One of America's Days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WRoWPhLU2Q

Memorial Day is such an important holiday in our great nation. I appreciate all the sacrifices that servicemen have made throughout the centuries. In my research last week at the museum, I read a newspaper article from 1894 about Decoration Day, the early version of Memorial Day. I wanted to share some of what the article said describing the parade in the city.

"They seemed to realize that that the applause of the thousands who cheered them on their march carried with those cheers words of sympathy for the nation's loss of their comrades. The lame and the blind were in the procession. Every physical defect served as an evidence of heroism. There were empty sleeves, artificial limbs, and crutches. Cheers, loud, sincere, open-hearted cheers, greeted those who were compelled to put their physical defects in evidence. Each one taught every young American a lesson that he will profit by. Mothers told their sons and the gaping babies they held in their arms that these scarred veterans had suffered for a lifetime simply for their country's sake. Last night around the table they again told them in answer to the oft-repeated questions that the veterans they saw during the day were men of sturdy hearts and characters to emulate. Young America was taught a practical lesson yesterday as he has been ever since Schoolmaster Washburntook his little band to Belle Island and instructed them to honor the memory of Union soldiers. Those lessons and all that will be involuntarily impressed in future will not be forgotten. The impress will be found when this great country calls on its sons at any future time, if it ever should, to do their dury. Decoraton Day is one of America's days."

Yellowstone

Today was an amazing day! 3 girls from the museum and I went to Yellowstone today and had a blast! We left around 8 and went to a ranch/ski slope for breakfast which was one of the best breakfasts that i've ever had. The pancakes were about an inch thick (which I don't know HOW they accomplished that at these altitudes) and were absolutely delicious. I'm fairly sure i'll be returning again sometime this summer.

Once inside Yellowstone, we went to the Upper and Lower Falls, the hot springs at Norris, Mammoth Springs, Tower Falls, and out the northeast entrance to the park towards Cooke City, MT. We saw elk, mule deer, antelope, buffalo, A BLACK BEAR, and A MOOSE!!! Can you tell which 2 I was most excited to see? If I don't see another animal all summer I will have seen the ones I wanted to see the most.

When we first went into the park, we passed by Yellowstone Lake which was still frozen over. We ran into some snow at the higher parts of the park and sunshine in other parts. The entire lake had ice on it which was pretty incredible to see as the first thing inside the park. Looking back on the picture now, it seems like so long ago that we saw the lake and so much snow. There were still several feet on the ground at some elevations.

The falls were pretty incredible. I could hear the noise from them from a long way off. The Lower Falls are very impressive with a huge drop in the Yellowstone River before flowing away through the canyon. The Upper Falls were nice too, but not as impressive as the Lower Falls.

The hot springs were a nice diversion from the cold until I realized that it was blowing sulfur smelling air into my face. Great. Mom's nose would have been inside her t-shirt. The smell was pretty strong at the hot springs. THEN it started snowing. Not just gently falling beautiful, graceful snowflakes, but a type of snow that the locals (that's me now!) call "grapple" which is pretty much like getting pelted in the face with dip'n'dots. I tasted one, unfortunately before I remembered that we were surrounded by hot springs that smelled like sulfur and might TASTE like sulfur too, but I was very grateful that the dip'n'dots tasted like normal snow. It was a really interesting form of snow that i'd never seen or heard of before.

The rest of the park was beautiful as always, and we got to see buffalo with calves and an elk with a calf. Spring is definitely in the air out here and things are FINALLY starting to turn a little bit green. The green here is not anything compared to the green at home, but at least it doesn't look like dirt anymore.

We left the northeast entrance to the park and came back along the Dead Indian Pass and the Chief Joseph Highway through the Sunlight Basin. I think this might be my favorite part of Wyoming. The sun was starting to set behind the mountains while we were there, and I got some really great pictures. (The rest of mine are on facebook if you want to see the entire trip...otherwise, email me and i'll send them to you!) I am increasingly amazed and surprised at what my camera is capable of doing. I LOVE it! This is a view coming back along the Chief Joseph Hwy.

