Big Sky, Montana

A year ago I made a trip to Montana. A glorious road trip starting in West Yellowstone and ending in Great Falls. Not a long trip as the crow flies but it was a circle trip that had me flying into Idaho Falls, ID, driving to West Yellowstone, Big Sky, Bozeman, Butte, Fort Benton, and finally Great Falls, MT. It was a fun trip of exploration and sightseeing. On the day I left West Yellowstone, I drove an hour north to Big Sky. This small town is a beautiful place to visit and, during the height of summer tourism or winter skiing season, it must be a busy place. The day I visited, however, was quiet with very few people. I will admit that was a little surprised though.  It was a gorgeous afternoon, albeit a little chilly, but still beautiful weather to wander around and explore.

When I first arrived to Big Sky, I parked my car behind a little complex thinking there would be several stores to explore and that I couple spend the next couple hours exploring the town center. I was correct about being able to visit some stores and explore the town center, but it only took me about 45 minutes tops. Don’t get me wrong. The city center is beautiful. Huge mountains surrounded the town, brilliant blue skies boasted white puffy clouds. I was entranced with the gorgeous buildings all designed to look as though they were made of wood. I wandered through several stores and debated doing a wine tasting. I drifted in and out of a couple of art galleries and took in the beauty of the art. I even visited the small local grocery store to snag some road trip snacks and ended up with a new tube of delicious smelling huckleberry hand lotion.

Not ready to hunt up my next hotel and too early to get dinner yet, I decided to explore the area a bit more and took my car up the mountain, on a winding twisty road. Gorgeous views greeted me at each bend in the road. Breathtaking vistas and hikes called to me. Had I been better prepared, had it been earlier in the day, I might have answered the call to take a hike. Eventually I hit the end of the road and at the end was a massive ski lodge. I could only imagine when the ground is coated in white that it would be a very busy place. But at that moment, with the sun beginning to set, green mountains around me, and trees just beginning to show their colors I virtually had the place to myself. It was a beautiful moment and a lovely place to be. 

After a bit I climbed back into my car and headed back down the twisty roads to Big Sky town center and parked again. I decided on a small pizzeria and was lucky to snag a table by the window. I enjoyed a fabulous margarita pizza while watching the sun lower in the sky and the clouds drift across the sky. It was a quiet, relaxing, and perfect afternoon. One day, I hope to return to Big Sky. This time though, I’ll be better prepared. Those hikes are still calling my name.

Nashville, Indiana

As we move farther into fall I can't help but think back a few years to when I went on a trip to Indiana to visit a family friend. It was a wonderful trip and the experiences I had were just so much fun. When we arrived in Indiana it was early in the season so the trees were still in the midst of changing and provided a lovely tapestry of colors. Brilliant greens still held onto many trees while some had given way to autumn. There were lovely shades of orange, red, and yellow on those threes. A veritable feast for the eyes!

One day on our trip we drove down to visit Nashville, Indiana, a small picturesque town about an hour south of Indianapolis. For me, visiting this small town was much like stepping onto the set of Gilmore Girls (a favorite show of mine.) I stood on the gazebo and watched people moving about with their cameras, busily capturing memories. I remember hearing the church bells chime the hour in a singsong melody. Vivid flower pots teeming with flowers were scattered around the town square amongst the hay bales and fall decorations. Garlands of fall leaves were wrapped around light poles and graced the poles and rales of the gazebo.

I stood with my mom, who is also a fan of Gilmore Girls, and laughed with her on how we almost expected certain characters to come bustling across the center of town. Perhaps, Lorelai would go racing toward the diner for yet another cup of coffee. Maybe Rory and Lane would walk up onto the Gazebo and sit for a chat. I joked with mom that I almost expected Taylor Doose to come running up when we hovered over a plaque commemorating the first public water pump for the town.

We paused to take a picture on the gazebo, mom and I, to commemorate that moment in time. Mother and daughter, much like the show we enjoyed, relaxing, having fun in this small town that was just bursting with charm. It was such an enjoyable and memorable day. Certainly, a place that's marked on my list for another visit. Perhaps I'll go when it's off-season, find a small B&B. Who knows? Maybe I'll run into a few unique people all belonging to Nashville, Indiana.

