North Bound

    Having decided to continue on as planned, with only a day delay, I loaded up Friday morning & took off towards Montana. I had never been. I have a couple of friends from Philadelphia who relocated to Bozeman.  It was super foggy when I left Denver - traveling North, it was a wet cold fog. all the deciduous trees were white ice coated branches, such a strange and beautiful view.  Couldn't see very far ahead of me at all.
    At the exact moment I crossed into Wyoming, the fog lifted! WoW! The landscape on that drive was incredible. such diversity over the whole day. and consistently EPIC!
    Of course, I didn't stop to take pics.  The thing about driving for me is that it becomes a meditation. I become involved in where I am and what is happening as well as letting my thoughts go to do their own thing.  Often times I see things that correlate directly with the thoughts.  Other times the sights take my breathe away, and I don't even consider taking photos or trying to capture that moment.  The physical manifestation of all these experiences tends to come out in my work - a lot of ideas for my art present themselves while I am driving.
    Not to mention where my head had recently been (if you read the last Posting).  This was the day just before the lunar eclipse.  I arrived in Bozeman in time for a late dinner.  Up early the next morning to see the Lunar Eclipse.

It's not that great of a pic - but I HAD to see this thing that put me through the ringer!  Ahh. It passed.  New Day.  I had such a great time with Andy & Cheryl in Bozeman.  They warned me when I walked in the door that their intent was to get me to stay.  It almost worked.
    We walked around town for a bit the next day. Quaint, progressive, fantastic art scene. Very relaxing. There is sculpture everywhere! Visited the Emerson Center for the Arts, a building filled with dance, music, painting studios as well as several galleries.  Cheryl took me to the public library, which was gorgeous!  Outside was her favorite sculpture, called "One World, One Water". An amazing piece!
    The next day we went SNOWSHOEING!  IN YELLOWSTONE! So I think you get the idea that I have never been in these parts before. It has been a childhood dream to get to Yellowstone - even though there was only one road open. We spent the day Sunday checking out the sights and walking on top of the snow - apparently there wasn't that much yet. The weather was beautiful, sunny, crisp.  Here are some shots from the hike.  We stopped by Mammoth Springs on the way out - very cool, wild geology in that part of the country! We ended the day at a place called Chico - a hot spring that is fed into a pool. it is a resort/hotel, but you can pay a few bucks and take a soak.  Awesome. There is something about the mineral water heated by the core of the Earth that feels so right!
    Spent the next day in Andy's studio forging a dragon head & wings from a railroad spike.  Fun fun - it had been a while since I have forged anything.  To top it off, we went to see a local bluegrass band The Bridger Creek Boys at the Bozeman Brewing Company.  Great music + great beer = great crowd.  Had some terriffic conversations & met some really cool cats.
    So after this tour de force, showcasing some of the highlights of the Bozeman way of life, I was convinced that I must stick around.  However, I had a workshop scheduled in San Francisco, and as my cash reserves were dwindling,  I knew it would take a little while until I could return.
    I would like to return to Bozeman some day, I felt immediately comfortable there.  I feel as though there is great opportunity there for me - when the time is right.  There is a lot to be said for that!