy more and be grateful for the blessings I have. I'll be without Norm again for a few weeks as he makes his way back home popping in on friends on the way. I'll miss our daily drives, the discovery of new things. I'll even miss setting up and pulling down a tent every day - actually, I won't miss that too much.

I'm glad to be going home, but I'll be back!

Peace and LoVe,

Tammy