Winding Down Round 1 of RV Adventuring
Friday, August 5 – Got to see my friend Tom one last time since he dropped off Bess’ registration papers to us (what service … hand delivered). That guy … fuggin love him. Can’t believe we have stayed in touch this long (almost 6 years!). Then again, I knew he was an important person in my life back then and that our friendship would stand the test of time. Also, love our tea times. Sally and I get to plan our day and stay present to all the amazing things we are experiencing as well as give voice to the lessons we are learning. After tea and our usual breakfast of apples and peanut butter, we hit the road again, heading back to Southern California. Left early so that we would have the spaciousness to take our sweet time on the return drive. While driving the 70 the saying “it’s darkest before the dawn” popped in to my head. After breaking up with my ex in 2008, separating from my mom and brother and then breaking up from the last relationship, life has seemed so unbelievably painful and hard. That was a tough year and a half. Felt like it lasted forever and the few highlight moments were overshadowed with an ever present grieving and sadness. Loneliness is what I felt. Decided to stop in Moab per my good friend Richard and boy was it stunning: Red rocks and deserts everywhere. We couldn’t go in to Arches National Park because of puppy again, however we didn’t need to. We chose to find a campground along the route to Dead Horse Point State Park as the RV park in Moab was $45 a night. First one we came across on the 313 was closed and we were starting to get discouraged and cranky (it was late and we hadn’t eaten dinner). However we did find one (Horsethief Campground) and drove right on in. Campsite Host was nowhere to be found so we picked a spot, #5, and set up shop for the night. It was pretty damn dark and a wee bit scary but we figured oh well, it’s just for one night. Well, not too much later … 1:30am in the morning we were fearing for our lives. ….
Moab, UT
Sunset in Moab, UT
Saturday, August 6 – Went for a hike around our campground (Horsethief). There was a trail that looped for a mile. It was quintessential desert scenery. When we got back from our hike we did some work by using the generator for the first time. We figured it was desolate enough where we were that we wouldn’t bug anyone with the noise. Before this, we only turned it on once, but it seemed to have throttle issue. THIS time, we figured that issue out and were good to go. From there we drove on the 70 all the way to Southern Utah. Stopped at a rest stop along the 15, 30 miles from St. George, UT. While stopping for gas, Sally noticed the tires and their lack of tread. Wondering if we needed an alignment or NEW tires, we parked it for a bit until we discovered what the hell was wrong. The thought of additional costs triggered old tapes of lack of money, debt and being taken advantage of monetarily. You could say it was turning out to be a not so good day. My first instinct is usually to shut down and self-sabotage. But talking about it helps and I get to do different in order to break my pattern. I was reminded of the mantra I picked up in Reno and am choosing to have this be my current perspective: “Keep your eyes on the Prize and KEEP moving.” It’s just money after all. It comes and goes. There will be a day I have so much of it that I’ll look back on these moments and think it silly how much I stressed over it. I have a feeling that one day is pretty soon too. We called it a night at the rest stop.
Horsetheif Campground Hiking Trail, Moab UT
Sally and I hiking at Horsethief Campground, Moab, UT
On our drive through Utah
Sunday, August 7 – After hearing back from Derek, our friend and owner of Bessie Lou we decided the tires were fine and we will make it back to SoCal in okay shape. See those are the times I think “And I stressed out for NOTHING!!” We did one final dump in Hurricane, UT before heading back. I mean, common courtesy right? Give Bessie Lou back dump free and in better condition then when we first got her?? We drove all the way from Hurricane, UT to the Vegas area. Best part of the day: We were driving along the 15 just past the Vegas Strip and this big hauler truck with a bed full of cars pulls up along side of us and waves. It was a guy and a girl, young looking, in the driver and passenger seats. They pull up a second time and wave again. Well the third time (and we could tell they were intentionally trying to keep pace with us), we look over and see nothing but boobies. The girl in the passenger seat not only was flashing us, she was dancing around and playing with her boobies too! We laughed SOOOOOO HARD! We were sure if it was the fact that I was wearing a tube top and daisy dukes or Sally wearing only her bra (since it was so DAMN HOT) that may have warranted that attention. But hey, we’re not complaining. Seriously. Ha ha. Shortly after that entertaining encounter, traffic came to a near stop so we pulled over at the first gas station we saw. As we always do, we made ourselves right up home by putting our chairs outside the RV where we parked in the shade and setting up shop until the pace of traffic picked up again. Later in the evening, we got back on the road and drove until we found a rest stop just shy of Barstow to park for the night.
