Memories, Observations and Lessons learned from a year in Montana (and the journey there and back again)

1.     2000 miles is a long drive.

2.     It’s longer when you have two dogs and a cat, with said cat howling in your ear for the first hour of every day on the road.

3.     It’s better to drive less and take longer to get there.

4.     Montana is a lot like West Texas, with bigger mountains, way more snow and fewer pickup trucks.

5.     The Rocky Mountains are majestic, magnificent,breathtaking and beautiful.

6.     The Missouri River is the longest river in North America.

7.     I still don’t like driving in the snow; that will never change.

8.     Elk are huge.

9.     Bighorn sheep hang off the side of a cliff like a sparrow on a branch.

10.  You have to really pay attention if you are ever going to see a Bighorn whilst traveling from Missoula to Great Falls. I was, and I did.

11.  There is nothing quite like family.

12.  Family isn’t always, or only about genetics.

13.  I really like working in a wood shop.

14.  There is a reason they call it Big Sky Country…and it is quite accurate.

15.  The people in Montana are right neighborly as a rule.

16.  Rattlesnakes are very polite.

17.  Magpies,not so much.

18.  60,000 Canadian geese taking off from a field at the same time pretty much blocks out the sun.

19.  Golden eagles are quite large, and for the record, still my favorite raptor.

20.  Red-tailed hawks are everywhere.

21.  If a pigeon flies into your warehouse through an open walk door, you can open every overhead door in the building and it still won’t fly out on its own accord.

22.  If a prairie falcon flies into your warehouse, just open one door and get out of its way.

23.  F-15 Eagles are still my favorite fighter jet. No offense to the next generation of aviators.

24.  It is kind of cool having a badge and handcuffs at work.

25.  When someone you love passes away, they never leave you. I knew this already, but it was nice to have it reinforced.

26.  A spiritual man is far more important to the world then all the religious leaders combined.

27.  Good intentions are sometimes enough, no matter the outcome.

28.  You cannot make someone truly happy; it’s their choice whether or not to be so.

29.  Having said that, there are some people that will make you happy simply by being themselves.

30.  Pronghorns are amazingly fast.

31.  There is a tremendous amount of energy at an old buffalo jump.

32.  Prairie dogs are quite curious.

33.  Banx will never catch Cheyenne in a dog race.

34.  Kim will climb over two fences to pet a horse, although usually it was only one –electrified at that.

35.  Going to Canada by accident can happen. For the record, I wasn’t driving.

36.  Canadian border agents are much friendlier then the US border agents.

37.  Every day of my life is better simply because of my wife.

38.  7-year old's do not understand the concept of distance, but they have a pretty good handle on Skype.

39.  I really can live without television for a year, but not without my DVD’s.

40.  Table saws are dangerous.

41.  I miss the end of my pinky from time to time.

42.  After cutting off the end of my little finger, on top of having broken it in high school and had the skin ripped off in 1974, it is officially NOT my lucky finger.

43.  The wind rarely stops in Montana…

44.  Time does cure all, if you want it to.

45.  Holding on to the past eliminates your ability to participate in the present to any degree of satisfaction.

46.  Some people may always be in your heart, but they won’t be a part of your life.

47.  Nothing that happens to you is worth having regrets about, as long as you learned from it.

48.  One very important reminder was that some people will always mistake kindness for weakness. 

49.  I am never happier than when I am with Kim, no matter the circumstances or situation I find myself in.

50.  I will end my list with this final thought: If I had it all to do again; the move to Montana that is: knowing what I know now looking back with the clarity of hindsight: I would do it all over again just to be where I am today, right here, right now with the one that loves me most.