Sunday, July 17, 2011

Life is good..

Life is good :) I promise to update this again soon... sorry guys for the delay.. i've just been havin way too much fun..!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Summer Fun

I've been having a blast. It's become torture to be inside (although research rocks..) I just want to be outside all the time. The sky is so big and blue out here. I'm falling in love with the mountains. I'm falling in love with Bozeman. This place is seriously my new favorite place in the world. Here's some more pictures

Brooks and I clowning around at some mountain 

Eric & Kim up on the ridge.

Kim & Christie on the descent from the ridge.

DANIEL :)

Me & Brooks

Eric & Kim

SOOOOOooooOooO pretty. One of my favorite views in Montana.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Another hike :)



So, I was having probably the most terrible day of my life. Everything seemed to be going wrong and I was just not a happy camper. But things turned around once I got out in the mountains. It's funny how that works.. the mountains truly are a canvas for our maker's hands.

this girl seriously rocks my socks off.

big bro & I

Christie :)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Lava Lake Pictures ;)

This is the view from the trailhead. Beautiful rushing river!

Oh hey. Me at the frozen lake.

This is two miles into the six miles. I wasn't too happy. Eric and Kim were doin fine.

This is once again at lava lake.. these pictures don't even come close to showing the amazingness of this place!



Oh, and for the record, work is goin alright :) I really like the people- everyone out here is so nice! i'll try to get pics of lab/dorm life soon!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Lava Lake

Well, we went on a 6-mile hike yesterday to a place called lava lake. It was absolutely beautiful. It was three miles up, and the last 1.5 was spent trudging through snow. No lie- actual snow. We were wearing t-shirts/cutoffs, shorts, and tennis shoes. The snow was so refreshing- we were actually sweating. At the top of the path there was a huge lake. I've never seen anything like it. There was no access to it except by hiking and so there were only about 3 other groups of people there. And, mind you, this was no small lake. It was huge! Most of it was still frozen, and it was still surrounded by trees and snow on the ground. It was absolutely beautiful. The hike down was much quicker, due to the fact of dad hearing a mountain lion. That obviously made my flight/fight response heighten, and I pretty much booked it down the mountain as fast as I possibly could. I wish I could upload pictures, but the internet is not quite working.. to be continued ;)

Sunday, June 5, 2011

In Montana



I'm in Montana and having a blast. I look out my dorm room window and see snow capped mountains in one direction, and about 3 soccer fields and horses in the other. It's absolutely beautiful. The weather is great- no clouds in the sky yesterday, and its mostly bright blue today. There's no humidity out here, which is probably the best part. Yesterday we went hiking to the M. 
The climb to the M is a tradition for freshman students, or any visitors. It doesn't look that high up, but trust me, it is. Being almost a mile above sea level doesn't help my athletic ability (well, lack thereof). It was a fun hike.. but exhausting. Definitely needed a nap after that one ;) Here are some more pictures from up there...


me, eric, pops
This is bozeman, with the mountains in the background. If you look in the left middle, you can see a white building which is the arena. My dorm is right next to it. I live on an 11-story dorm- so different than hope!

This is proof that I made it. Eric had no problem while I wanted to die about 1/4 of the way up. Notice my lack of standing ability.

We're going to a place called Lava Lake this afternoon.. 

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Almost there..

Tonight we're in Sheridan, Wyoming at a dive of a hotel. We're about 4.5 hours away from the Montana State University campus, and I can't wait to get there and take a long shower. Unfortunately, I can't move into my dorm room until Saturday- but luckily Eric has a house and a couch that I plan on taking over for at least a day.. that is if I make it out of this hotel.  I feel like I might die here tonight. The door doesn't close all the way. The floor is sticky. I think I'm going to be cleaner if I don't take a shower. And, I'm pretty sure there's a serial killer nearby. It just seems like one of those towns.
We went to a dive bar (actually about 3) looking for food tonight. Absolutely nothing. We ate at a truck stop. It was actually pretty good. Breakfast food & beer- I can't really complain. If the bars we went into were any indication of how drinking goes down out here, I think I'm in for quite a surprise. Many old drunk creepy men. Need I say more?

On to a happier subject, here's some pictures of the trip thus far.. (We just got into the mountains this afternoon, so the cool pictures are yet to come..)

This is South Dakota, which took about 8 hours to drive through today. It pretty much looked like this for half of it, until we got to the badlands (below)

Badlands. Pretty bad.

Dad thought this was funny.. It was for a second. It was next to a drug store called "Wall Drugs." If any of you have traveled out west, you've seen the signs. They start about 300 miles from the store, and there's about one every mile. By the time you get there, there's no way you can't stop and go in the place. The signs were bragging about everything from a T-Rex to homemade ice cream and free ice water. The last two were actually decent. Never saw the dinosaur. 

Beginning of mountains, from South Dakota.


This is beautiful Wyoming with the mountains in the distance.. We are stopped tonight about 30 miles from here. 

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

T-6 hours!

I'm laying in bed with a terrible stomach ache. Nerves are a terrible thing... The car is packed, the last of the laundry is in the washer, and I have approximately 6 hours before we hit the road!
I'm so excited, but I'm so sad to be leaving my friends. Its off to adventure land where I know no one besides my big brother (& Jennie 2 hours away!)

I'm hoping to make it to MSU by Friday evening and get settled in.. expect pictures from the trip as soon as I can get to a coffee shop to upload them.. who knows, the world's biggest ball of string just might end up on here.. ;)

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Packing & Preparing!

I'm halfway through the painfully long process of packing up my room in Holland. Its so exciting but so scary at the same time. I still haven't really gotten any final plans about my trip out to Montana; I'm driving out on faith and two emails from my research mentor.

There are too many things running through my head to sleep: Do I bring my own rugs for the bathroom? Do I even have a bathroom? When am I going to get the chance to buy hiking shoes? Is my car going to make the 30 hour drive? Which swimming suit do I bring? Where should I stop along the way? How should I budget my summer stipend? What the heck kind of research am I doing?

I love being young. I love being wild. I love the thought of packing up my car and heading out for an adventure. I love the thought of the open road and seeing God's thumbprints in the mountains. I love the idea of cruising down the highway without any cars in sight, singing my country music. I love the beautiful opportunity awaiting me...

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them." Ecclesiastes 12:1