Life in Montana

So lately I've had people ask me "how was Montana?" which is a great question but hard to summarize in a normal conversation so I'm going to essentially spew the last three months of our lives onto all our loyal readers, who may be very few now given that last bit of imagery. This is Ryan by the way, granted I'm not the normal writer of blogs for our little clan but, things change. So...on to the spewing.
This last summer in Montana I:
Took the oath of office for a government employee,
got to wear a uniform and a badge every day (Molly thought I looked hot),
I grew a goatee (still mourning the loss of that),
I learned how to make fire with flint and steel and I'm more proficient with that than a match anymore,
I made 16 feet of 1/4 inch rope out of milkweed,
I caught 10 large crayfish (crawdads depending on where you're from) and about 30 small ones,
I learned how to use a model 1803 Harpers Ferry muzzle-loading, flintlock, black powder rifle,
I watched snakes, eagles, deer, marmots, rabbits, mice, prairie dogs, antelope, and bats at a very close range (too close sometimes with the snakes and bats),

I lost 25 pounds,

I went to a primitive buffalo jump and climbed to the top with my wife and daughter,
saw the movie "UP" (well worth it),
I made four fifteen minute programs, and three "station programs" about the Lewis and Clark Expedition and wowed people from all over the world with them,
I went to Glacier National Park twice and saw the breath-taking views of the Going to the Sun Road,
I went to Yellowstone with my beautiful wife and hiked in the Lamar Valley (life long dream),
I lived in a beautiful home next to the incredible Missouri River,
I learned how to use a sextant (it's a navigational tool),
I ate roasted bison in a Lewis and Clark re-enactment camp,
I learned how to put up a tipi,
I made amazing friends (both with the seasonal staff, regular staff, and the volunteers,
I learned how to tell a good story,
I learned about new cultures,
I went to Fort Benton (the birth place of Montana),
I traveled up the Missouri River through the Gates of the Mountains and by Fields Gulch,
I saw pictographs that are centuries old,
I worked at the best Lewis and Clark Museum in the country,
I met Gary Moulton (The editor of the Lewis and Clark Journals, the L&C guru),
I got the Biddle Edition of the Lewis and Clark Journals,
I followed the Portage Route (if you're still reading and interested ask me),
I dressed like John Colter and Meriwether Lewis,
I literally walked in the footsteps of the Corps of Discovery,
I had the time of my life.
So there you go, that's how Montana was these last three months, if you want any further details, and I can't imagine you would :), let me know I have plenty of good stories.