September 12, 2012
Usually the night before a big trip, I can't sleep worth a darn, but for whatever reason, the night before my departure, I slept like a baby. I had packed my 2 bags the night before and decided if I didn't pack it, I wouldn't need it. Packing for 6 days to some place where the weather could be 90 degrees during the day and in the 30's at night was no easy task for me. Yoga clothes and horseback riding clothes were all that were needed along with a warm coat and a bathing suit to wear while soaking my sore muscles in the hot tub. Shouldn't really be too hard to handle, but I had quite a time until I finally just said enough already.
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| Anne and I about to board the plane at Dulles headed for Denver. |
The alarm went off at 4:00am and I was up and ready to start my day. Robby kindly offered to drive me to the airport where I would meet up with Anne. We were to fly from Dulles to Denver and then switch to a much smaller plane to fly into Helena Montana. The flight was perfect and everything went according to plan. Once our plane arrived in Helena, I knew I was in store for the trip of a lifetime. The Helena Airport is so small and pretty with exposed wooden beams inside and a total of 4 gates for arrivals and departures. The people that worked there were so friendly and in less than 30 minutes we had departed the plane, claimed our baggage, picked up our rental car and were on our way. Amazing!!!! It was a beautiful evening with cool temps, clear blue skies and beautiful views.
Our first stop was at the Memorial Park where a memorial had been dedicated to the First Special Service Force from World War II, of which Anne's Grandpa Joe was a part of. In fact, Anne's first trip to Montana had been 10 years earlier when this memorial was unveiled and a special ceremony was held in which Anne's grandfather also traveled to Montana to be a part of. It was very important for Anne to show me this memorial and share this with me, and I felt very blessed to be able to see it knowing the special place that Anne's Grandpa Joe holds in her heart.
The Sanders....Our home for a night
Our next stop was the beautiful B&B called The Sanders. Our retreat at the ranch did not begin until Thursday late afternoon, so we had Wednesday night and Thursday to explore from Helena to Wolf Creek. The Sanders is an old Victorian from the late 1800's. A beautiful, restored home with cozy rooms, a front and side porch to sit and sip lemonade on and a beautiful dining room to eat a breakfast fit for a king cooked by the delightful Innkeeper, Bobbi Uecker. Bobbi's husband, Rock Ringling, comes from the infamous Ringling family, as in the Ringling Brothers Circus family. Unfortunately, with his work schedule, we were never able to meet him personally (he's not actually in the circus). We hear that the basement at The Sanders is filled with his family memorabilia that we would have loved to have seen. Maybe next year.
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| Lemonade on the side porch. A perfect way to end a day full of travel and to start my Montana adventure. |
Our room was called Beth, and it was such a cute room. The beds were so very comfy, the antiques perfectly placed and windows that propped open to let in the cool Montana air. We had a twin and a queen bed in our room. I asked if I could please have the twin since I am so use to having Robby sleeping next to me and don't sleep well when he isn't. I figured the smaller the bed, the cozier I would feel and could maybe fake my sleeping self into believing that Robby was next to me. It didn't really work, but I slept as well as could be expected.
Isn't that door just the cutest, I mean really? It was the door to our room "Beth". I just loved the old hardware on the doors and even thought I had a heck of a time with the lock on the door, I loved every little thing about our room. Another of my favorite things in our room was the picture below. I told Anne that the picture represented Robby and I in a past life, complete with our chickens, our trusty dog Beauty a couple of cows for milk and meat, a cute pudgy little baby with me in my aprons and hair tied back in a kerchief and Robby ready to go do some brush-hogging the old fashion way. I was tempted to take this print off the wall and bring it home with me, but was certain Bobbi would notice it missing, hahahaha.
Outside of our door was a lovely little friend hanging on the wall to greet us whenever we came out. We tried to think of a name for him, but I don't think we ever came up with one.. He reminded me of home and my sweet Robby.
After Anne and I had freshened up and drank our lemonades, we left to meet some friends of Anne's in downtown Helena at a restaurant called Mediterranean Grill. There I met the lovely, soft spoken Kim Schleicher who would be teaching our yoga classes at the ranch and one of her childhood friends whom had flown in from Connecticut to attend the retreat. Kim is the lucky gal who gets to call Helena home. She and Anne met years ago at a yoga retreat Anne was attending. I was so happy and felt so blessed to have finally met this beautiful spirit I had heard so much about. Anne and I showed up to the restaurant a little sooner than our friends, so we picked a table outside so we could enjoy the cool night air and the beautiful views. I was so blown away by the view, I could hardly focus on the menu.
Kim, her friend Kim and then another amazingly beautiful, super warm spirited woman by the name of Julie Rae O'Connor who is a massage therapist in Missoula, soon joined us and our wonderful evening began. We ordered wine and appetizers which we ate and drank outside and then once the temps had dropped, we moved inside for our dinner. We ordered Bisara which is very much like hummus only so much more tasty in my opinion. I have been eating hummus for over 20 years but had never had Bisara before. It is the Egyptian version made with Fava beans and seasoned with dill, mint and corriander. I must find Fava beans now so that I can start making this wonderfully tasty dip. We also ordered skewered lamb which was the most tender lamb I have ever put in my mouth. Robby is not a big fan of lamb, so any time I can get it at a Mediterranean restaurant, I do.
My wonderful Anne and my new friend Kim Schleicher.
Anne, Kim and the lovely Julie Rae O'Connor.
I cannot begin to describe how wonderful Julie Rae is. She is like 1,000 feet tall and is just so soft spoken and radiates internal happiness and peace. She has a smile as big as the Big Skies of Montana and instantly makes you feel as if you have been her friend for an eternity. When Anne told me that she would be joining us for dinner on our first night in Montana, her exact words to me were, "You just may end up making a new best friend!" and that is exactly how I felt after our few short hours together.
After dinner we all parted ways and Anne and I walked back to our sweet room at The Sanders. Kim and Kim would be staying at Kim's house in Helena and would drive up to Blacktail the next day and Anne and I would be heading to Blacktail in the morning after we had done some other amazing things. Julie Rae headed back on her way to a Massage Therapy workshop she was doing for the week and unfortunately would not be joining us at the Blacktail. And so ended my very first evening in Montana and a what a spectacular night it was.
I know I promised two days worth of posting, but I didn't realize how long winded I would be and am quite frankly exhausted from remembering everything, hahahaha. So, I will end here for the night in hopes that I haven't lost every follower I have. Tomorrow I will be back with a post about day 2 and hope someone comes back to read it:)
Until then, have a great day or night, evening or morning, depending on where you are when you are reading this. Thanks for sharing my journey with me.
XXOO
Deb
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