Sally doing one of her favorite RV activities: The Dump! Hurricane, UT
Filling the water in good ol' Bessie Lou, Hurricane, UT
Coach napping during our stop in Vegas, NV
Monday, August 8 – The next morning we drove from Barstow to Burbank. I have to admit it was the strangest feeling driving by my hometown of Pasadena (where I grew up as a kid) in the RV. It was as if I clearly saw how much I had changed and grown and it blew me away. I feel super grateful for the experiences I have had (ups AND downs) that have led me to here. We got to Burbank and parked outside of Sally’s old apartment to wait for her friend Stu who was coming by pick us up. We had been dying for a pool party and finally got one. It has been so freaking hot. The water was calling us. BIG TIME. We had a pool party at Stu’s who lives in the West LA/Hollywood area. After some laps, laying in the sun and a shower, we drove back to Burbank for dinner. We ate at Viva Campo, a Mexican restaurant near the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. Bonus was listening to a live Bluegrass Band who was ridiculously amazing! Awesome way to wind down our trip.
Tuesday, August 9 – Since we were in town, I contacted Rose (last minute of course) to see if she would be available to meet up with us and see our get up. We had breakfast with Rose Tuesday morning. Picked up food from Paty’s Diner in Burbank and ate at the park near Bess because Coach was not allowed in the patio area at Paty’s (health code violation, apparently). After breakfast we hung out in Bess for a while, chatting, brainstorming, comparing stories, the usual! It was one of the first times I was SO excited to show off my “place” … there is a feeling of pride that formed from the amazing adventure we had been on and not only survived but changed as a result of. After a couple of hours with Rose, we finally headed back to Camarillo to complete the first round of our RV adventures! We parked good ol’ Bess in the exact same spot from where we drove off merely five weeks ago. Except what was not the same was us.
Oh the Places we have been (only a fraction)
Rose and Coach ... Love at First Sight
Sneak Preview of what’s to come … Sally and I are in Austin right now for the month of August. No, Bess is not with us … we are renting rooms for the month of September. We will be back for Bess (and our Videographer) in October to go on the next round of RV adventuring. As with the first round, all we know is one or two destinations and the rest is up to the adventure gods. Will keep you all posted along the way!!
The Colorful Clouds of Colorado
Sunday, July 31 – We totally scored this morning. We just walked in to the hotel dining hall like we owned the place and had some hard-boiled eggs and fruit for breakfast (and grabbed some to go)! Thanks Best Western. Much appreciated. Today is another TLC day for ol’ Bess. We checked out the headlight and taillight situation since we have some out, changed what we could and left the things we don’t have supplies for to the professionals. Since there really is not much in Laramie for us to see or do, we drove to Loveland, CO to lube ol’ Bess up with an oil change. I had wanted to go to Fort Collins since the New Belgium Brewery is there, but Zack said they are closed Sunday and Monday. SO BUMMED! Oh well, I guess next time…Taking care of Bess is always higher up on the priority list anyhow so off to Wal-Mart we went in Loveland. (Confession Time: Sally and I are kind of loving on Wal-Mart these days, not only can you get your oil changed, but you can do your grocery shopping and even buy some clothes here and there on the cheap. There I admitted it.) We even snuck Coach in there! After the oil change was completed, we were informed that our tires needed changing as they are in pretty bad shape, so we added that to the list of RV TLC to accomplish as well. The rest of the day we tried to cool down since it was so fuggin hot and finally when the sun started going down, we found a park (Central Park) in Stapleton, close to Aurora, CO and laid out, watched the lightning show due to the storm in the distance and even got some exercises in. At one point, we were laying on the grass and looking up at the clouds which formed a huge circle in the sky of which we were in the middle and slowly changed colors from dark gray to a pinkish to a deep corral color. It was incredible to watch. Sally kept mentioning how the sky is so different in this part of the states and I am beginning to see why … it is just so expansive and it is all around you like an embrace. We capped out the evening by driving to Sally’s friend’s in Aurora and hanging out with them. Only down-side is that we were outside and the mosquitos went to town on me. I probably have easily over 25 bites (even on my face)! Do these blood suckers have no bounds??
