The Morning Started Like This.....

Have you ever had those days,
where you just knew,
it was going to be perfect?

Last Wednesday
was one of those days.

I meant to write
about it sooner,
but just never got
around to it.

So here is how it went.

I woke up feeling good,
which was a nice change.

Driving to work
the sunrise was so beautiful,
I knew my mom was in
that sunrise telling me
she loved me and
to have a great day.

Listening to Mumford and Sons
on my IPod in the car,
the song Roll Away Your Stone
came on and as odd as this sounds,
the trucks crossing on the over pass,
looked as if they were driving to the beat of the song.
(you really had to be there for that one, I know it sounds weird,
but it made me smile)

And at another perfect moment in a song,
I looked up and four geese were flying overhead.
They too seemed to be a sign for me.

After all of these signs,
an incredible feeling of well being
came over me.
Ever since that Wednesday,
a week ago,
I have had such a peace within me.

Life just seems a little sweeter,
dreams seem a little more real,
and worries seem a little less worrisome.

I hope all of you have moments like this
when the powers that be
let you know you are not alone.
Someone is watching out and over you.

Here's wishing you all a very lovely weekend
filled with love and happiness.

Busco's Joy......Spelunker by day, Country Line Dancer by night

Saturday, September 15, 2012

After another peaceful, restful night, it was time to start another day's worth of adventures.  Today's agenda would include the usual morning Yoga, breakfast and trail riding, lunch and then a wonderful trip to the on site cave.  The evening would wind up the day with dinner and then, a Gal's Night Out in the wild and crazy town of Wolf Creek.  I had to make sure I ate well at all 3 of my meals so that my energy level would stay up for such an action packed day. Not difficult to do when you have an amazing kitchen staff preparing fabulous meals for you all day.

This lifestyle was certainly something I could get use to.  Waking up early, walking to a beautiful location as the sun rises to do an hour of yoga, returning for a nourishing breakfast and then spending a few hours on horseback looking at Mother Nature's incredible creations is pretty much a perfect life.  Being able to do this all in the presence of 15 or so amazing women, who all had their own stories to tell, their full lives waiting back home for them, their hearts open to what they would discover about themselves and others on this trip was far greater of an experience than even I could have dreamt it would be.  Everyday of this trip was making me feel so much better and thankful for my life that I have been given.  And that includes all the ugliness that my life has had in it, the sorrow, the hard learned lessons and the setbacks, but most of all, for all the blessings I have had and continue to have every single day.  I had told Anne early in the trip that I was no longer looking inward anymore.  I have spent years looking inside of me to see what needed fixing and changing, but I am done doing that.  I finally realized that when all you are ever doing is looking inward, you forget to ever look up and see all that is right in front of you.  You start to get sucked into yourself and after a while, you forget how to LIVE your life, but are only looking back on what could  have, should have, would have been.  That is such a downer.  I am over that.  I want to experience and be present for everything my life has to offer and not miss a drop of it.  And this is why, every time Anne asked how I was doing, I could still not really answer with a word, just a huge, crow's feet inducing SMILE. 

Okay, now back to my adventures. 

 

This morning I was given a horse to ride by the name of Lucy.  She was a sweet gal, even though around the Ranch she was known as a Plug.  I found out that meant she liked to take her time and would never dream of giving me a hard time.  Well, she may have been a "plug" but she was perfect for me and she had some pep in her step after all.  It was a gorgeous morning once again and we headed out and up.  The view were amazing. (shocking, I know)

 

 

 

Along the way, we past Tag's "art gallery", a little garden of his sculptures.  It was really just to cute seeing all these little creations hanging out together.  I just loved them, he is so talented.

 

 

 

 

After we returned and had lunch.  It was time to go Spelunking.  At the ranch, there is a cave known as the Blacktail Cave.  It has been the site of many archaeological digs and has had amazing artifacts found inside.  The remains of a Saber Tooth Tiger, a Musk Ox and Buffalo just to name a few.  Plus the walls have pictographs from the ancient Indians inside.  An alter was also discovered that had a buffalo skull at it's base.  This was clearly a place of great importance at one time and I felt honored to be able to go inside and be a part of it.  There are lights for 5 miles inside of the cave that Tag had put in, we did not go 5 miles into the cave, but we did turn all the lights off and sat in complete and total darkness for a good bit.  It was the most peaceful and serene feeling and a time of un-natural clarity for me.  This coming from a person who is totally and completely terrified of the dark.  It was an experience I will never forget for as long as I live.  My flash was not working on my camera, so I have no pictures of the inside of the cave, but I do have this one of me cheesing it up before I went inside.  If you look closely, you can see one of the pictographs to the right of me, on the inside of the cave.