I am constantly amazed at the country we live in and really apprecite all that God has given us. One of my favorite things to see is the sunlight shining through the clouds with rays beaming down, because it makes me feel like God is looking down on us and showering us with his glory. Poignant moments are my favorite, and I got a huge chill (not just from the wind!) as we were winding back and forth looking at these mountains. God must really love us if He created this just for us to LOOK at! Can you imagine what He is capable of?

I have been learning lately just how much He must love us. He has created this beautiful country that I live in, He has put people in my life that I feel comfortable with and can go exploring and adventuring with, He has been slowly revealing his plan for my life to me, and makes me feel like He is covering me with His love like He blankets these mountains with His light and glory. God truly is good. All the time.

3 Day Weekend!

I don't have to work on Monday!! YAY!! I had a really good week last week at work, but it will certainly be nice to have a day of on Monday and then a 4 day week! I'm looking forward to it!

Yesterday, I got to meet the former curator of the BBM (Buffalo Bill Museum). He reminded me a lot of Dad...suit, cowboy boots, cowboy hat, mustache...but his hair was a lot whiter than Dad's. :) Anyway, several of us were going through the museum looking at the lighting and seeing which lights were effective and which ones weren't. There aren't any standard overhead lights in the museum because many of the artifacts are light sensitive and will age more quickly with bright lights. Each object or collection of objects has a sort of spotlight on it, so that the pools of light will illuminate enough for you to look at the exhibit. Some of the lights were not pointed where they should have been or too many were pointed at something, so we all went through and decided a better use of lighting for the next year and a half before they start the reinstallation. It was pretty fun! Then I was invited out for lunch with several people in the main BBM office. We went to Bubba's and I had bbq and sweet tea. The bbq was good (even though it was beef bbq) but the tea was like dishwater. I wanted to go in the back and show them how to make a REAL pot of tea. I added some stuff and made it drinkable. :)

I got back from work and noticed that someone had moved in my room. I didn't meet her till I got back from the movies with Laura and Gwenanne, and her name is Jessica. She's from Alabama so I get to have another southern accent around! She goes to Bryn-Mawr (sp?) up in Pennsylvania, so hopefully I can get rid of the PA part and stick with the Alabama accent. She's been nice so far.

I realized I hadn't been outside much last week (which is highly unusual) so I decided to explore a little more around the lake and resevoir on the south side of town. I found a nifty little spot to sit and read overlooking the little lake so I expect I will be there a lot, especially when the weather is nice. I made sure to check around for snakes before I got too settled. It is supposed to snow this weekend at some point. I know it will in the mountains, I'm not sure how much Cody would get, we'll probably just get rain.

I'm headed to Yellowstone tomorrow! I feel bad about missing church, but I don't want to go to Yellowstone by myself and I was invited to go with Laura and Gwenanne on Sunday. I'm really excited about going, and I'll probably see some snow! We're leaving about 8 and are going to stop at a B&B that Laura knows about for breakfast. It should be an adventurous day!

Today is busy with swimming, grocery shopping, and getting ready for Yellowstone! Happy Saturday!

Choir Picnic

These are all pictures from Jerry's "K3 Ranch" where we had the choir picnic tonight. Once again, everyone has been extremely nice and friendly and welcoming which is such a blessing. I met a couple who is visiting her mother that live in Asheville...small world! :) It was nice to talk about some landmarks around home for a change and actually have someone understand them. I can tell i've been trying to tone down my accent. I noticed today that I've started saying -ing on the end of words instead of just -in. Oh well. We'll see where that goes. Anyway, the K3 Ranch is about 2 miles out of town, but it feels like the middle of nowhere. They have a dirt road that leads to their circle drive, but the inside of the circle is solid rock, so it feels like a bunch of Indians or robbers might jump on top of your car from above on the rock. It was really neat. I enjoyed getting to know some of the choir members better and just relaxing in an extremely peaceful and tranquil place. I could get used to this!

Work was really good today. I had a 2 hour meeting with everyone involved in the reinstallation, so it was exciting for me to meet everybody and hear all of their ideas about the museum. It also helped me get fired up about what i'm doing, mostly because it helped me to see what they are wanting to show through the museum. Now what I have to do is find the information that will allow them to share their vision of William F. Cody throughout the museum. Now that I know what they want to say, I can be more specific in my research and writing. It's gonna be an interesting project and I'm looking forward to it. Once I get the scrapbook of newspaper articles indexed, my work is going to be much more fun.

