The Great Unknown

Even though we make ‘plans’, life, as short as it is, really is the greatest unknown of all. 

Life has certainly been an adventure the last few months. Summer is beginning to wind down even though it feels like it just started not too long ago. Despite the changing of seasons fast approaching, many other changes have been and will occur over the next few months. The biggest and most exciting change, is moving to Montana!!! Let me start from the beginning…

Following my return home for Christmas 2013, I made the decision that I was going to apply to Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) programs. First, however, in order to be accepted into the programs I wanted, I had a few courses I had to complete. I found the courses I needed online through the school I wanted to apply and receive acceptance. I completed these courses during the school’s spring semester. Also during this time, I returned to work at the Physical Therapy clinic I had previously worked at prior to Montana Adventure 2013. Somehow through all of that, I also managed to help out at home on the farm, mostly cooking supper while I worked on homework and all the others were at the barn.

Then, it was time to apply to PTA programs and wait…and wait…and wait for an answer. The one program, a newly accredited program had an interview process, which I did go through, but did not feel confident afterwards. I received word later that my interview skills were not as strong as they would like and seemed to be the main reason for not receiving acceptance into that program. Since it was such a newly established program, they were only accepting 12 students and my overall score was 9 points from the 12th seat. So, had they been accepting more students, I might have gotten into that one. However, that was not the one I was really hoping to be accepted. I was still waiting for the answer from my first choice. During this waiting period, I finished the online courses, continued to work at the physical therapy clinic, spent a week at Bible Camp (16 years in a row!) as lifeguard/senior girl counselor/and a new title of which I am drawing a blank, and continued to help out at on the home farm. Also, during this waiting period was the one-year-anniversary of last year’s adventure to Montana. While thinking about all that was going on in my life at that time and still waiting to hear from the one program, I was given some time off from the physical therapy clinic to ‘refocus’ and seek God’s wisdom and guidance. It was about a week’s time which I spent traveling to visit college friends, mentors, and family seeking wisdom, guidance, and advice on ‘where do I go from here?’ At the end of this week, I received the news I had been waiting so long for…I was accepted into my first choice PTA program!!! In Great Falls, MT. Oh boy!

New York Sunset while hanging out at the marina with friends.

Following the acceptance letter began the planning a cross-country road trip, packing, and looking for a place to live. Did I mention it was Great Falls, MT which is roughly 2,000 miles from Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania?!?! Not a very easy commute to look for a place to live since the school did not have housing. So began my search through Craiglist and Realtor sites with rental properties. After much searching and debating on different options, I decided that trying to find a roommate or someone renting a room would be the better, most affordable option. I made a few contacts and after several conversations decided on a couple renting their furnished basement which included a bedroom, living space, and bathroom. I would have to share the main kitchen and laundry which is located in the basement. I have my own full size refrigerator and microwave which is also downstairs in the laundry room. I have my own entrance with a porch which is actually a side entrance to the main floor and then the stairs to the basement is right inside that door. It’s not completely private and cut off from the rest of the house, but enough to have my own space.

Once I found a place to live, it was time to get down to some hard-core packing. However, it was about this time that the Clinton County Fair was taking place and about a week before my scheduled leave-for-Montana date. I was cutting it close, really, really close. This year was my youngest brother’s last year in 4-H, so it was also the last year attending the Clinton County Fair (unless he continues to show open dairy), so we were in for a busy week. I attended his beef show, but was unable to attend the dairy show due to it being my last day at the physical therapy clinic. However, I did manage to make it to the fair Friday evening for the free bowl of ice cream from the Giant Ice Cream Sundae!

The next several days were spent packing and running last minute errands, tying up loose ends. Except for that one night…where I helped wrap 180 round bales of hay till 3 am before the rains came. It just happened to be the next to last night before my journey cross-country, thus I spent the next day stressing out over packing. However, such is the life on a farm and I know my brothers and dad were ever grateful for my help.

August 13 came faster than I really wanted, but it was here and it was time to pack up and head west. While I was frantically running around packing up last minute things and making final decisions on what to take or leave behind, my brother, traveling with me, packed my car. I should say my SUV. It was literally packed to the brim and I am still amazed at how he managed to pack it all in. Perhaps, we all have picked up our dad’s stellar packing skills. 🙂 We finally had the car packed and ready to hit the road, a little later than we wanted, but ready none-the-less. We said our ‘see ya later’s’ (which was not easy) and hit the road.

Montana Sunset!

MONTANA!!! AT LAST!!!

