Hokay. So, you may believe that I have been swallowed by a bear in Glacier park, fell into the river in Missoula, or just plain got whisked off of the planet. Well, fortunately, none of that has happened. I am still alive, very much breathing and having a pulse. Lucky you! That means you get an update! And since I wrote last, there is so much that has happened. Where to start?
Well, since Thursday, I have been sick-ish. I add the "ish" because I have not been inhibited from doing any of my normal activities, but have just mostly been super uncomfortable and have been trying to figure it out. It all started Thursday when I was reading this absolutely horrible and just painfully excruciating article that we were supposed to read for our grant-writing and negotiating class. At first, it was a headache...solution: ibuprofen. An hour later, it was a migraine (ow!)...solution: Excedrin Migraine. Yes, I'm sure my stomach was really happy. I was debating whether or not to go to Becca's Birthday Potluck that night because I just felt so nauseous and gross. (Sorry for the details...but they help convey the story more vividly). Anyways, so I ended up going but developing this heartburn/stomach-thing that I have had since then. What is up with that? I have not been able to get rid of it, but I am thinking it may be stress-related. Hopefully it will calm down once classes begin. Boo. But, anyways, it is manageable-ish.
So, I ended up going to the potluck, and it was such a good time. I got there, and Becca challenged me, "Lynn, you have to meet 5 new people...GO!". Oh gosh, the anxiety. However, throughout the night, we ended up meeting lots of nice people and had a really good time. My spinach dip was a hit! Although I am starting to think that our food in Wisconsin is not so sophisticated....this food at this potluck was amazing. I honestly did not even know what half of it was (because it was actually healthy-ish)! But it was all so good. Another very cool and interesting element at the potluck was the dogs. Dogs get treated so differently out here! They are like part of the family, whereas at home, they are usually the "pet". (Sorry, Derby...but it's the truth). Dogs go everywhere here! Outside of any building, there are usually a few dogs just chilling and waiting for their owners to return....at home, there would be fear of a bite, and then with a bite comes a lawsuit, etc. etc. etc. Anyways, at this potluck, there were about four dogs that were so funny! They kept wrestling with each other, but one dog was just not having it. They all varied in age from puppy to old, but their personalities were really evident as well. I guess you had to be there, and my explanation really does not help you picture it, but just imagine that there were dogs running everywhere and playing (just like little kids do at family functions). All-in-all, the potluck was great, and I hope Becca enjoyed her birthday!
Friday night, we headed to the Kettlehouse for a small social gathering...which then turned into a much longer social gathering that we were not anticipating. However, we only live once. We went to the Old Post, where we enjoyed a platter of goat cheese dip (amazing). Did I mention how wonderful the food is here??? Oh goodness. Then, we went to see a band at the Union Club, and the band was so much fun! I couldn't quite place the type of music that it was, but it seemed to be a cross between country, rock, swing, and bluegrass. We definitely danced a little bit, and I even learned some swing dance moves from Kendra. This is when I realize that I actually have no rhythm. But hey, it was fun! Becca and I rode our bikes home that night, and it is quite the obstacle to try to avoid all of Missoula's potholes in the dark. And Brrrr, was it cold! I had dressed anticipating that I was going to bike home around 8:00...and instead, it ended up being about midnight. Brr.
Saturday morning, we all headed to Glacier National Park for some sightseeing, hiking, and camping. What an adventure! Because we have our cabin up north now and my summers just seem to get so busy, I forget how much I truly enjoy camping. The drive to Glacier is about 2 1/2 hours, and it is such a beautiful ride. The highway is surrounded by mountains the entire way there, and the best part is when the car comes over a crest and overlooks Flathead Lake, which is a huge lake set in the valley of several mountains. It is amazing. Anyways, I still wasn't feeling good on the drive up, so Lindsay graciously offered to drive. Secretly, I believe she was dying to experience the power of Jenna the Jetta.