I Might Not Get Up In The Morning...Unless I Can Put Out Fires Again!

It's gonna be tough to get up in the morning...I just played 2 hours and 15 straight of volleyball...and I loved every minute of it! I haven't been this sore since, well, Styron's class at Christmas...but that's beside the point because his class ALWAYS makes me sore. I thought my legs were going to collapse at the end of the 4th set...thank goodness they didn't!

I'm definitely the new girl, and as always, feel like I have to prove myself...so what better way to do that than the block the cockiest guy out on the court on his first swing? Yep. It happened. (Honestly I was a little surprised b/c we were playing on a guy's net)...and I felt kinda bad for a second, but who doesn't enjoy a good block every now and then? ESPECIALLY when it's a guy! :)

We were definitely playing competitively. Our first set ended up being a 37-35 victory! My team lost the next 4 sets. I switched teams for the last set, which was really fun because we had enough skills to run plays and stuff. I got to be setter for all 5 sets which pretty much made my day. If I could go back and do it all over again, I'd be a setter...that way you are guaranteed a touch every play. It was really fun to get out there and play competitively, where I'm not the best one out there, but i'm not the worst either, and have fun with complete strangers. Yet again, people are being extremely friendly and nice. One of the girls got a bit of a 'tude with the others during the game but I think she was just frustrated with some play so I'm not too worried about it. Every Tuesday from 7 to 9 I bet you can all guess where i'll be! :)

I got to work this morning and was informed that I had to participate in fire safety training. I was pretty stoked because this meant I got to put out fire!!! Don't worry Dad, I didn't play with it, so I didn't get burned! Haha! As I told Mike, the destroyer was very graceful with the fire extinguisher. It was a interesting start to the day for sure!

Tomorrow is the Choir Picnic and I'm looking forward to taking my baked apples along with me. I haven't had some good baked apples since I left home so I decided that's what I'd take.
Well...I'm off to take a hot shower and soak my muscles and pray that I'm not too sore to get out of bed in the morning.

BEST DAY EVER!!!

Somebody COMPLETELY made my day today. And I have no idea who it is. I got a message this afternoon that I had a package at the hotel office to pick up after work. And this is what it was...

:) X 3,977

Somebody knows me REALLLLLLLLLY well...and I thank you!

Spring #3

Everything here is in full bloom or just past it. I've been extremely lucky this year, I've gotten to see 3 springs! First in Chapel Hill, then at home, and now in Wyoming! It has been beautiful in all 3 places!

My mom would be so proud right now...I'm watching Star Wars right now. Yesterday, before I ran out the door to get my errands done, I watched the bar scene from the first movie on tv. It was every bit as funny as mom re-enacting it. :)

I was a few minutes early to choir practice on Wednesday, so I decided to explore the area around the church a little bit. There is a neat little soccer park, recreation area right across the street from the church, and down the street, this is the view I found. It was amazing with the setting sun casting light around everywhere. This is Heart Mountain, one of the mountains surrounding Cody.

I finally got a space cleared for my End of the Trail statue. It sits in the window beside my bed where I can see it easily.

Church this morning went really well. The choir piece, "Come, Build A Church," went really well. The pianist/organist that accompanied us did a REALLY good job, and her piece during the Offertory was just beautiful. It was a piano solo that made me close my eyes to listen to (thought you would enjoy that Rachel!). The sermon was talking about the wind of the Holy Spirit, and the minister showed a picture on the screen about how the wind moves things. It showed a picture taken from an airplane, somewhere in this area, of massive round hay bales that had been blown across a field. You could see where they had sat before, and how far they had been blown across the pasture. It was really amazing that these massive, heavy hay bales could be blown so far. The effect that the wind had on them was truly amazing, and translates to our own lives to how the Holy Spirit can move us to places we may not want to go, or even simply to move us from just being in a set place.

My 2nd week of work starts tomorrow. I'm hopeful that it will be as easy and successful as this past one has. I think it will. :) I'll have lots of pictures to show from my trip to the K3 Ranch on Wednesday. It's a bed and breakfast/dude ranch sort of place and I'm really looking forward to it.