A Snowy Flagstaff Vacation

It was getting late on New Year's Eve of 2012 and I was feeling under the weather. However, there were three things that were for certain. First, I wasn't going to bed until midnight, I was not about to miss the ball drop on television. As it was, I wasn't able to go downtown to the Pinecone drop in Flagstaff. Having a cold meant I needed to keep out of the cold. Plus I was comfy-cozy in my favorite jammies and snuggled in on the couch of my hotel room. Second, despite my cold, I wasn't about to miss out on a short mini-vacation to Flagstaff. I'd been planning this trip for a while and had been looking forward to it. I wasn't going to cancel now. Third, the temperature was dropping and despite my desire to stay warm and out of the cold, I also knew that the temp was due to drop below zero anytime now and I wanted to know what that type of cold felt like. 

At this time in my life, I'd lived in the Phoenix area my whole life. I knew what hot was like but had no idea what a negative temperature felt like. Plus my exposure to snow at that time was fairly limited so it was exciting for me to be in Flagstaff, on New Year's Eve, and getting some snow! The day had been an interesting one, I'd decided not to just lay low in my room as I'd been feeling pretty good that day. So I headed out to Sunset Crater, a spot where a dormant volcano had long ago erupted but the evidence was still quite visible. As I drove toward the visitor center I soaked up the views of snow on the mountains around Flagstaff, snapping pictures along the way.

When I pulled off the road to get to Sunset Crater I was happy to see there were no other cars on the road at the time. Normally I might have been a bit apprehensive going alone on a road like this but the road was a little icy. As I had always lived in the valley, icy roads were not something I was familiar with navigating in my car. I white-knuckled my way down the road as the tires skidded a little on the ice. Slowing to a crawl I prayed I wouldn't do any damage to the car or slide off the road. Parts of the road that had had some sun exposure were dry and easy to navigate but the parts flanked by trees, icy, snowy, and slick. And for me, a little frightening. As I reached a pull off I gladly parked my car and took a break to get some pictures and to relieve the tension in my shoulders. After a while, I began to get cold so I traded in shivering for some more tense moments along the icy road. 

I finally made it to the visitor and was absolutely enchanted by the contract of black ash from the volcanic cinder against the white snow. I walked the paved pathway around Sunset Crater and took so many pictures trying to capture the juxtaposition of white and black thrown together to create an otherworldly feel. There were a handful of people braving the cold as I was and taking in the beauty of the site. After a bit of walking around, I noticed that the clouds had completely moved in. Snow was threatening again and the wind was picking up. Temperatures were noticeably dropping and I began to shiver. It was time to head back to the hotel. I was ready for a cup of hot tea, a yummy dinner, and a hot bath.

That evening I relaxed in my hotel room, and finally cuddled into my jammies after having soaked in a hot bath and had removed any trace of tension from my drive to and from Sunset Crater. I was warm all the way to my fingertips and utterly content curled up in a blanket watching a movie on tv. I remember checking the time, it was getting late but I was so close to midnight I wasn't giving up just yet. I also noticed the temperature, it was getting really cold outside, also zero degrees. I decided that when the temperature hit -1 I would step outside quickly just to feel what minus one was like. Time continued on and I watched the time and the temperatures. Midnight came and went, I watched the ball drop on tv and the temperature finally hit the negatives. So I bundled up, put on my shoes and out the door I went. I was stunned, not by the cold but by the beauty that met me. Snow had begun to fall during the night and the blanket of white was unexpected and exciting for me. I ran back inside and grabbed my camera. Thoughts of just a quick jaunt in negative degrees were scattered by the excitement of experiencing snow as it fell. I spent the next half hour walking around, happily taking pictures of the falling snow and how it blanketed everything in view.

The next morning I woke to see a happy winter wonderland. Cars hadn't begun leaving the hotel yet so the parking lot was still pristine white. The nasty effects of an old snowfall hadn't settled in yet. No grey snow, no iciness on the pavement had occurred yet that morning. It was crisp and cold, and everything was clean and fresh. This trip to Flagstaff was wonderful and one I don't think I'll ever be able to have again, but it was an amazing trip. Definately one of a lot of firsts for me.