We arrived at Glacier and headed to Avalanche Campground to find a campsite. After setting up our tents, we went out for a hike to Avalanche Lake. This was quite the eventful hike. My Teva's (the shoes that I absolutely love and was so pumped to get...oh yeah, that I've only worn about four times) broke on the hike! The left back-strap pulled out of its stitches. We did some quick duct-tape surgery (Julia saved the day with her wicked outdoors skills....she worked in a wilderness therapy program for teens) and thought I had it all patched up. Well, five minutes later, the back-strap snapped again. This time, I just decided to walk without a backstrap. It was all good. Well, a few minutes later, Kendra started slowing down and looking at her foot. She had accidentally hit her foot on a rock, and all of a sudden it was the size of a grapefruit! Once again, thank goodness Julia brought her wilderness survival skills....Kendra elevated the ankle, we threw a cold water bottle on it, and also Julia tied her bandana around it for pressure. She even did these really medical tests, like feeling for ankle-pulse and circulation in the feet (there is a name for it...but yes, I forgot). Anyways, Kendra and Lindsay stayed back on the trail while Laura, Autumn, Julia, and I headed on the rest of the hike to Avalanche Lake. Poor gals! The lake was absolutely amazing, though. One end was basically a huge dam with old trees and logs piled, while the other end was crystal blue water. There were glaciers in the background with a huge waterfall tumbling down the mountain. Amazing. We headed back to meet the other gals so we could go back to the campsite. Kendra's foot was still pretty swollen, but she took every precaution and walked back slowly.
We went for dinner because of our lack of stove for camping, and definitely all were really tired from the long day of driving and hiking. After din-din, we played a wild game of Texas Hold 'Em Poker (and by wild, I mean not wild at all) and headed to bed. Unfortunately, across the street was a very "nice" group of frat-type persons that were loud and obnoxious until about 4:00 AM, who obvoiusly forgot that a campground probably has children around that have not heard many of the words and phrases they were expresssing. How lovely.
Sunday, we packed up camp and headed for the trail to Fish Lake. Hmmm. Fish Lake??? Well, we never found the sign or the trail. Instead, we did a hike to John's Lake, which was...eh, okay. We were on a horse trail with many horse "reminders" and lots of dust. Unfortunately, I found myself at the back of the group and coincidentally, with tons of dust on me. We reached John's Lake though, and it was not nearly as striking as Avalanche Lake, but it was doable. After John's Lake, we headed down to an inlet to Lake McDonald and then hiked back on the beach. We went around a gate that said "Do not block access". To us, this does not mean "Do not trespass". No, no. Simply, it means, "Do not block access." We quietly went around the sign and walked along the beach. When we stumbled upon a boarded-up cabin, we thought perhaps we were not supposed to be there, but kept trekking on. Eventually, we found some other cabins and walked up the driveways to the main road. Well, on the way out, we quietly passed signs that said, "Private Property. No Trespassing." Hmm. Well, we didn't see the signs until the way out, so we were okay. Nobody chased us with shotguns or anything, so we survived.
Anyways, we met everyone else and headed back to Missoula after grabbing lunch. On the way back along Hwy 93, the fires were really evident. The smoke was bumbling over the highway, and you could definitely see spots of smoke from the forest. We passed a huge evacuation area as well (aka a fire base, possibly?). These fires definitely take a toll on a lot of peoples' lives!
Anyways, so today was my first day of "real" class at the University of Montana. Hmm...however, it was only one class that did not start until 4:00. My counseling theory class seems like it will be a lot of fun - the professor seems great, the workload does not seem impossible, and I feel like I will learn a lot. Awesome.
We also had a chance to work on our group Fulbright grant today to toss around our ideas. We are thinking of applying for a group study/research grant, which will allow us to study a particular region for 3-12 months for research purposes. So, today just involved some brainstorming. We have no clue if we will be able to finish the application on time, much less even be able to get the grant, but it is worth a shot. We have thought up a couple ideas, which include studying youth development and possibly the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in either Ethiopia or Bhutan. We seem to have extensive contacts in both countries (through professors and the university). We will be running our ideas past our professor tomorrow, and we'll see how feasible they are!
Anyways, so that's my l-o-n-g update! Sorry for all the reading! I will be posting pictures, but will do them in a separate post, because the formatting gets goofy!
Peace & Love
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