Idaho Potatoes and The Scorch Trials

I returned to Wyoming today, but not before getting some Idaho potatoes for lunch. I was going to go to a restaurant in Victor, ID called Grumpy's Goat Shack (for reasons that would make sense to my college clique but don't make sense to anyone else so I'm not going to elaborate) but they were closed for the season. Rude. Knowing that Victor was my last chance to get authentic Idaho potatoes in Idaho, I combed the streets for another option and found it. I got a grilled cheese because it was basically the only thing on the menu that was meat-free but the fries were really the main attraction here.

Tastes like potatoes and love.

Also, let's talk about dipping sauces. Ketchup has always been and continues to be my go to but recently, I have felt morally obligated to accept ranch dressing whenever it is offered (whether it is with fries or some other food group) because I know it was what Mandy would want, so I got ranch with my fries today. I did not, however, get "fry sauce." Everyone out here is crazy for fry sauce. They act like it's a big deal but it's mayo and ketchup. Like really people, it is not that big of a deal.

After that, I drove on the scenic Highway 33, which is apparently one of the most beautiful roads in America. I like to think of it as the craziest road I've ever driven while practicing my Oscar acceptance speech -- I'd like to thank the Academy for this award and for keeping me from driving off the road.

I'm staying at a hostel in Teton Village, WY, which is part of Jackson Hole but not actually Jackson (confusing, I know). Well, I got to the hostel before I could actually check in, so I went to Jackson itself to do some exploring. I have decided that Jackson is pretty much Banff but in Wyoming. I walked around and saw a lot of stuff (including some very tempting baked goods) and thought about how Wyoming will find any excuse to decorate with dead animals. I also saw an ice cream parlor where I could buy a gun. Thank goodness for Wyoming.

Being in a semi-civilized area again meant that I could enjoy one of my favorite things and go to the movies! I went to see The Scorch Trials, which stars Teen Wolf dream boat, Dylan O'Brien. That was basically the criteria I used to decide what movie to see... Despite the fact that the Maze Runner series is a personal favorite of two of my favorite people, I've never read the books, but I enjoyed the first movie and decided I would check out the sequel. What I really enjoyed were the pre-movie advertisements; you learn a lot about an area from what shows up before the movie begins and I learned a lot about Jackson/Jackson Hole -- some somewhat important stuff about their local banks and how to take care of your dog, but most importantly, I learned all about the movie Shane because that *surprise, surprise* classic Western was shot in Jackson Hole. How classic it actually is, I do not know, but I watched a lot of clips from it today.


I don't think that The Scorch Trials was a great film but I did have the entire theatre to myself and that was pretty great!

I'm now chilling in my hostel where I found out about a new website that's like Airbnb except it's free! People are just like yo, come stay on my couch and I'm like ok! Well, no, it isn't really like that but I'm still going to check it out.

Tomorrow the plan is to visit the National Elk Refuge but I keep getting conflicting reports on whether or not there will actually be any elk there so I guess we'll find out. (Also for anyone who might be confused, I mean "elk" like the horned, four legged animal and not "elf" like Orlando Bloom in a long blonde wig. I don't know where the nearest Elf Refuge is... Mandy).

Update on Satan

There were a few sarcastic comments that I left out of yesterday's blog post due to general exhaustion.

So, the most vile part of the Devil's Stairs was not the 90 degree incline. It was the 90 degree incline WHILE being totally convinced that I was going to be eaten at any moment. Do you know what happens when people tell you that you've significantly increased your chances of becoming a bear's next meal? Everything you see becomes a bear. EVERYTHING. I saw a cow and thought it was a bear. I saw a rock and thought it was a bear. A squirrel running across the trail... bear. A sparrow flying out of a bush... bear. My own footsteps... BEAR!

Luckily, I did not get eaten and can live on to be paranoid for another day. The end... or is it?