Sally and Coach in Wal-Mart, Loveland, CO
Beautiful Bess at Bluff Lake Nature Center, Denver, CO
Clouds from Central Park, Stapleton, CO
Quality Puppy Time at the Park
Monday, August 1 – First day of August. I cannot believe it. Seems like just yesterday we were on the road but it’s been 27 days since we first pushed off from Southern California in good ol’ Bessy Lou. Unbelievable! Sally and I are REALLY working on staying present to the amazingness of our journey which is still happening and not allowing ourselves to mourn the near end of this trip. I don’t know if it’s cheating, but I’m using the Perspective of “This is not the end, only the beginning” to keep myself in check, as we plan to keep going as long as we can. Especially when the business that we are starting up is going to be amazing. In between visioning and planning for it’s launch, we did take some steps to get the tire situation rectified. Apparently for safety reasons, not all Tire stores can install tires bigger than 16”. We called around and found a Big O Tires in Aurora that will get our 19.5” tires by tomorrow morning and install them for us. That is one of those things that took major priority as we have a 1,000+ mile drive to make back to SoCal in less than a week. Since we had that taken care of, we went for a walk, processed some fears that are popping up for us in regards to continuing on our adventure and decided we get to just DO different than what we have done before. You can’t have different if you keep doing more of the same … if we want big, we can’t keep acting small. Shortly afterward my good friend Tom (who I’ve known for over six years and met while working at Clark Construction) picked Sally, myself, and the puppy up and we went to have dinner in the Aurora area. It was so good to see Tom since the last time I saw him was when I visited him in San Antonio a year and a half ago. It was also cool for Sally to meet one of my friends that I have talked about at length. Obviously they loved each other as I knew they would and we had a nice time at Sam #3 diner, especially since they allowed us to bring Coach with us while dining on the patio.
Tuesday, August 2 – Ran for a half hour with Sally and Coach this morning. Boy was it brutal. We find out later it’s because of the altitude in the Denver area. No wonder! Even when I went on my own yesterday I was definitely having a tough time of it. At least it’s the altitude and not me being out of shape! I mean, in addition to Mission Rockin Body on the Road, I have a personal mission as well of Half-Marathon in Austin this Fall! Good to know I’m not starting from scratch. Brian, one of Sally’s friends who we had been parked outside of their house, suggested going to Amy’s work (his wife) to have lunch. So cool! Amy works for Clear Channel and is involved with Research and Sales for the Denver area (eight stations total). Sally had been there before when she was with the band and had performed there, so it wasn’t new for her, but it was my first time at a radio station. I got to see some of the rooms where they air the radio shows and get a tour of the offices where the behind the scenes magic happens. After lunch, we took ol’ Bess to get her tires changed. $200 a tire (including tax and installation) for a no-name brand! Crazy how expensive this stuff is … this is one of the reasons we’ve been thinking about a truck and trailer RV for the next round of RV adventuring. When we finished with the last of the RV TLC activities, we headed to Englewood to spend some time with another one of Sally’s friends, Rachel. What an AWESOME girl. I loved her. Sally said she knew I would. She is such the gracious hostess. We had Prosecco, appetizers, wine, talked about exciting projects and business ideas and I even did a tarot reading for Rachel. We had an absolutely lovely evening. Rachel and her roommate are Burlesque dancers and so their apartment is totally girly, vintage, and decorated in classic boudoir fashion. Oh how I saw myself living in a place like this as well. My mouth was gaping open the whole time we walked around getting the tour of the place. Sally and I definitely plan to come back and hang out with Rachel next year when she showcases the art exhibit she is working on with her friend and colleague.
