Missoula* you! (*Miss all 'a you)

Oh Sundance, what a place! I woke up this morning before Jay and decided to go into town to find a coffee shop, and partially because I felt the need to see the town center in daylight. Now, I would consider myself a connoisseur of coffee shops. You see, when nursing school expects you to spend 73% of the your college career studying, and the other 27% stressing about it, you tend to need a change of scenery from the Halle library -- hence how Atomic Cafe and Starbucks stayed in business the past 4 years. Anyways, I came across the Wild West Cafe, and I fell in love! The atmosphere certainly attracted me to explore it further and the snickerdoodle coffee didn’t last long in my cup, need I say more? So, the whole point of staying in Sundance revolved around the fact we wanted to see Devils Tower. I took the wheel today which also meant I got to listen to whatever folking music I wanted to! I put on the Tallest Man on Earth, rolled down the windows, and soaked in the breathtaking views of Wyoming’s countryside… all while managing to stay on the winding and steep road. As we crept closer to Devils Tower, its shear beauty overtook me. This complicated things, so I made a wise decision -- pull over at the scenic outlook. You see, when faced with such a phenomenon of nature, how can you honestly keep driving without the potential of driving off the road? This moment reminds me of last summer, about this time actually, when my Dad and I visited the Grand Canyon. Then, I had an advantage because he drove, and as we approached the Grand Canyon I covered my eyes, refusing to look until I could take it in fully. You see, I couldn’t adopt that method when behind the steering wheel so I am proud to made a responsible choice. After taking a few dozen pictures, we made our way to the park entrance. We came across the “climber registration” hut once we parked and we both laughed as we joked that the difficultly level probably surpasses Carabiners (where we indoor rock climb back home). I overheard that one climber reached the summit in 18 minutes -- the route to the top inches close to 1 mile -- incredible! The more sane climber, on the other hand, takes about 2 to 6 hours, far more realistic. These climbers also use modern technology, unlike the first person who climbed it and created a very tall ladder -- fit that on your ladder rack. We took the Tower Trail around the base, about 1.5 miles. Each time I looked up, and nearly tripped over the oddly placed pedestrian speed bumps on the paved trail, I couldn’t help but think how incredible it must be to look out from the top of the tower. Maybe one day I’ll climb it! Along the trail, I found the punny sign of the day! The title “All cracked up” prefaced a description of how the cracks in the rocks form. So after spending some time in awe of such an incredible national monument, we headed back on the road. Update on the terrain: far more mountainous and hilly. We could see silhouettes of some mountain range in the distance and this perked me up. Don’t get me wrong, love seeing cows and horses amongst the fields of corn and sunflowers, but it gets boring after 1,500 miles. I also am slightly addicted to mountains so whenever I come across more than a 2,000 elevation erupting from the ground...it’s a big deal. Nothing too terribly out of the ordinary occurred during the drive through Wyoming. I did declare Wyoming my favorite state so far. I think the mixture of people, scenery, and the introduction to the small town lifestyle won me over. Eventually we crossed the border into Montana and it welcomed us with lightning storms. It began when we took a bathroom break just over the border at Garryowen, which has a free museum about the Custer Battlefield, a subway, and gas station -- all in one place. The sky quickly darkened and the impended storm gave me minor heart palpitations. Again, my only concern -- Celeste. All day I thought about how excited I am to explore Pomeroy and the surrounding area by bike. My mind kept wandering into the thought of biking across country. I know what you’re thinking, “Wow, she’s crazier than I thought!” But hey, you only live once and the world looks completely different in the saddle (aka that seat that looks seriously uncomfortable, but manageable if you get those stylish spandex with padded shorts). So I couldn’t bear to think if she got struck and I couldn’t ride. Now, as we traveled further into Montana I relapsed on nature. The sky here is unlike any New England sky I’ve ever seen. The clouds swooped down to a point where I contemplated whether I could reach. However, between the clouds and patches of sun, I saw it. The biggest mountain EVER. It made Franconia Notch look like an ant hill. I couldn’t stop starring, and I could feel my facial muscles change tempo from slightly excited to ecstatic -- love at first sight. Thank God I stopped driving! When I rolled down my window to take a picture, though, I noticed something. It smells weird. I inhaled a mix between burnt trees, freshly mowed hay fields, and... fresh air? And this smell did not confine itself to just that one point. We stopped in this seriously awesome town called Livingston (which I really want to come back to one day), and I smelt it again. We went to a great mexican restaurant called Fiesta en Jalisco. I ordered a vegetarian burrito that literally was the length of my forearm. Needless to say, I couldn’t finish it and I still had a food baby. On the highway we saw a familiar license plate too, New Hampshire! Jay made sure he reminded her she hadn’t fully escaped massholes. After dinner we continued driving through Montana and the stormy weather continued. Let me tell you, lightning storms in the middle of nowhere that has nothing but darkness and valleys is, uh, scary, but actually really cool. I must say, I have been surprised by the clusters of civilization Montana has. It has been some time since we’ve seen city life and Billings and Butte brought it refreshed us with plenty of lights and Walmarts. We reached Missoula around 1am, apparently the time the bars get out around here. It feels like those weekend nights at Endicott all the noises, but I’m sure thats partly due to University of Montana right down the street. Almost there!