Let's Just Agree to Stop Naming Things After Satan

Hello from Idaho, or perhaps I should say Wyoming? I need to catch you all up on last night before I can move on to today's adventures. I am most definitely in Idaho, except Snapchat doesn't know that apparently. I picked up the geotag for Jackson Hole, Wyoming, which to be fair, is where I'm headed tomorrow and only a short hop across the border, but most definitely in another state.

Last night was also the crazy Supermoon that has taken over every social media outlet know to social media. I couldn't get any pictures of that (my camera is nice, but not that nice!) but I did get a picture of this great Idaho sunset before "the real show" began. Also, shout out to my friends and family who were all looking at the eclipse at the same time as me -- it means we were looking at the exact same thing at the same time and that we were all together in a way.

Pretty.

Now, on to today -- which started with disappointment. I had the brilliant idea that I would go to yoga this morning... except when I got to yoga, I was the only one there. No explanation, no yoga, no nothing. So I decided to walk around town.

I checked out the Geotourism Center, which was free! I learned that foxes aren't -- as they are portrayed on the internet -- just derping around when they dive face-first into the snow. They're actually hunting -- they can dive through three feet of snow just to catch a rat, but it only works if they're facing north. While I was at the Geotourism Center, I saw they had a stack of free postcards. Now, I love free stuff -- it's basically the reason I walked around the Geotourism Center -- and I love postcards but I was going to pass this one up until I realized that this was a postcard for the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, WY. Do I remember ever hearing about NOLS? No, I do not but I was in Lander two weeks ago, so it's pretty crazy that I would just happen to find a postcard that says Lander on it in Driggs, ID. I took the postcard. 

After walking around town, I went to go hiking. I'd been warned that it was bear season. Not as in the season when people can hunt bears but the season when bears hunt people. I guess this distracted me while I was driving because I. drove. up. the. wrong. mountain.

The view from the wrong mountain.

I get lost an awful lot. Glad to see I'm sticking with tradition. My host gave me a hand drawn map of how to get to her favorite trails (she suggested the one mile trail for me... more on that later) and I guess I didn't follow it properly because I quickly realized that I was not getting where I needed to get. I turned around and managed to find my way -- via four miles on a bumpy dirt road (that wasn't included on the map).

So, back to the bears. I had been told that I needed to buy bear spray. Later I was told that I didn't need to buy bear spray. The one thing that the townspeople (yes, they shall be known as townspeople because that is what you call people who offer you friendly advice in a town with only one stoplight) did agree on was that I should stick to one of the better traveled paths to avoid death by bear or moose or mountain lion but especially bear. This is how I ended up taking another trail and accidentally hiking seven more miles than I originally intended. Yes, I went on an eight mile hike.

Casual walk back.

I decided I would try Devil's Stairs. I don't know why I ever thought this was a good idea. We need to stop naming things after Satan! Like oh hey, nature AND HADES! You can say that I should have guessed this hike wasn't my best bet based on the name but there is also Devil's Food Cake and cake is the opposite of evil. Also, don't you think the Devil's Stairs should go down? I mean, Hell is supposedly beneath our feet but I can tell you that I was NOT walking in a southern direction! Not even close. The trail was supposedly 4.3 miles long and even with my saintly internal soundtrack of Climb Every Mountain on repeat, I turned around at 4 miles because when the last .3 miles are at a 90 degree angle, I value my sanity and my calves enough to turn around. So I guess that the devil got me, but I'd rather have the devil get me than a bear.

At the end of a long, yet relaxing day, I have decided that I am clearly Katniss Everdeen -- not only because I periodically do the Mockingjay whistle on hikes just in case -- but because in the books, the Capitol is in the Rocky Mountains and I'm currently in the Rocky Mountains, ergo SAT logic has taught us that I must be in the Capitol. You may call me Thomson Jaffe: The Girl In Sweatpants.

Peace and love, Idaho potatoes.

No, U-da-ho.

Ok, that blog title isn't exactly appropriate but it's funny. To me at the very least.

I am in the state of everyone's favorite starch -- the potato -- Idaho.

I am unbooked for the week and thought, well, I've never been to Idaho, so here I am.