More amazing clouds!!
Bud Light Station at Clear Channel, Denver, CO
Wall of Photos taken by Amy at Clear Channel in Denver, CO
Wednesday, August 3 – Showered and worked at Rachel’s. Really starting to do the work for Girls Gone Moto and the steps to building and launching it. Obviously with anything you create or grow, things change and it is a natural evolution process however for both Sally and I we are learning that you just get to do the work, bit by bit, day by day. So cool to see all that is presenting itself because we are simply in motion! That evening we had dinner with Marty, his wife Kristine and their kids Emily and Erik. Kristine made an amazing vegan lasagna (thank goodness they are in the process of going Vegan since it lended itself to yummy food for us!). Such an adorable couple. It was another example for me of a loving, healthy, reciprocal relationship. Gives one hope for sure. I feel like a lot of the trip has been various physical examples of the possibilities in love, whether it be meeting cool guys that break the stereotypes in my mind or awesome couples whose relationship has not only stood the test of time but continues to blossom. After dinner we went back to Rachels’ place, met her friend Brittany and played dress up in her downstairs wardrobe room (yes, they have TWO!).
Living room, Rachel's place, Englewood, CO
The hat wall in Rachel's dressing room, Englewood, CO
More colorful clouds in Colorado
Thursday, August 4 – Another day of hanging out at Rachel’s place to shower, work, have our meals, exercise, etc. So much is opening up for us in the business area. Being on the road has exposed us to so many amazing people doing some cool ass shit in their lives. You cannot help but be changed. I know I feel like I am coming in to my own. I was sharing with Sally on our walk that the Costa Rica experience gave me the spaciousness to just be, process the things in my life and get me grounded in what I want. This RV adventuring is giving me permission to just be ME, to realize how amazing I AM, to do and see things I have always wanted to do and most importantly, a gratefulness that this is my life. While I was on my run, Rachel and Sally were masterminding and wow is our business growing in clarity and scope. We were supposed to leave Denver today to slowly make our way back to SoCal but as luck/fate/destiny would have it, the registration papers had not come yet so we got to spend more time with Rachel. It’s in those moments when you know, “that’s why it didn’t happen!” I made the ladies some dinner and we got to talk about what we want to intend for the rest of the month. This is what happens when you have dinner with a bunch of coaches. Okay not all coaches, but with Sally and I anyway. After dinner we drove to Centennial so that we could pick up the registration stickers in the morning. It was the first time during our trip that we slept at a Wal-Mart parking lot. We felt legit … like real “full timers”. We never thought we would say this but Wal-Mart rocks! They did our oil change, we’ve done our grocery shopping there and they provide a safe, lit space for RV’s to park for the night. What’s not to love??
View along my run in Englewood, CO
Sally, Rachel and I at Rachel's apartment, Englewood, CO
Oh how I love you wigs ... after our transformation!