 

 

On our way back to the ranch, we asked Dan to take us to the Sun Wheel so that we could see it.  A sun wheel was made by the Indians to mark the seasons and used to mark both the rising and the setting of the sun on the summer solstice.  Although we were not up high, looking down on the wheel, it was clear where it was and many of the stones are still in alignment.  The cave, the sun wheel, and the Buffalo Woman's grave, are all aligned in a straight line if you were to view them from above.  AMAZING how the Indians were able to do all of this.

 

Not sure if you can see it, but there is a little chipmunk sitting on one of the stones above. 

 

Me standing on the perimeter of the Sun Wheel.  I wish I could have taken an aerial view somehow to show you the wheel.

 

Dan also stopped and asked us if we had ever heard of Fan Wheat before.  None of us in the truck with him had, so he got out, picked some and let us taste it.  It is the seed head to a plant known as Fan Wheat.  They taste a lot like poppy seeds but have a bit of a kick to them.  I really liked them and could totally see them on top of a muffin or baked in bread.

 



The plant has a red flower on it in the summer and then the little seed heads above are left behind.  When you open them up, you get the "wheat". 

 

Our day was coming to an end, and it was time to get some dinner and then get cleaned up for our Gal's Night Out.  It was Tag's 83rd birthday but we had given him his cake the night before, so his wife Sandy was taking us out for a "girls only" night out on the town.  I am sure Tag would have much preferred to come with us instead of being left behind, but........

 

We had no idea what we were in store for.  We had all driven through the bustling town of Wolf Creek when we came to the Ranch, so we were perfectly aware of all the places there were to go hang out at on a Saturday night.  There are none.  But, our clever hostess Sandy, she knows this man who just happens to own a little bar down a long dirt road that just happens to also have Karaoke.  WHO KNEW!!!!!    With a farewell and a kiss goodbye to Tag, we all piled into a few cars and headed on down the road to Wolf Creek.  Next thing we knew, a bar with a neon sign saying OPEN, appeared out of nowhere.  We had arrived at the 7R's.  I can't tell you much about what went on inside because that would be breaking "girl code".  But let's just say, we chased every local person out of that place, except the employees.  There was an adorable older couple there, guessing in their 70's, that could dance like no other couple I have ever seen.  They were so adorable and I was lucky enough that the sweet gentleman of that couple, took me for a spin on the dance floor.  He and his partner were two stepping and doing all kinds of other wonderful dances and I told him I was not good at dancing with a partner, I am strictly a one man show.  But he promised me he could lead me and I would be just fine.  And you know what, he was right!!!!  I can't remember what he called the dance we were doing, but he said, all I had to was remember to rock, rock, step, and I would be fine.  Next thing I knew, we were doing spins and all kinds of wonderful dance moves.  I had so much fun and was so thankful I didn't turn him down.  They stayed until about 9:30 and then they went home.  We had the joint to ourselves from then on.

 

 

It only seemed fitting that the beer I would drink would be called Moose Drool.  Where else but in the West would you find a beer like that?  And, it is brewed right in Missoula.

 

 

And don't forget that the best cure for a hangover after drinking Moose Drool, is a good hearty breakfast complete with Local Ranch Eggs that you pick up at the exact bar that made you hungover in the first place!!!!  Gotta love a bar that looks after the well being of their customers like that.

 

 

And no Karaoke bar is worth it's weight in gold, unless you have accompanying guitar players.  The owner of the 7R's is on the left.  I think he was really, really happy to see 4 car loads of women pull up to his establishment that night.  After he listened to us sang for 3 hours, I am not so sure he was so happy though. 

One thing I have always wanted to do was dance on top of a bar, like in the movie Coyote Ugly.  Well, something about this place just made me and my friend Carolyn want to get on the bar and dance.  So.........we did.  We did ask permission first because Sandy is friends with the owner and we didn't want to get her in trouble.  Our sweet little owner said he just didn't want us to fall off and hurt ourselves, but we were more than welcome to dance on the bar.

These pictures aren't so good because we were in constant motion and the person that took the photos had been constantly drinking since arriving at the 7 R's.  But, you get the idea at least.

 

 

Carolyn and I had so much fun.  We danced to Alan Jackson's song Itty Bitty.  Yeah, we looked pretty stupid, of that I am sure, but hey, we can check that one off of our bucket list and move on now!!!

 

It was getting late and we had a big ride the next morning, our final day.  So we gathered our things, told our lovely servers goodbye and headed back for the Ranch.  But on the way out, we noticed that the 7R's was already planning for the Holiday season.  So for all of you locals in Montana, don't forget to call early to make your Christmas Celebration plans at the 7R's Bar.  Yall come back now ya hear?