On my drive here, I got to see a lot. One of my favorite parts was crossing the state border into Idaho -- just long enough to take the picture you see above -- before driving back into Wyoming to finally drive back into Idaho. Along with seeing a lot, I also got like 3/4th of the way through Gulliver's Travels, which I only started this morning -- I figured that a book about traveling was the way to go although I'm not sure how I feel about it.

During that mini-trip back into Wyoming, I drove through Afton, WY, which has the world's largest elk antler arch. I didn't know that was a thing. How could I have been so ignorant for all these years?! (But I did tell you that everyone in Wyoming uses antlers in all of their decorating a few days ago).

Once I got back in Idaho, I decided to stop and get some ice cream, but not just any ice cream. Rainey Creek's world famous square ice cream. Once again, how did I not know this was a thing? It is world famous, after all.

I am now chilling at the Airbnb bunk that I booked myself in Driggs, ID. It is my first time staying at an Airbnb which is kind of like a hostel/hotel situation except that it is someone's house. So it's a homestay that I'm paying for essentially. This one is definitely more like a hostel than others I've read about. I'm in a room with three bunk beds, although only one other bunk I've taken. I've seen others where it is legit just someone's extra room or even their couch. I don't think I'm desperate enough to ride a stranger's couch for $30 a night... yet. But this place seems totally fine.

Now, I have no idea what there is to do in Driggs. Like I said before, I basically came to Idaho for the novelty of coming to Idaho and this was the absolute cheapest place I could stay. I shall find out soon enough though because my belly is rumbling and I think it's nearly time to find some dinner -- probably potatoes.

I have been exposed to a hideous thing. All people who know the Biddle/Jaffe clan understand that the University of Michigan is the way to go. The grandparents went/met there. The parents went/met there. I would go there for grad school if they had something I wanted to study (Seriously? How does one of the most prestigious BFA programs in the country not have an equally prestigious MFA course of study? But I digress). University of Michigan means that Ohio State is bad. I learned this lesson around the same time that my father brainwashed me against coffee.

Well, this morning, I'm checking all my various social media accounts and bam! BETRAYAL! Whitney is visiting her boyfriend in Ohio and *gasp* found an Ohio State geotag. This is a heinous crime! How dare my eyes be exposed to something so indecent!

*Ends rant. Drops mic.*

Welcome to Lyman

The photo says it all. I've started my second residency of the fall in Lyman, WY, with two new partners and so far, things are swell (if not slightly boring -- no offense).

On the drive here, I stopped in Little America, WY, which wants to be like Wall Drug in South Dakota but isn't. They have a lot of billboards and 75 cent ice cream cones but nothing is quite like Wall Drug. The name "Little America" might have been the most interesting part about it for me. I got some gasoline and french fries and drove on.

We had auditions yesterday and I have nicknamed myself CinderTAD. Having two partners is strange because this is a two person job and it's Taylor Ann (always Taylor Ann, never just Taylor) and Kayla's first week as partners and their first week on Aladdin so it is way more important that they work on their partnership than getting along with me (we're all getting along though so no worries there) which means that I'm here to lend a helping hand in any way that I can but am letting them take the lead on most things. I'm also the one who is going to get dressed up at the end of the week because I'll be playing the Genie again, so CinderTAD is all in good fun.

 This morning I went on a walk to explore the town and just about walked it end to end. I didn't bring my fancy camera, but I was equipped with Snapchat, so I grabbed a pic. I'll probably go back out before I leave again (my walk lasted a whopping 45 minutes, so I think I can squeeze it in) to get some real pictures, but this is it for now.

Last Night in Lander

Ok, the title of this post has a bit of a double meaning. I'm talking about my last night in Lander, but I'm also going to include things that happened last night, so it's like two last nights.

Last, last night, aka Friday, we finally figured out how to get WiFi in the cabin. Better late than never, I guess.

