Harry Potter!

Look how excited we are

I finally went and saw the last Harry Potter movie. Since I was away from civilization this summer in Montana, I missed the premiere. But don't worry, I still drew a scar on my forehead and made everyone else do the same. It was epic and I loved it. I guess I am a nerd. Just embrace it. And then go watch that movie if you haven't seen it.

My favorite part was when this girl sitting in front of us started sobbing during a sad part of the movie. haha amazing. she knows

What now!?

Here is what happened. On September 21st I learned in my biology class that is was September equinox. This means that neither pole of the Earth is tilting towards or away from the sun. My teacher then when on to explain how this makes it possible to stand an egg up. A couple kids in class said they had done it, so when I got home of course I gave it a try. And....success! It took me a while and required a lot of patience and determination. But it was amazing. Also, no one believed me, but now I have proof. So come next September you should all try it...or in March for the March equinox.

Crawdad Fishing

For Rachel's birthday we went Crawdad Fishing. I had never even heard of it before but it was very fun. They are these lobster type creatures. I even caught one by hand after Justin showed me how. Good times all around - it's going to be an awesome semester!

The crew - Justin, Rachel, Lauren, Nathan

Lauren - the brilliant mastermind behind this awesome activity

Justin - hot cowboy

Rachel - the birthday girl

Glacier National Park Part II

Glacier Park was too beautiful to not go back again. So we did. We stopped by on our way to Rexburg.

Seriously amazing. Breathtaking. I love this world. On this days adventure we saw a huge grizzly and her two cubs about 30 feet away from us. I wanted to get closer and give it a hug, but Justin saved my life and we quickly went back down the trail. Good call. Then we told this guy coming up the trail that there was a grizzly and cubs and he said, "sweet. that's the money shot." so then we did try to get closer....but it was ok because he had bear spray. haha and he handed me his tripod so that I could beat it away. haha he was awesome. But the bears had already crossed the trail and were long gone. sad day.

I also caught a snake. Just a little guy. A great day of adventures

Glacier National Park Part I

Justin and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Glacier National Park. It was so beautiful and breathtaking. Everywhere you look is a mind blowing beautiful scene. It was awesome and we went on lots of mini hikes to waterfalls. Good work Montana. Here are just a few of the pictures we took of our adventures:

This was actually how close we got to this mountain goat. I think people feed them so they weren't afraid of us and we got very close to them.

Pictures can't accurately portray how beautiful it really was.

Caliente Nevada and the Holts

This last week I was lucky enough to be able to have a week off of work and Justin and I flew down to his home - Caliente, Nevada. His brother Chauncey just got off of his mission and I was able to meet his whole family. They are awesome and made me feel so at home and comfortable. Thank you Holt family.

Climbing down the rope

So handsome

Here is some of the Holt gang

We went and saw some charcoal kilns, which were cool. Then we hiked around for a while at this beautiful place...don't remember the name of it. Then we went to the Moon Caves and climbed up a rope and down the other side and had so much fun. Justin also hunted while we were there because he drew an archery tag for a deer. On Saturday I guided him into the deer and he got within 50 yards. So close, and yet, so far. But it was an amazing week and The Holts are amazing people. I was also able to catch up on a little bit of sleep from the ranch life. Justin and I are the hay crew. Bob put me in charge of the hay. So I usually swath during the day and then we check the hay all night until there is the right amount of dew. Then Justin bales and I rake. It's a good time, but also exhausting. So it was nice to be able to sleep all night and sleep in a little this week.

Not the best picture but you get an idea of how cool of a place we were at.

Other exciting happenings include:

- I ate a porcupine for the first time on the ranch because we were running out of food. So Gary killed and skinned and his wife slow cooked a porcupine and it was delicious!

- There were others but I can't remember them now...more to come later

Don't be Jealous...

This is the very ancient and ghetto swather that I am privileged to drive. It's exciting and often gets plugged up. A great adventure.

Me and Karen at the top of Shepherds Monument

The other day we all hiked up to the shepherd's monument. This cool place is where the shepherds used to watch their sheep I guess. I carried Gracie most of the way up the hill because she had flip flops on. That was a good work out.

Gracie, Me and Katie

(Melisa and Gary have five kids and we are fast becoming friends. It's awesome)

The professional fencing crew. We fixed many miles of fence. We even made it through many deep coulees (as they call them here in Montana) and although there were times I thought the 4-wheeler would roll, it never did! We are awesome.

Thought I would upload some pictures of the ranch that I am internshipping (is that a word?) at this summer. It is a very beautiful ranch!

There is a plethora of antelope at the ranch

This is where I dwell.

The other day Bob and I were driving back to his house in the little Buick car. He decided to go off the road to look at a bull, but drove into the largest hole ever. So we were very stuck and had no means of communication. So I had to run about 2.5 miles to his house. It was a grand old adventure. haha love it.