Puppy exploring the Wal-Mart parking lot in Centennial, CO
Wide Open Spaces of Wyoming
Monday, July 25 – Zack made us homemade biscuits for breakfast. We ate them with some butter and jam, had our tea and then hit the road again. So sweet of him! Sally and I both were a bit sad to leave having had such a great weekend with Zack and his friends, yet the road was a’callin again. We stopped along the way to Yellowstone to go hiking in Gallatin National Forest, Montana, which is close to Big Sky. Obviously the name spoke to us loud and clear: Hellroaring Trailhead. Hiked to a cool roaring rapid where we parked it a bit near a bridge that went over the river. We had planned to have a business brainstorming meeting and serendipitously the time happened to be right during our hike and boy did we brainstorm big time. We came up with the perfect name for the biz AND got a lot clearer on what we are up to creating!! We had lunch in the RV after the hike and proceeded to drive to Yellowstone National Park. Checked out Gibbon Falls and took some photos of Mammoth Falls. We chose to settle for the night in the town right outside of the North Entrance to the park, Gardiner, Montana) since the Mammoth campground was full and you couldn’t park in any of the parking areas. Technically we have not slept in Wyoming yet! Before bed, we sat on top of the RV to look at the stars and check out the lightning show in the distance. AND SO EXCITING … we bought the domain name for the awesome new project that Sally and I are about to launch … Girlsgonemoto.com!
Sally and I hiking the Hellroaring Trail in the Gallatin National Forest, Montana
Sally and I at Gallatin Falls in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Mammoth Falls, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Tuesday, July 26 – Since Boiling River was closed for another week or so we took our time in the morning before heading back in to Yellowstone. We apparently needed the time as Saboteurs (the voices) started popping up about the project we are embarking on. Even though it is an extension of what we want to do, the mere fact that it is a different version of it triggered all sorts of fear. It is times like these that I am so grateful to have a coach as a travel/business partner since we can talk it out and adopt a new perspective about it, even if just to try it on for 24 hours. Once we were in Yellowstone again, we saw Beryl Spring, Cascade Springs and Old Faithful. Some vistas more beautiful than others but all simply amazing! Driving through Yellowstone also makes you realize just how tiny you are in comparison to the mass of nature all around you! Something else that happened during our day was getting the news from Aaron that his best friend’s mom passed away and that was SO heart breaking. I couldn’t help crying for his loss, his friend’s loss and all of the experiences she would be missing out on. It is inevitable that news of a death will have you reflect on your own life and question whether you are truly living it, feeling fulfilled by it, making the most of it, etc. Never more than in that moment did I feel that I am living the life I have always envisioned for myself; I would not change a single thing. I want what I have and I have what I want. There is spaciousness in my life I have very rarely experienced and I know it is because I am purposefully and diligently working on creating my ideal vision for my life on a daily basis. Such a foreign concept (this wanting what I have) but it inspires me to share that opportunity with others … give permission for the possibilities in other people’s lives. After a gorgeous drive through Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Forest, we made it to Jackson Tuesday night. Picked a spot to park close to City Park on Milward and I went for a walk with puppy before bedtime to do some late night exploring. We got a good feeling about Jackson even driving through the main boulevard in downtown.
Sally and I at Cascade Springs Overlook, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Cascade Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Grand Teton Mountains, Wyoming
Wednesday, July 27 – We went for a run in the morning around downtown and THROUGH downtown. Try running through a busy touristy city and add a big dog to the mix. It proved quite interesting. Today was mostly a work day. I went to City Park to work (which I am quickly loving as a mobile office option) while Sally did her coaching calls. We did some exercise in the park, threw the football around some and got cackled by an asshole walking by. He felt the need to yell out that we throw like girls, yet when Sally told him to come show us then how to throw like a boy (because we are obviously girls that have never learned how to throw a football properly), he just kept walking on by with his son. JERK! Oh well … can’t win them all and not everyone is a saint. We met up with Johnny late afternoon for a dip in the rushing creek. You know the saying “It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt”? Well, someone got hurt and that someone was me. Coach and Johnny’s dog Cyrus were playing, rambunctiously, and when they were running back towards the car they knocked me over from behind and I scratched up my foot. Sally took care of me once we got to Dane’s. She was saying she has a feeling she is going to have boys when she has kids so might as well get used to taking care of scrapes, cuts, etc. Probably started drinking a bit too early to numb the pain. We BBQ’d at Dane’s (Johnny’s friend who he is living with or at least in front of his house in HIS trailer). Then we headed out to Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, which consisted of shots, dancing, finally having a dance partner (Brad from Laramie) and meeting a new friend (Daniel, the guitar player from the band that played at the bar that night). We made a brief stop over at the Virginia, hearing that they had Karaoke, but since I did not have my ID I could not get in to the Virginia, but Daniel was sweet enough to stay with me and we chatted it up until everyone called it a night.