Before that, I went downtown and picked us up a few copies of the Lander Journal. Now, my I say that I was very impressed with the heft of the newspaper? Not only that, but they publish bi-weekly! Good for them. Well, I didn't pick this up just to read about how a Lander girl won the design contest for Wyoming Susan G. Komen or any of the other interesting stories I now have at my disposal, I did it for their little blurb about MCT! Did I make the front page? No, I did not. Did Katrina, Aladdin's mother and the vagabonds? Yes, they did! I tried to take a better picture than the one you see on your right, but that just wasn't happening and beggars/blog readers can't be choosers.

Last night, we also made the kids fight to the death! Not really, we had a little contest to see which group could be the BIGGEST and MOST EXPRESSIVE! (Those words must always be shouted and acted out with large, exaggerated gestures). The camels won and I was responsible for giving away the prize -- which was the opportunity to see their costume before the rest of the cast. Naturally, I couldn't just show them, I had to show them.

Wearing the camel costume is kind of like an Aladdin right of passage, so it was about time it finally happened!

The camel's head might need some love one of these days. It's a little droopy.

Now today, which is also my last night in Lander, for real, was the first show day of the fall tour! I finally got to make the joke I had been dying to make all week!


It's a genie on a genie!!! I'm so funny! And adorable.

Time to say goodbye to Lander and Katrina and hello to Lyman and my new partners, Taylor Ann and Kayla (yeah, I'm getting two partners, it's insane).

I Use Antlers in All of My Decorating -Gaston and Wyoming, Apparently

I’ve had Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (not the MCT version, because that's actually Beauty Lou and the Country Beast) stuck in my head recently because everywhere I look, there seems to be a dead animal on the wall. This could not have been more obvious than when I went to Lander’s Museum of the American West yesterday. Dead animals galore!

According to their website, the museum is about the different groups that utilized central Wyoming and Fremont County – which is the size of Massachusetts. It has both indoor and outdoor exhibits where one can learn about the history of life out here and walk through a reconstructed pioneer village.

Reconstructed pioneer village

Other than learning about what I would consider questionable interior decorating, I found out that apparently, Wyoming is home to some of the most badass women in history. (And considering that I am a badass woman, I know what I’m talking about). Wyoming was the first jurisdiction in the United States to give women the right to vote – they weren’t even a state yet when they granted women the right to vote in 1869! (They became a state in 1890). The 19^th Amendment wasn’t passed until 1920, meaning that they were 51 years ahead of the rest of the country! Female voters led to an unprecedented appointment: Esther Hobart Morris was the first woman Justice of the Peace in the United States. Elected in South Pass City, WY in 1870, she filled the seat of another Justice who had resigned over women’s suffrage (go figure). Historians argue over whether or not she is the mother of modern suffrage, but either way, she made history. Not that this is really relevant, but she was also six feet tall (I’m looking at you, Amanda Belscamper. I have to look up though, because you’re three inches taller than me). Pioneer women were basically just the best at everything, because they had to do everything to survive.

Stough House

In the reconstructed pioneer village, we were able to see a church, schoolhouse, store and the Stough House. The Stough House seems to be the crown jewel here because Charles L. Stough was the Sheriff in Fremont County in 1890 and jailed the notorious Butch Cassidy in 1894. So I’ve now been to places where both Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid have been jailed, but neither of which appear in the Academy Award-winning film that you’ve probably heard of (or maybe they are mentioned/shown? I doubt it but then again, I’ve only ever watched one scene of the movie and not very much is said at all because Paul Newman just kicks some guy in the crotch).

After all that, I became a changed TAD! This is Katrina’s first week doing Aladdin, so I’ve been able to teach her a lot of tricks about the show (as one of our bosses said yesterday when we called in, this is essentially an extra week of training for her) but she’s taught me plenty about being a TAD in general and yesterday might have been the best lesson of all. Wednesday is the first day that the accompanist comes to rehearsal and they join us for the second session after the very youngest members of the cast leave for the day. I’ve always jumped right in to starting a run through, but Katrina mentioned to me that she and her partner always have a music rehearsal during that session where they run through all of the songs with the accompanist and if they have any time left over, they’ll start a run through. I said that I’d love to try it that way! (They can always try jumping into a run through on Wednesday afternoon on their own, but when else would I be able to see this in action with someone who has done it before at the helm?). I made the right choice. It went splendidly and I’ll definitely try it again at some point.

