Traveling the Big Sky Country

I recently returned to my home state of Montana for a book tour, to visit old friends and family, and to drink in the beauty that is “Big Sky country. My sister-in-law (Thelma, or Louise, depending on who’s addressing whom) traveled with me.

We even had a taste of SNOW as we traveled from Great Falls to Helena:

 

A display of a one-room schoolhouse at Ft. Missoula brought back memories of my grade school days:

Stopped in at the C. M. Russell Museum in Great Falls:

Signed books in Helena, where the state’s governor bought a copy of Cowgirl Up! for his daughter.

Another signing at the Miles City Saddlery:

Visited the tiny (pop, 14, plus 2 seasonal) town of Ingomar, near where my grandparents ranched in the ’40s and ’50s. It’s main business is the Jersey Lilly Saloon and Cafe:

And the “conveniences” are located out back:

All in all, a fun trip and a total of 5,000 miles of driving! I’ll be posting more on my travels later.

What is the scariest thing that has happened to you?

I’m participating in a round-robin blog this week about scary things. Please also visit the other participants listed at the end of this post.
We all have had heart-pounding, stomach-clenching moments that live permanently in our memories. In the past, I’ve only had a few  scary experiences.

• Perched at the top of a black diamond ski run, thinking I should’ve stuck to the bunny hill.
• Climbing to the top of a 75-foot platform at the water slide park and looking down at that nearly vertical drop. Can I just climb back down?
• Performing a piano solo at a music competition. Why didn’t I practice more? What if I forget the notes?
• Giving a talk in front of a large crowd. What if I sound stupid?

All these instances created that flight-or-fight, adrenaline-producing, momentary fear response. But each of these experiences turned into something thrilling, something I would do again. I learned from each scary moment

Now I face the scariest experience of all. My husband—best friend and soul-mate—of 40+ years is gone, and I’m facing life at the top of another one of those seemingly impossible peaks. Do I have the courage, the strength, the stick-to-itiveness it takes to pass through grief and recreate my life without him?

Those scary experiences that now seem so mundane did teach me that I could pause, take a deep breath, and call on some deep inner strength. I learned I had the courage to do it, that I could live through it, and that I came out the other side stronger than I was before.

I hold on to that thought, and it doesn’t seem as scary.

 

Now, please visit the following participants and see what scares them!

Skye Taylor  http://www.skye-writer.com/
Anne Stenhouse  http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com/
A.J. Maguire  http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Rachael Kosnski http://the-doodling-booktease.tumblr.com/
Margaret Fieland http://www.margaretfieland.com/blog1/
Geeta Kakade http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Victoria Chatham http://victoriachatham.webs.com/
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/
Ginger Simpson http://mizging.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://www.rhobinleecourtright.com/