The walkways of downtown Jackson, WY
Sally and I at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, downtown Jackson, WY
Johnny, Sally and I at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, downtown Jackson, WY
Thursday, July 28 – I pretty much worked ALL day and nursed a nasty hang over (SO many shots the night before, what were we THINKING!). Had to even take a nap. We both did actually. I was going to go to a coffee shop a couple of blocks down to plug in the laptop and work, however when I walked by the Bus Shelter we were parked next to I saw they had outlets near the benches outside. Since I would rather be outside any day, I just set up shop right there. Coach and Sally kept me company on and off throughout the day. We had dinner and managed to get a walk in. We took the street near the Bus Shelter straight up to Snow King Mountain and hiked up a bit. As is our luck, we stumbled upon the coolest cemetery ever up in the mountain: totally over-grown and really creative plots of land. Were I planning to get buried when I die, that would be what it would look like. From the cemetery there were great views of Jackson, the Teton Mountains and we could even hear the county fair in the distance.
My new cuddle buddy!
Coach keeping me company at my Bus Shelter office, Jackson, WY
Friday, July 29 – Slept in as we were still trying to catch up on our sleep. Walked around downtown Jackson some more so we could be total tourists and take a picture under the antler arch park entrance. Johnny picked us up and we went for a beautiful 6-mile hike on the Cache Creek Trail in Bridger National Forest. So pretty and we had the rushing creek accompanying us during the entire hike. After our hike, Sally and I laid out on the grass near where we parked and it prompted us to do our exercises. Three sets of push-ups, sit-ups, squats, dips and calf raises. We are back on “Mission Rocking Body” since we want to get back to our Costa Rica physiques. Also funniest shit happened with plugging the RV in to the Bus Shelter. Sally got that idea a couple of days ago, that we should park the RV in front of the bus shelter and literally hook up to the outlet on the oustside of the building, yet we couldn’t work up the nerve to do it. But what with computers needing to be charged up, as well as phones, we chose to be little rebels and pull right up to the Bus Shelter and plug right on in. We duct taped the extension cord down and voila lights (Safety First, which we did get props on when we got BUSTED). Not even 45 minutes later we hear the knock on the window and knew that was the end of our endless electricity! Of course, OUR luck and the small world that it is, the police officer was from Glendora and his sister lives in South Pasadena. Of course we were chatting it up. Too crazy! Turns out in Jackson it is the city law that you cannot sleep in your vehicle. Who knew!? He was kind enough to inform us about that law and point us in the direction of the RV parking lot where we COULD sleep for the night. We had slept in the RV in the streets Tuesday and Thursday nights and had no idea! We proceeded to drive to the RV parking lot and called it a night. We were definitely giggling about that incident for a while.
Such TOURISTS! Antler Arches, downtown Jackson, WY
Cache Creek Trail, Bridger National Forest, Jackson, WY
Downtown Jackson, WY (With Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in the background)
Our stealth electricity "borrow" job!