P.S. The stars in Wyoming were on point last night. A++.

The Cabin

First off, here is our audition selfie from yesterday!

Now, some people (my parents) are extremely curious about the cabin situation, so here are a few pictures that hopefully satisfy all of your hungry eyes.

Sinks Canyon and Brown Trout

Our little cabin is on Sinks Canyon Road and is about half a mile away from the actual Sinks Canyon. Actually, we can hear/see the river (Popo Agie River) that created Sinks Canyon from our cabin, so we decided we’d start out this week with a little nature walk/hike.

We drove down the road towards where we knew the canyon would be and stopped every time we saw a sign. This included a sign for a trout lookout. We didn’t think there would be any trout but we were wrong! They were brown trout, because apparently those are the trout that spawn in the fall. There was also trout food for 25 cents and that’s went the trout went wild (ok, they have always been wild, but man, do they really like their food!).

After that, we drove down the road and parked at the visitor’s center (that is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, so it wasn’t very welcoming). We walked up to the Sinks Canyon lookout and wow. It was something to look at.

Next, we walked down to the Sinks Canyon caverns (which you could see from the lookout) and once again wow. I didn’t know Wyoming had so much stuff!

Since our goal had been to go on a hike, we proceeded even further to the one-mile nature trail. So, do bears crap in the woods? Everywhere, apparently. We needed to watch our step for the majority of our little hike. To be fair, I cannot confirm that it was bear scat, but the adage isn’t about where mountain lions relieve themselves… We also had to cross a bridge of questionable strength. And finally, my favorite part, we found a dismembered deer leg. Why did I take a picture of it? I’m not quite sure, but I did, so you get to see it!

Yum.

And now, it’s time for Aladdin auditions! I’m a little nervous because I haven’t looked at the show since I went on break and we might have a really big turnout but MCT is a bit like riding a bicycle and I think it’s going to be great!

Why Did the Buffalo Cross the Road?

Just kidding, it was a bison! And probably because it doesn’t care about you or your stinking road.

Speaking of roads, Sunday was the first drive day of the fall!!! Woohoo! Fireworks! Happy to be back!

The day started early. I feel like most drive days do at this point. I picked up Katrina at her hotel at 6:30 sharp and we were Wyoming bound. The first few hours of the drive were pretty dull. I drove and Katrina slept. Katrina might be better at sleeping in the car than Mandy, which is saying A LOT (she slept at least five hours of this 11+ hour drive day!).

The first few hours were Montana and then it was into Wyoming, and we quickly went from regular Wyoming to Yellowstone, Wyoming. Yellowstone is seriously lacking in cell reception and 4G, but I caught a few geotags before my phone essentially became a paperweight.

Yellowstone. How do I describe Yellowstone?

Yellowstone is flawless. I saw it wearing army pants and flip flops so I bought army pants and flip flops. Ok, that didn’t actually happen and I don’t think I actually saw any yellow stones, but NATURE!

 

Seriously, on a scale from one to oh sh*t, that’s a bison, it was more like oh sh*t, there’s 20 of them. We also saw an elk. I learned a very important lesson that it doesn’t matter how many bison there are, people will stop and lean out of their car windows with their iPads to take pictures of every single one, because it took us something like an hour and a half to drive the 19 miles from the park entrance to Old Faithful… And yes, we did see bison cross the road. Even with my annoyance at the Apple maniacs and their questionable driving, it was simply spectacular.

Oh sh*t, that's a bison

Oh sh*t, there's 20

Next we went to see Old Faithful! We didn’t see it erupt, but we did get pizza and postcards at the gift shop and also put my selfie stick to good use. (Ok, questionable use, it took us a few tries to get both of us and Old Faithful in the photo).

After Old Faithful, there were less bison to be enthralled with so the drive went a little faster. It was gorgeous. Katrina slept some more! This was also when we reached an altitude of nearly 10,000 ft. I was basically in an airplane.

