First day!

Check out our photos at: http://photobucket.com/MontanaTrip09


The first day of traveling was so rewarding, and getting up at 3am did not even put a damper on the day! Our group maintained such a positive attitude, excited the entire time about what was to come. Appreciating each moment made the long day very enjoyable.
For Christy and Adrian, it was their first time in an airport, and for Christy, her first time flying! Both of them did so well throughout the travels, and want to fly again!
We arrived in Spokane, rented a car, and all of us were awe-struck. Nobody in our group has ever been to this part of the country! Experiencing these new sights together has been spectacular. The scenery is unbelievable, and the photos cannot do a bit of justice to the vast landscapes we saw as we traveled from Washington through Idaho into Montana, and into the reservation in Montana!
Never can we go anywhere without somehow connecting with old friends... so I got to see Ben Cook from Falcon Camp, who lives in Idaho! He lives right off the interstate 90 that we drove on to get to Montana, and he met our group for lunch at the last stop of "civilization" before we continued on I-90 into mountainous paradise.
All around were rocky mountains that stretched to the sky, waterfalls, rivers, and just fantastic views. We sang to country music songs and cd's, and "oo'd and aah'd" every moment of the way, literally seeing more and more spectacular views each minute.

Elisabeth Dykens, the professor who is joining us on our trip, flew into Missoula earlier in the day, and met with the Director of Tribal Health for the Flathead Reservation in the afternoon. We joined later in their meeting, and had the incredible experience of speaking with this knowledgeable tribal leader as our first introduction to Montana, let alone the reservation! We learned a lot about health care, issues with disabilities, tribal financial struggles, and different types/uses for medicine, among many other cultural facts.

Last night we had a pre-trip dinner in Nashville for the participants and families. We read books on Montana, and got excited about different parts of the culture and area from looking at pictures and reading sections together. We all had our own "lists" of what we wanted to see and do. One of the things was Huckleberries, like in Huckleberry Finn. We saw a road-side ice cream place, and pulled in and got Huckleberry Shakes! They were DELICIOUS! We went to the grocery store this evening and saw lots of huckleberry items. We cannot wait to try more Montana specialties.

If you look at the pictures, you can see that our Bed and Breakfast is just breathtaking. I never thought that it would be so luxurious!! We have TVs, dvd players, a hot tub, gorgeous rooms, kitchen, common rooms, etc. And the best is the VIEWS! It is on a HUGE piece of land, and you can look forever and all you see is animals, grass, and mountains. There is a MOTE (or river) surrounding the property! It has beautiful paths around it and the landscape is like nothing any of us have ever experienced. Tonight, we had a great time walking around the property, playing with the animals, and grilling out on the porch. We ended the night with a game of Uno, and now it is time to go to bed to get ready for our day in Missoula tomorrow!

~Jessi



Check out our photos at: http://photobucket.com/MontanaTrip09