Saturday, July 30 – Another road trip day. It’s so funny how some places we decide to stay for a day or two, others three or four and honestly there is no rhyme or reason to any of it. Sally and I truly go by how we feel, moment by moment. Today it felt like it was time for us to push off from Jackson and start the slow trek towards Colorado. At first we thought to stop we should stop in Rock Springs, which is about four hours away and felt like a good mid-way point to Laramie. However once we got to Rock Springs and realized how tiny of a town it was, we decided to keep on keepin on and drive all the way to Laramie. 384 miles. Plenty of time and space to process, day-dream, reflect and vision! During the drive, it became clear to us what the purpose of our next endeavor would be. Sally had a hit of inspiration and from there it was like a geyser of ideas erupted. It is so exciting to see how these random events on our trip (even as far back as earlier this year simply talking about our initial road trip) are coming together and forming something amazing. We got to Laramie around 8:30pm or 9:00pm and found a park to stop at for the night. Yet the park was really dark, there were people walking around and it simply did not feel right to either of us. So we decided to listen to our intuition (“It does not feel safe here”) and drive to the Best Western near the freeway exit and park in their parking lot for the evening. We thought: “Who knows? We may even get free Continental Breakfast in the morning.” Ha ha!
Driving along the 191 from Jackson to Rock Springs, WY
Driving along the 80 to Laramie, WY
BFFs in Bozeman, MT
Downtown Butte, MT
Thursday, July 21 – Drove to Butte first thing in the morning. Settled at Emma Park near downtown while working for a couple of hours. After work got done, we moseyed on over to the downtown area to explore. Butte is a small town, old mining community, a bit run down, but you can’t help imagining it back in it’s hay day when it was one of the mining capitals of the US and appreciating the rich history there. We even got to go to the Public Archives (Historic Society) since Sally’s mom is doing research on her ancestry and a lot of Sally’s grandfather’s side of the family are from Butte! Felt like I was working with Rose again doing research on some of the projects I would assist her with … Highlight of our time in Butte was some daredevil action. As our luck would have it, the Evel Knievel Days festival was going on starting the day we got in! What are the odds of that? We got to see some stunt drivers riding their motorcycles and go-karts around the Wall of Death and then witness the Canon Lady being shot straight up in the air and making a perfect landing. For some reason we had a feeling there would be some hard core rowdiness as the night progressed and we just didn’t feel safe staying in Butte, so we contacted one of our new friends (thanks to John from Hood River) and headed to Bozeman. Turned out another one of the guys John connected us with, Ben, was hanging out with Todd that night so it was a two-fer (BONUS)! Todd told us to meet them at the Eagle in downtown Bozeman on Main Street. So once we got to Bozeman we parked in front of Todd’s office near downtown, took our sweet time getting ready and made the short walk to the Eagle. Sally and I decided we would just know who Todd and Ben were although we had never met them before, so did not know what they looked like. We walked in to the Eagle and approached two guys asking them if they were our friends. We quickly found out they weren’t our friends, however it was realized that Zack went to UCSB (Sally’s alma mater) and was staying in Bozeman with his friend Tanner for the summer, so we exchanged info with the plan of hanging out at some point over the weekend. A few seconds later, we DID find Todd and Ben and had a fun evening getting to know our new buddies in Bozeman. We stayed at the Eagle till it almost closed and continued the party (see Friday, July 22!)
Wall of Death, Evel Knievel Days Fest, Butte, MT
Sally, Coach and I in Butte, MT
Friday, July 22 – Since we did not want the party to end, we grabbed some beers and headed back to the RV and Todd’s office. I stayed up until almost 4:30am hanging out with Todd. What a cool, funny, interesting guy! He is part-owner and editor of Bomb Snow Magazine. He knows John from being in the same industry. John is co-owner of Trew Gear (equipment and apparel for skiing and snow-boarding). Todd and his partner also just launched Bomb Flow Magazine to cater to the Kayaking and Water Sport industry. We talked business, listened to music, watched crazy kayaking videos and compared outlooks on life, especially since Todd has had many near-death experiences. Talk about putting things in perspective. After a couple of hours of sleep, Sally and I decided to explore downtown Bozeman and maybe finally get me a phone (yes, I had been phoneless since the Washougal River drowning incident). In the meantime, Zack had sent us a text so we met up with him at a coffee shop on Main Street. That encounter pretty much led to spending the entire weekend with him! Another amazingly cool, funny, interesting, sweetheart of a guy! Sally and I have pondered in amazement how if we walked in to the Eagle simply a couple of seconds before or after we did, we would not have met Zack. That random encounter led to what we are sure will be a long time friendship. Our Friday (with Zack in tow) looked like the following: An errand adventure day as we walked to Verizon and got me an iPhone finally (NO Sales Tax in Montana, hell yeah. Saved me over $80!). A slight rest break back at the RV and then a trip over to Stacey’s Old Faithful Bar in Gallatin Gateway after Zack picked us up. At Stacey’s we danced country and saw “Tessy Lou and The Shotgun Stars” who coincidentally were back in their home town of Bozeman for a couple of months but live in Austin (a future destination of ours). Of course, I made friends with the singer, Tess, in the restroom so that we could connect again in Austin. There was even a lightning show and slight rain to round out the evening. Such a fun day!