When we got to Lander, we blew through it because we’re staying outside of town in our own cabin. This isn’t a haunted slave cabin like the one I stayed in when I was in Alabama back in June, but it doesn’t have WiFi, so this is something familiar about it. There are also lots of dead animals on the walls. Like a lot. And they’re all staring at me.

Getting ready for a fun week out here, my next post will talk about what I did on Monday morning. Please refer to the line in the previous paragraph about the lack of WiFi in my living quarters before harassing me about posting photos or my thoughts (Mom).

Earning My Missoula Passport Stamps

A few days ago, I posted about the New City Passport and how it is supposed to get a new resident out into their new home, and Missoula is sort of my city now and I got to go exploring today. I didn't follow one of the Passport rules of photographing everything because I'm not actually working on creating a scrapbook since I don't actually live in Missoula, c'est la vie!

Item 1: Find a good place for breakfast that isn't Dunkin.
This is what inspired my adventures today; I usually grab a slice of banana bread from Liquid Planet, but I thought it might be nice to try something new, so I googled "breakfast Missoula" and was on my way. Yesterday, I mentioned that there aren't any Dunkin Donuts in Montana, so finding any decent breakfast place would fulfill this requirement but I went with Catalyst because it was only about four blocks away -- two past Liquid Planet. It was crowded when I got there and I was in a rush (see Item 2) but luckily for me, I'd planned ahead and decided what I wanted before I got there. I ordered a breakfast burrito and it was delicious! I think I'd like to try it again at some point when I don't feel like I need to shovel it all in my mouth but there were some other interesting places that showed up on my Google search that I might need to check out before I go back!

Item 2: Go to a yoga class.
Technically, I already went to a yoga class at this studio, but the Passport didn't exist back then. PLUS, this yoga class had live music and I've definitely never seen that before.

Item 3: Make a new friend.
I've made a lot of new friends in the past 24 hours. TADs bond quickly (I guess we do everything quickly because when you've only got five days to put on a whole show, you get used to it). But I put this specifically as Item 3 because my new friend, Molly, joined me for yoga. It was her first ever yoga class too! She'd done yoga for movement classes and watched videos but this was her first real class and she was really good. She told me that she's now looking up to see if she can take classes on the road! We also bonded because not only is she going to Canada this fall, but she's also going back to Kyle, SK! I went to Kyle and it was one of my favorite residencies, even though there wasn't much there! I told her that there is a yoga studio in Swift Current, which is about an hour away!

Item 4: Make dinner - get all of the ingredients from a local farmer's market or independent stores.
Technically, I didn't complete this one because I can't actually make dinner, but just my luck, the Missoula Farmer's Market was happening downtown today, so I went for a stroll. I saw onions the size of cantaloupes! Seriously! I wish I could have made myself some dinner!

Item 5: Find a thrift store.
I'm pretty sure I found a pawn shop, but I'll give myself credit anyways.

Item 6: Visit your local library and take out a book.
Another partial credit here. I couldn't get a library card because I'm not a Montana resident (not that I would have taken out a book on account of the fact that I'm leaving tomorrow). Sad face.

Item 7: Visit at least one popular tourist attraction.
I'm not sure Missoula has more than one popular tourist attraction, but I went there. I hiked the M! (Again!). The M is sort of exactly what it sounds like. It's a giant M on a mountain. Thank you, University of Montana. Hiking the M is kind of a TAD Merit Badge. I'm pretty sure it is a merit badge for anyone who has ever visited Missoula. I went with Katrina and her regular partner, Jas, Molly and another TAD, Whitney. I didn't take a picture of the M, because up close, it doesn't look like anything -- you hike the M to look at everything else!

Left to right: Whitney, Jas, me, Molly, Katrina

You Could Say That

Back to Missoula!!! I left my house dark and early this morning for the airport to return to Montana. Part of the reason I hate packing to go to Missoula is because there are quite a few things that I need to pack away in a suitcase that will never see a suitcase again once I get there, like my GPS. It doesn’t belong in a suitcase, it will live in the truck for the duration of the tour, but getting it to Missoula means finding a way to pack it and this bothers me, so I feel like everything is all over the place at the moment, even though everything I want/need is compactly tucked away into one of the deep dark corners of my bright pink luggage.

