This week was a long week.  It’s always hard to come back after a vacation; especially when you’ve been off work for 2 solid weeks, taken a road trip to Plentywood Montana, and had an awesome holiday weekend.

It’s been some time since I’ve been on a road trip, so I had been looking forward to our trip to Montana for quite some time.  I couldn’t wait to leave my blackberry at home and get 1,200 miles away.

The drive out there was surprisingly fast.  Carpooling with the inlaws, we took shifts driving and plowed straight through, stopping only for gas and food.  The drive out took approximatly 27 hours and was 1,280 miles.  I passed my free time by reading Angels and demons, watching a few different movies on my laptop (no country for old men is very deserving of the Oscar for Best Picture.), chewing sunflower seeds, and aweing at the open vastness of the North Dakota and Montana countrysides.

I had an initial picture of our trip being very ‘frontier-like’.  I envisioned sitting around campfires, having some beer, and roughing it a bit.  But it was actually the opposite.  Plentywood has about 1800 residents, several restaurants, an ACE hardware, and a fully loaded sporting goods store.  There isn’t any fast food or Walmarts within a 2 hours drive – but Plentywood holds its own in Northeast Montana.

Most of the time was spent with family that we haven’t seen in a long time.  But I did get a chance to learn alot more about my wife’s side of the family, and gain an appreciation for the western atmosphere.  I felt refreshed and really enjoyed our time.

All in all – I took alot of pictures, bought a genuine cowboy hat, shot at gophers, loved Moose Drool, gazed at the clearest night sky I’ve ever seen, visited the Mall of America, gained 11 pounds, and had an amazing time.

Vanbergs and flo, thank you again for watching our home and pets.