Todd, Sally and I outside of his office aka our parking spot
Downtown Bozeman, MT (The Eagle Bar on the corner)
Stacey's Old Faithful Bar, Gallatin Gateway, MT
Zack, Sally and I at Stacey's Bar
Saturday, July 23 – Another day of hanging out with Zack, but this time with his crew too. Sally and I went for a run around the residential streets of Bozeman and then were picked up by Zack and Vanessa to go floating down the Madison River. We basically invited ourselves because our plans with Zack were not until later for the rodeo, but when he said what he was up to, we replied with “Wait! We want to go floating too!” It was an absolutely gorgeous day and we had plenty of time (a 2 hour float) to get to know Vanessa (the wife of Zack’s buddy Tanner). AMAZING girl … a dude’s chick for sure, which Sally and I can totally relate to! At times we felt bad for Zack having to listen to three girls gabbing the whole time (although we know deep down he secretly loved it!) We spent a lot of the time on the river discussing our new business ventures: getting ideas from our new friends as well as playing with possible names for the biz. She Motos was the highest up on the list of names. After floating, we stopped at Vanessa and Tanner’s (Belgrade, MT) and got to enjoy Peach Margaritas and some showers before heading back to Bozeman. Quick pit stop at the RV to change and then off we went to the County Fair for some Rodeo action. Ben and some of his buddies joined us at the Rodeo. We saw corralling of calf, buck riding and wild cow milking. We didn’t leave until we rode the Ferris Wheel (my only request for the day), even if it was a freaking HOUR in line. But as always, the ride was totally worth the wait. There is nothing like that feeling of being on top of the world when you are on the upswing of a Ferris Wheel!
Floating the Madison River with Vanessa, Zack and Sally
Rodeo Action, Bozeman County Fair, MT
Sally and I at the Rodeo
Zack, Sally and I on the Ferris Wheel!
Sunday, July 24 – RV TLC Day. I had breakfast with Zack at the Stockyard Cafe which is a tiny diner style restaurant near a stockyard (not just a clever name) in Bozeman. Good food, cool atmosphere. We were going to take off for Yellowstone on Sunday but felt Bessie Lou needed some attention since we were half-way through our trip. We tidied up the inside, did the dump (in record time), filled water, filled air in the tires and even tried to get an oil change done but the people at Wal-Mart were too confused to know what to do with our RV (lame). We decided to walk away before we caused a scene (okay, an exaggeration but the whole incident was still frustrating). The reward for what felt like a full day of ‘work’ was swimming in the pond near Vanessa and Tanner’s place in Belgrade. I literally did two laps and it felt so freaking good. Vanessa made tacos and margaritas for us all for dinner. The night was spent doing our laundry at their place, eating fudgsicles and watching the Fighter with Zack. It was so good to be parked on a residential street again (right outside their house) since it was super quiet where they live and the sleep was so restful.
Stockyard Cafe, Bozeman, MT
License Plate I'd like to steal ... Dump Station, Belgrade, MT
Sally taking care of business, Belgrade, MT