I got my final Dunkin run for the foreseeable future this morning on my way to the airport. Dunkin Donuts really needs to work on their slogan because although “America runs on Dunkin – except for Montana” isn’t catchy, it is honest. There is not a singular Dunkin Donuts in the entire state of Montana, not even a Dunkin/gas station hybrid! I checked. Also, Bank of America should be called the Bank of 49 States, not Montana because they don’t have any branches there either.

I have a smart phone – I think most people do these day – and my smart phone keeps track of certain things, even if I don’t want it to. I get a lot of updates on Taylor Swift because I googled her ONCE… Moving on. It keeps track of my flights and hotel reservations which is very thoughtful (almost too thoughtful, I’m on to you, Google!). Now, my smart phone will ask me if the updates it is giving me are useful (and sometimes it ignores me when I say that they aren’t *cough cough Taylor Swift cough cough*) or if I want it to add something to my calendar, etc. Well, this morning, it didn’t just show me my flight confirmation, it had another card that said “Get updates for commuting to work?” *Deadpan* You could say that. I screenshot it because I thought it was so ridiculous. So yes, I guess my work commute is technically 2,000+ miles…

Now when you spend five or more hours on an airplane (Boston to Salt Lake City and then a quick trip from Salt Lake to Montana), a lot of things happen. For me, these things typically include cheating on the Sudoku that comes in the airline magazine (I’m getting better! I cheat a lot less now), cheating on the crossword puzzle in the airline magazine (I’m not getting better, I still cheat a lot), worrying about getting blood clots from sitting too long, and getting bumped into as people get up to go to the bathroom (I swear this happens even if I have a window seat!) and after I’ve finished my cheating, I’ll just start coloring in the magazine. Well, today, I picked a page at random and started coloring the letters at random and when I got bored, I realized that I’d entirely, accidentally changed the meaning of the ad “There’s more to Iowa than just cornfields.” I guess my subconscious remembers driving through there back in June on the way to Alabama. Oops, sorry Iowa. I also typically pull my laptop out at some point and write about whatever has happened, which is why I feel like flight travel day posts are more detailed than other, more interesting days…

Tiny plane!

Upon arriving in Salt Lake, I didn't search for geotags (I was just there a few weeks ago, remember?) but instead had to search for my airplane because it was teeny-tiny. Just a little puddle jumper! I was sitting in row 11 out of 12. No joke.

Guess where I am?

I landed in Missoula without too much trouble and managed to collect a new geotag! Priorities. In Missoula, I was reunited with Marcus, otherwise known as the little red truck, otherwise known as MCT78. He isn't quite as young as he was when I last saw him (other people drive him besides me, ya know) and we're starting the fall together at 64642.9 miles. I also got to meet my new temporary partners. Unfortunately, the first few weeks of this tour will be Melissa-less but a few other TADs were available to step in. Katrina will be my partner in Lander, WY next week and I'll have two partners in Lyman, WY -- Taylor Ann and Kayla. None of them know that I have a blog yet, I wonder how they would feel about me blogging about them before I've ever told them that I have a blog... Oh well, it looks like the fall tour is off to an exciting start!!

MARCUS!

The New City Passport

I wrote a blog post the other day about how much I hate packing and with less than 24 hours left before I depart, I'm still procrastinating. This time, procrastinating involves a much larger project. Several of my friends have just relocated to brand new cities (well, the cities have been around a while, but my friends just got there) and I want to help them get out and experience new things.

Because I'm still procrastinating and maybe because someone who reads this has just moved too, I thought I'd put my hard work here as well. Happy hunting.

