Shalom. It’s been a minute since I’ve updated this so bare with me as I try to recollect the events in an organized fashion.
I think last update I left you guys with my very clear happiness with the recent adventures I’ve had with Brad. So we might as well pick up there because they have only continued to get better. For those of you that know me really well you know how much I freak out over life sometimes, Brad is the same way – we basically just spend our time freaking out over how awesome everything in this world is. Pretty excellent. He’s on his way to Billings right now and just texted me about how awesome the clouds are…that kind of thing. SAME PAGE.
The first weekend in June I went back to Bozeman. Just always assume I’m going back to Bozeman. For those unfamiliar, it’s in the more western part of Montana and has WAY more going on as far as scenery and outdoor activities go than Billings does. I love going there and the town is in the middle of a bowl of mountains. Literally anywhere you look there is a mountain range. It’s great.
Anyway, so I went back to Bozeman. Saturday night Brad and I went to a cute little restaurant in town and then just hung out. He had worked all day and I had worked the night before. Sunday morning we got up and headed to Wade Lake. I put pictures up on instagram. The water was INSANE. The lake was formed by an earthquake. The different colors of the water were unreal as you could see by my photos. Though photos never do anything justice. We paddle boarded around the lake and then posted up on a nice little grassy area next to the lake. Per usual we listened to solid music, ate some treats and had a few brews. We also were incredibly entertained by all the fisherman. It was a gorgeous day. We were going to head back and meet some people for dinner but it was too nice out so we decided to keep going. This is becoming our theme.
We ended up stopping at Beartrap trail. It’s a really pretty trail that runs right along a river. We hiked along this for awhile and then decided to turn around and do a trail run on the way out. We were trying to make it out of the trail to catch the sunset on the mountains. My knee bummed out so we missed the sunset but did manage to make it out with a nice wildflower bouquet 🙂
Last weekend I hopped on a plane to Chicago for a few days. Myself and a few other girls headed to Michigan for a nice little lakehouse weekend to celebrate a belated bachelorette for Mandy. We did a quick winery stop on Friday night and then headed down to the beach to catch the sunset. Saturday we spent the day at Round Barn. Really cool venue with great outdoor space. The weather wasn’t the best but it managed to stay fairly warm and dry the whole time. There were multiple blues bands playing all day! We did a tasting and then headed outside and just enjoyed the day and the music. We went out that evening for a nice dinner and ate basically the entire menu and came back to the house to have some drinks and play a few games! Sunday morning we went to breakfast and then did some quick antique shopping before heading home. It was such a nice weekend and so nice to get some time with my bests!! Sunday and Monday I relaxed at home and spent a few days with my parents and was able to visit my grandma briefly. All around nice to see everyone for a short while!
Tuesday morning I flew back into Bozeman. I went right from the airport to the “M” trail. The weather in Chicago/Michigan had been SO grey and gloomy. So when I landed here and it was perfectly sunny and about 70 degrees I couldn’t pass up the chance to soak some of that up! I really enjoy that trail, it’s such a pretty little hike. Tuesday night Brad and I went and grabbed a drink on one of the rooftop patios in town and then went out for sushi! I was pretty skeptical of sushi in Montana but this place was actually really good. I believe it was called Dave’s sushi. The restaurant was so cute too!
Wednesday morning we got up and had breakfast and then headed out for a hike. Brad said he wanted to take me to one of the peaks in the Bridger Mountains but he wasn’t sure how much snow was up there. I have no idea what I’m doing, as always with this stuff so I said ok and trusted his judgement. Turns out there was a decent amount of snow. Gorgeous day for a hike but there was quite a bit of hiking up (and eventually down…just wait for that story) snow.
Shortly after starting the hike I think I was experiencing a bit of altitude sickness. I felt like I was on the verge of puking basically the entire climb up. Brad told me he used to do that climb in 25 minutes awhile back. Meanwhile it took me a few hours and I was STRUGGLING. Between being nauseous and not being used to the altitude as far as oxygen goes there were a few times when I almost said screw it. Turns out, I’m stubborn and competitive so I managed to make it to the peak. In hindsight, I am very happy I pushed through but there were some not so fun moments. The day was super clear though so we could see so many different mountain ranges from up there! On the way up we also hung out with a mountain goat, we named him Gary. It was so funny how unafraid of us he was. And he was SO FLUFFY!
On the way down from the peak we ran into two mountain bikers who were carrying their bikes and all it’s contents on their back up to the top. WHAT. Brad was telling me that’s how extreme people are with their activities around here. Absolutely not.
So we got down to the “saddle” where we had crossed over. This was the part with a ton of snow that we had hiked through on the way up. To make the descent a little easier Brad was telling me how to slide down on my butt. I can’t remember the term for this despite me asking him a million times. So anyway, he wrapped a jacket around my butt and I sat down feet first because, if I had done this right, my feet would have been able to guide me. Also keep in mind this is not a bunny hill…this was the entire face of part of a mountain. It seemed like quite a long distance at the time anyway. So I start sliding down and pretty much immediately lose control and spin backwards on my back so I am now flying down headfirst with zero control. It was pretty scary. I switched myself back around to feet first and tried to put them down to stop myself but they just kept sliding over the snow. I then tried to stop myself with my hands but I was going too fast. I somehow eventually stopped myself towards the bottom and made it without crashing into a rock. Escaped with some scratches and bruises and what looks like roadrash but things could have been much worse. Let’s just say from that point on I was not the happiest human ever. I kept slipping on the snow the remainder of the way down, my hands and arms up to my elbow were numb and I was tired. I’ll post a photo below of the look I was giving Brad as we were climbing down. Not amused. Bless his soul though, he managed to stay upbeat and make me laugh through the end of the hike and also deal with me being extremely moody at this point.
After the hike we went to this super small town to a tiny bar called The Bank Bar. The town looked straight out of an old school western movie. Loved it. The beer helped heal the wounds a bit. After that we went to MAP brewery back in Bozeman and sat on the lawn, stared at the mountains and enjoyed the night before going to watch the sunset at a different park.
Again, another awesome adventure. Brad said we could scale it back next time but I told him to always push me a little because I’m always happy in what I accomplish and am able to do it even if I am doubting myself at the time. I also told him I want to keep doing things like that because the more I do that the more I’ll learn and be comfortable in those situations.
I meant to post this days ago but between work and all the adaventuring I have yet to finish. So one more adventure to add. My friend Amanda and I went and hiked Mystic Lake on Monday. It was fairly rainy with threat of thunderstorms but luckily we were both still interested in going! Plus, neither of us have been backpacking before and we both have new rain gear for hiking and wanted to test it out :). Turns out it only rained for about 15 minutes but we both stayed dry!! Honestly the rain and the clouds made the hike beautiful. The low clouds were soooo pretty weaving their way between the mountains. Per usual pictures don’t really do it justice but it was a really nice hike!!
This weekend Casey and I are going back to Red Lodge to hike on Friday and then we are camping outside one of our friend’s cabins and then completing the Beartooth Highway drive on Saturday. Then I’m heading back to Bozeman for Saturday and Sunday…obviously. Enjoy the photos below. Until next time!
Cheers.
