Montana

I am sure every time Pops thinks about my Montana 2008 trip he thinks about how thin his wallet is, but when I think about Montana I remember all the amazing people I met and scenery/animals I saw. There are lots of people to thank for makings this trip possible: Pops for footing the bill (Smile!!!), J.L.W. for encouraging me to go (she was going on her own Utah adventure), and Dr. T and Teaching Assistant C for making the trip a memorable one. It is really no surprise I how excited I was prior to the trip. I mean, I love traveling, meeting new people, and the thought of outdoor school--oh boy!

After landing in Bozeman and waiting outside the airport for rental cars with ten silent people I was wondering what I had gotten myself into. Whenever you do things with a bunch of people you do not know, awkwardness is usually a guarantee. During the first three days of our Rocky Mountain Field Ecology Adventure silence (synonymous with awkwardness to someone who has a lot to say) was abundant. One would think after camping together at Beavertail Hill, enjoying a warm breakfast at Bear Rock Cafe, exploring the National Bison Range, driving to the University of Montana Biological Station, hiking in Glacier National Park, and kayaking on Flathead Lake at Yellow Bay we would all be one big happy family. Nope, it was not until our eight hour drive to Cooke City, Montana that we finally started bonding. I am not sure we were 'friends' yet but the silence was definitely erased. Thank goodness, otherwise I do not think I could have made it another minute!

I really do not know if I could have asked for twelve more awesome people to explore Montana with. There was lunch on Three Forks, lots of Yellowstone National Park to see, all the cool animals roaming wild (black bears, buffaloes, coyotes, wolves, owls, moose), the Wolf Reintroduction Den, a trip on winding roads up to Dead Indian with amazing photographer D.H. and his daughter, Old Faithful (and lots of other geysers and fumaroles), camping at Gros Ventre Campground near Grand Tetons National Park (and then trekking through snow in the park the next day), a walk around Jenny Lake, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Dr. T kept us really busy, but at the end of the day we were still ready for ecology lessons and a few games of pool (me always winning, of course)! We truly bonded... once the eleven mutes began to speak.

I am not sure whether it was all I learned about ecology, the travel and the fact I was able to cross two gorgeous states off my list, the new people I met or what it was that made this trip so much fun and extremely memorable. In Montana we were all removed from the comforts of our friends back at school, our daily routines, and typical learning styles. Maybe we bonded initially based on the fact we all had something in common (obvious by the fact we all chose to go on the trip), but exchanging numbers at the end of two weeks seemed silly because I assumed as soon as we returned home and spent the summer apart before reuniting at school there would be no friendships left. Thankfully, that was not the case. K.F.A. and K.A.R. quickly became two of my closest friends! It was not only those two though, I came back and had classes with M.T.K. and L.M.C., occasionally met S.A.I. for lunch, stopped in Dr. T's office to catch up on life, and spent lots of time with Teaching Assistant C's morbidly obese pets.

I understand that people come into and out of our lives at different times for different reasons. I am so glad I (sort of) stepped out of my comfort zone and into a previously unexplored area with a bunch of new people. If for no other reason I am glad I traveled to Montana to met these people. Each one of them has so much to offer life, and I am really excited to see where life takes all of us. Right now it is taking me to the airport to pick up K.F.A. for a long weekend! Yay for being a college graduate and still getting to enjoy fall break!

This quote sums it up pretty perfectly: "You meet people who forget you. You forget people you meet. But sometimes you meet those people you can't forget. Those are your friends." (Unknown)