THE NEW CITY PASSPORT

Congratulations on making it to your new home! As you unpack your bags, you’re probably wondering what you should do next and, now, I have got the answer for you! Below is a list of activities for you to complete within your first year in your new and exciting city and hopefully at the end of the year, you will have a wonderful scrapbook of all the amazing things you never thought you would try.

Guidelines for the New City Passport:

·         Items do not have to be completed in order nor do all items necessarily need to be completed.

·         Photographic evidence is required for each activity. You should also save any other mementos you come across (playbills, tickets, receipts, etc.)

·         Add your own item to the list! In fact, that’s one of the things on the list, but feel free to add as many as you like. This is about remembering an incredible year, so anything that was incredible or special to you should be included.

·         Share the love! You’ve got roommates, feel free to send this list to anyone you think would benefit from having some fun.

To Do:

1.       Visit at least one popular tourist attraction

2.       Buy yourself a really ugly piece of memorabilia from your new home (i.e. tacky magnet or bottle opener but it has to be ugly and say the name of where you got it! Bonus points if it is wearable)

3.       Go postcard hunting!

o    Mail yourself a postcard today (make sure to date it!) describing how you feel about your new city and what you hope happens this year. Mail it to yourself (yes, this step is very important, it has to go through the US Postal service) and then put it somewhere safe, but don’t read it again. Write yourself another post card at the end of your first year and mail it to yourself and then compare the two!

o    Mail me a postcard! I just want to know how you’re doing, plus I love getting mail! Make sure to date it so that I know when you sent it!

4.       See a play (or 10)

5.       See a foreign film. Bonus points if there are subtitles

6.       Go to a concert (rock and roll, classical, that random indie-hippie chick with a guitar at the local coffeeshop, whatever)

7.       Visit a local museum/art gallery

8.       Volunteer for at least one hour at a charity of your choice (hooking up with ugly people doesn’t count as charity)

9.       Eat at an authentic Chinese restaurant (and no take-out either!)

10.    Try a foreign cuisine that you’ve never had before

11.    Eat at an exclusively vegetarian/vegan restaurant

12.    Find a really, really good pizza place and try a topping you’ve never had before

13.    Find a good place for breakfast that ISN’T Dunkin

14.    Get your coffee/work on your screenplay at a coffee shop that ISN’T Starbucks

15.    Go to an ice cream parlor (parlor? Restaurant? Whatever, it’s ice cream!) and order the most expensive thing on the menu (within reason, but hey, live a little!!)

16.    Find a thrift store

17.    Go to three independent bookstores (that you’ve never been to before). Bonus points if you can find a bookmark (or business card)

18.    Make dinner – get all of the ingredients from a local farmer’s market or independent stores

19.    Take a different route than your usual one to work (or the gym or somewhere else – anywhere you go on a semi-regular basis)

20.    Go to a yoga class

21.    Go to a Zumba class

22.    Visit your local library and take out a book

23.    Say hello to a neighbor that you don’t normally talk to

24.    Plan a day trip for somewhere outside of the city

25.    Make a new friend

26.    Add at least one thing to this list: 

So, considering that living out of a suitcase is sort of a huge part of my job, I hate packing and am doing anything I can to avoid it at the moment (I leave on Friday). Current means of distraction include listening to The Grapes of Wrath on audiobook, rereading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, rewatching all of season 2 of Teen Wolf, hitting refresh on my Facebook feed every four minutes and writing this blog post.

I promised population counts and I am a woman of my word, so in honor of not wanting to decide which sweaters I should take and which ones I should abandon for the fall and courtesy of the Google, I proudly present my fall itinerary!
Lander, WY - 7,732
Lyman, WY - 2,096
Bridger, MT- 728
Helena, MT - 29,596 
Wolf Point, MT - 2,787
Harrison, MT - 162
St. Ignatius, MT - 852
Amsterdam, MT - 727
Trout Creek, MT - 261

I bolded the towns with the greatest and fewest number of people, but hey, by Montana standards, 162 is a lot. I consider having only one town with a population under 200 and two towns with a population under 500 to be a serious win.

See you soon, Big Sky Country (I'll probably be naked because it's easier than packing!). Peace and love!