We only made it to Indiana the first day, due to a large traffic jam near Chicago that had traffic backed up for almost 100 miles. The second day, we made good time and made it to Mitchell, South Dakota. Finally, on the third day, late in the evening, we made it to our destination of Great Falls, MT!! Even though it was about 10:30 pm, that’s mountain time, so eastern time it would have been 12:30 am, we made quick time of unpacking the car and then hitting the sack. The following morning, I did a little bit of unpacking and organizing, but wanted to show my brother around parts of Montana I know and love before he flew back home. So, late morning we hit the road again and headed further west to the Rocky Mountains, where my Frontier family lives. We spent Sat evening, Sunday, and Monday morning with my frontier family. I took him to visit last summer’s stomping grounds, but just missed seeing some of my favorite regulars, took him hiking, and visit the horses. Monday, we headed up to Kalispell, MT, stopped at a few good stores in town and then headed into Glacier National Park. We hit Going-to-the-Sun road at a good time, in the evening, when it wasn’t super busy and packed. However, because the road literally winds around up the side of the mountains, you still have to ‘crawl’ up and around the mountain. If you’ve ever been on the road, you know what I mean, and understand that you really don’t have a choice but to ‘crawl’ on that road! And as is always the case when you go to Glacier, regardless of how many times you’ve been there, you are always taking hundreds of pictures! Since I was driving, I could only takes pictures when we stopped, but my brother was practically hanging out the window taking pictures the whole way up and down the other side! Of course, this is exactly what I expected from someone who had never been to Glacier before. 🙂

Welcome to Glacier!

Monday night we stayed at Rising Sun, which is inside the park. Tuesday morning we got up early in order to get in a thoroughly full day’s worth of Glacier. We headed up to Many Glacier area, which is the grizzly corridor of the park, and some of you might recall, this is where I acquired my nickname, Griz. This was the first time I had been back to this area of the park since acquiring the nickname, seven years ago. Needless to say, I was a little ‘paranoid’ that I would see a grizzly again. My brother really wanted to see a bear, but (un)fortunately my ‘bear attraction’ button was not working…this time. Every hike we went on that day, my brother kept talking about bears and since we were unprepared without bear spray, my paranoia only got worse the more he talked about bears. Anyway, we set off on our first hike and a short ways in we stopped at Fishercap Lake which is a popular moose spotting area. We stuck around here for several minutes and talked with a few other hikers and photographer while watching a gorgeous bull moose as well as a cow moose wading through the lake and then a calf moose walk out of the woods. So glad we got there early enough to see the moose!!

Gorgeous Bull Moose!

Cow and calf moose!

We continued on our hike to Redrock Falls and back (still did not see any bears despite a few hikers mentioning they had seen a bear with a cub somewhere along the trail). Then, hiked the Swiftcurrent Nature Trail Loop, which is a trail that looped around the lake. The trail-head started with the Grinnell Glacier trail-head which is the trail I hiked and saw the bear seven years ago. Yet again, we did not see any bears, but did see some bear scat that was fairy recent, as in that morning sometime recent.  We decided we had time for one more hike and decided on Apikuni Falls. It was a one mile, uphill the whole way, hike. We started off with a sign at the trail-head saying a bear was ‘frequenting’ the area. We noticed the air was getting colder and feeling a bit more damp than earlier, so we weren’t far up the trail when we looked at the sky and saw dark storm clouds rolling in. We heard a little bit of thunder and then saw lightening, which made us turn back and wait in the car for awhile since we felt raindrops and could tell the storm was moving in fast. It was about twenty minutes till the storm passed and we decided we had better hike the trail if we were going to do it, so off we went…uphill the whole way. As with any hikes in Glacier, there were some stellar views along the way.

Overlooking Many Glacier Hotel and Swiftcurrent Lake

Lake McDonald. Last view before leaving the park.

 

We tried to make it to sleep in good time that night as Jonathan had an early morning flight the next day. I stayed at the airport till his plane took off giving him specific instructions to text me each place he landed and how the trip was going. I then had to find some coffee and something to eat before hitting the road back to Great Falls. Once back in Great Falls, I spent the rest of the day unpacking and organizing all my stuff and getting settled in. The next day I did more of the same and made a list of things I needed and most important of all…groceries!

As I was  going through literally ALL the grocery isles trying to decide what I ‘needed’, I kept looking at the shopping cart thinking “I am so not on the farm anymore!” (Said in Dorothy’s “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Todo” voice from the Wizard of Oz.) Most of my cart was full of canned food or microwavable meals, and of course Ramen noodles. I did make a short list before going that way I had a little focus on what I really needed versus just grabbing one of everything. I am definitely going to miss the ease of going down to the freezer and pulling out home-grown meat and or to the canning shelf and grabbing home-grown canned food. This time around I did my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart as I had a few other non-food items I needed. I realized later I had no utensils or items to put food on/in. I was going to have to borrow from upstairs. This is definitely going to be an interesting adventure. 🙂 I’ve decided that whoever my very first visitor is (not counting my brother who traveled with me) is going to be treated to a cooked meal!! Doesn’t that sound like a ‘special’ treat! Any volunteers? My brothers and parents survived on my cooking and even liked some of it, so don’t be afraid!

I’ve titled this post the Great Unknown because even though I have a ‘plan’, it seems like I am embarking on a journey into the Great Unknown. I know that I am returning to school, but beyond that I have no idea. I don’t even know where life will take me during this time in school. I am excited, yet also very nervous and scared. I am going to be completely on my own, alone, in a place I don’t know. That alone, is downright scary. It is going to be hard being so far from home and all those I love dearly, but I know that once I start making new friends and getting to know this new ‘city’, that I will be just fine! I couldn’t have made it this far without God’s strength and the support system of family, friends, and mentors.

It is by faith and trust in God, along with the continued support of family and friends, that I will make it through this new change and life transition with ease! 

 I welcome and encourage you to travel along with me on this new life journey!