 

 





Busco's Joy....Still on our way to Blacktail



 



Let me start by apologizing if at any point this post makes no sense.  I am home from work due to an allergic reaction and the meds I am taking make me a little groggy, but I have nothing to do and am bored, so thought I would try getting another post up on my trip.  Ready?  Here we go........

So, last time i wrote, we had finished our lovely trip to Feathered Pipe and were ready to carry on.  Anne and I were starving and really wanted something good for lunch.  We had passed this sign on our way to Feathered Pipe and thought it might be a fun place to check out.

Well, let me tell you, we were so happy that we decided to check out this little gem.  It just might be as authentic Mexican as the Taco Truck in Harrisonburg, Virginia, not far from where I live.  We just couldn't help but be drawn in by the handmade signs and the pretty pink and salmon colored stucco building.  Not to mention the picnic tables with an upholstered chair at the helm.

Anne looking lovely while awaiting our food.

 

We had to knock on the window and door several times before someone finally came, but then we were greeted by the one and only Louie.  The namesake and owner himself, and as he says, "a one man show."  Louie was quick to tell us that although he normally had 4 meats to choose from...shredded beef, ground beef, shredded chicken and pork, today he only had two, ground beef and shredded chicken, because, as he said, he is only a one man show and hadn't had enough time to get the other meats cooked.  Anne and I asked what the best thing he had was and he said his burritos were a huge hit.  So, we each ordered a shredded chicken burrito with the works.  He also advertised Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs which didn't seem very authentic Mexican to us so we passed.  We later were to find out that these were the most amazing hot dogs around and that they truly were a Mexican treat.  They apparently are a special type of hot dog served on a special type of bread.  Oh well, there is always next year ;)

 

Louie also had one of my favorite drinks which I had learned to love years ago on a trip to Belize with my bestest friend Karin, Tamarind Juice.  So, of course i had to order one of these too because in Belize, Tamarind helped to keep my insides happy and regular and I was already having a problem with this and we were only two days into our trip.  Unfortunately, it didn't have the same affect on me in Montana as it did in Belize, but I really won't bore you with the details:)   Anne and I picked our picnic table of choice and sat and waited for our food to be ready.  We were the only ones there at the time, but while we sat there, a solider from Fort Harrison dropped by to order food to take back to base and a handful of power company workers dropped in.  Not sure if they normally come there or just wanted to check out the pretty blond who was sitting at the picnic table at LOUIE'S.   But, they did order food too, so I am sure Louie was happy.

 

Soon, our food was ready and boy, were we happily surprised.  This was without a doubt, the freshest most tasty burrito I had ever had.  I am not sure what type of sauce Louie makes to put on his food, but it is sooooooo good.  A little kick to it and super fresh.  Anne and I were in heaven and very full when we were done.

 

I wish I could reach through the screen and eat this again.

 

Louie was such a sweetie, and at one point poked his head out of his little window to tell me that if I wanted a photo of an authentic Mexican, he would be happy to pose for me.  How cute is that?  I could not pass up such and offer and had wanted him to actually come outside so Anne could take a picture of me and Louie together, but he got too busy and wasn't able to come out.  I did however get him to poke his head out after taking another customers order and he smiled a big ole smile and waved.  Isn't he just the most adorable man ever?

 



My buddy Louie.



 

The Archie Bray Foundation



 









We said adios to Louie and told him we would see him again whenever we got back to Montana.  Our next stop was going to the Archie Bray Foundation.  The Archie Bray is an amazing educational institute for artists who work in ceramics.  It was founded in 1951 by Archie Bray who was a brick maker.  It is on the site of a brick factory that was known as the Western Clay Manufacturing Company and was a working brick factory from 1905 until 1961.  There are still remainders of the buildings that were a part of the original brick factory.  Walking through was sort of like walking through a ghost town, however, the Archie Bray is very much a living, breathing place. 

 

Pieces of pottery and ceramics lie scattered everywhere outside.  A sign explains that these are all castoffs and mistakes by the resident artists, but I would have gladly taken any and all of it back home with me.  The sign clearly states that you are not allowed to remove any of the pieces, as they themselves have made their own gallery among the grounds.  One of my favorites was this one which featured 3 people having tea surrounded by chickens and a dog.  I just about went nuts over this one.  It reminded me of 3 of my boys sitting outside with the chickens doing some chicken therapy.  I told Anne, if I could have fit that on the plane, I would have begged and pleaded to have been able to buy all of the pieces and brought them home for my yard.  Another little bit of chicken love in my life.

 



If you look closely, you will see a dog sitting next to the guy on the far left.

A black lab just like my Beauty!!!!

 

 A cup of bird tea anyone?

 

Looks like my Penny girl.



 





 

I know most of you may think this is total crap, but I just loved it!!!!!  It just so perfectly captured the essence of my home and boys.  Below are a few more pictures I took of the property including pictures inside of the Potter's Shrine, a bust of Archie Bray sculpted by Rudy Autio in 1952 and the shrine itself is constructed of a variety of different bricks which were produced at the Western Clay Manufacturing Company. 

 Remainders of one of the Beehive Kilns used to bake bricks.

How can an artist not be inspired by these types of views surrounding you.

 

We bid goodbye to the Archie Bray and I felt so thankful to have been able to visit a place filled with such amazingly talented artist and such a wonderful history.  Montana so far was reaching inside of me and touching all of the special places that make up my sprititual self and my creative self.  The only thing left was to become a part of what would speak to the nature lover in me.  Not that the amazing scenery I had already experienced was not touching that part of me, but I was ready to be immersed in it for the next 4 days.  We had one more quick stop back in Helena to stock up on chocolate bars from the General Mercantile and a quick stop back int the Holter Art Museum for me to pick up my birds I had to have.  Seemed perfectly fitting to be buying some art made of clay after having experienced the Archie Bray.  Now to find just the right home for my love birds:)

 

 

The piece of  "beaver wood" that these two beauties perch on.

It will hang on the wall once I find the perfect spot.

 

The name of the artist who made these lovelies is Cathy Weber.  I just loved her work.  Here is a picture of the card explaining her work, but if you click on the link above, you can learn so much more and see her amazing work.

 

 



At last we were on the road and on our way to the Blacktail Ranch.

 

But of course, I had to make Anne veer off course once more as we approached the Gates Of The Mountains.  Seeing a body of water seemed so foreign in Montana, so of course I had to ask Anne about the body of water that was too our left on the highway.



During Lewis and Clark's expedition in 1805, on a sultry July evening on the Missouri River, they came across a magical spot on the river where it looked as if the limestone cliffs may tumble down on them.  But rather than tumble down, the cliffs which seemed at first to block passage with each turn in the river, appeared to be opening up as they approached closer.  Hence, Meriwether Lewis declared them the "Gates of the Mountains."  We pulled down to the marina where I snapped some more pictures and talked of maybe stopping back on Sunday to take the boat tour.  But as it turned out, we didn't have time.  So I am so happy we made the short detour so I could see even more of the natural beauty that is Montana.  Someday, Robby and I will make that boat tour ourselves.

Okay, so back onto the yellow brick road to OZ.  We did not have much further to go and before I knew it, this is what we approached.

OMG, is it possible?  Have we really finally arrived to our destination?  Yes indeed we had.  On top of the mailbox is a scultpture of an eagle that is made out of old horeshoes.  I would come to find out that many sculptures like this were everywhere on the ranch.  Tag, the owner, made all of these lovely sculptures out of metal and thousands of old horseshoes I presume are from the horses on the ranch.  Such a cute little touch.  I took this picture on my phone and sent it to my dad so he would know we had arrived safely.  So glad Anne was driving because I would have blown right past this turn.  It was just such a simple entrance to such an amazing place, I would have never noticed it with all the other scenery to look at.  We drove a few miles down the driveway, and then the real entrance came into view.

 

I sighed a huge sigh and could not believe after all the other amazing things I seen in the past day and a half, that I was finally arriving to the Blacktail Ranch.  It was every bit as beautiful as I had dreamed it would be, if not more.  I can't tell you how many times I thanked Anne for making me come on this trip with her. 

Driving into the ranch. 

A field plowed and waiting to be planted reminds me of home.

 

 Immediately after getting out of the car,

Anne takes me up to where we will be practicing yoga.

Do I look a little happy or what?

 

A few steps to the left of where the other picture was taken,

Anne takes a picture of me with the Continental Divide behind me.

One of these days, I will do the 3 Day Loop on horseback

and see it up close and in person.



 









The rest of the evening was spent checking in and meeting the other ladies that had come for the journey.  We ate dinner, learned of our schedule for the next 3 days, drank some wine then Anne and I called it a night and headed to bed at 8:30.  I know, we are hardcore right?  Well, we were still on our East Coast time and had had a very full day.  We opened our windows in our room and breathed in the cool Montana air as our minds drifted off to sleep.

I end here with a photo of Anne and I.  The next posts will be full of pictures taken on horseback and probably less words.  Some things words just can't describe as you will soon see.