The K3 Ranch

God is too good to me and always provides just what I need. I was reading Psalm 36 last week and was really struck by vs. 1-4 that describe how the wicked belittles his sin and think they aren't such a bad person. I realized that I do that ALL THE TIME. Just "catching up" with a friend easily turns into a full-blown gossip session, or I'll catch myself judging someone out here I haven't even met. I beliettle my own sins and think to myself, "Oh, I'm not so bad...I don't murder people or steal things." But my sins are STILL sins. Yet no matter what I do, God still loves me. Isn't that so reassuring? I am continually amazed at how he provides for me despite all I do that displeases Him.

Despite my trepidations about living in a house with 7 girls from Mexico, my Spanish is improving and I am able to communicate with them. And we ALL know that that is a gift from God---on my own I wouldn't even be able to say Hola! :) I have been able to serve these girls and help them translate text messages and download pictures on the computer. I made cookies Tuesday night to share (which were AWFUL because of the difference in altitudes) and they were nice and said they were good anyway. They shared some of their meal with me a couple nights ago and never make me feel dumb when I can't think of the right words to say. God is so good.

He has given me an awesome church to go to. I went to choir practice last night and felt so welcomed and even expected! (Side note: One of the men in the bass section has the deepest voice I've ever heard---I don't know which one of them it was, but his voice is beautiful!) The congregation feels like a tight-knit group that knows one another well and genuinely cares for each other. The choir was most welcoming and just plain nice. I have been invited to the choir picnic next Wednesday at the K3 Ranch---it's Jerry's place! :) God is truly amazing and is providing me with a solid place to worship Him and dwell in Him despite everything that I do wrong.

Another side note --->this one is funny. The woman next to me at practice asked me if I did any choral work at school. It took me a few seconds to figure out what she was asking because she pronounced it "corral" - like where you keep horses. I was thinking "no, I don't do corral work at school- it's in a city!" But then I figured out she meant Choral as in choral music.

Work is going just great. I got to listen in on a real meeting yesterday! That was really neat and I learned more about the process of actually displaying artifacts in a museum. Neat!

God is making this transition an easy process. It amazes me how faithful and just He continues to be. Praise the Lord! Thank you for all your prayers! :)

First Day Jitters...Out of the Way!

Today was awesome!! I think i'm REALLY going to enjoy this summer. I got to work about 8:30 and got checked in and met with John. Then I went to Chris for my orientation stuff and filled out all the paperwork. About 10:30 John got me set up in my OFFICE!!!! (it's really a cubicle, but I'm going to call it an office!)

I also got set up with a sweet name tag and swipey badge that gets me access to the offices and rooms below the museum exhibits. Pretty sweet if you ask me! The red means that I am a seasonal employee, people with yellow are volunteers, and people with blue are year-round employees.

In my office, I got started reading 2 books for some additional background information that John wanted me to know before I got started doing lots of research. I finished one book (which suprised him...I don't think he expected that so quick) and took my notes on it. I had a lunch break in the Education Dept. which is where my office is. All the ladies that work there are really nice. One of them was helping me with my computer and I thanked her for it, and Emily, another girl shouted from around the corner, "I LOVE YOUR ACCENT!" .....I guess it has begun. :) I later met another lady and she asked if I'd been out this way before and I started to say "I've been out here before" and she said she knew I was from the south as soon as I said "I've been." She was from Virginia originally although you really couldn't tell. :)

I met back with John at 4 to go over more in depth what I would be doing for the summer and I will certainly be busy! I'm mainly researching stories about people who worked in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, at the 1894 season in Brooklyn, NY. I'm going to be cataloguing a lot of information from a scrapbook that the museum has, and researching some from the Denver library, as well as transcribing some newspaper articles. I'm really going to be busy this summer!

After work, I went and signed up for a membership at the Rec which has a REALLY nice facility. My next stop was at the library to get a library card, but I have to check sometime at the museum before I can sign up. I'm getting all settled in!

My spanish is improving! I talked to my Spanish housemates last night for about 45 minutes and then a little bit again today. Maybe I'll be more fluent by the end of the summer. I had some rice and meat that they fixed for supper and shared with me tonight...it was MUY CALIENTE!!! :) But I enjoyed it...and was happy they wanted to share with me.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers today. I'm really feeling more comfortable with everything that is going on and all my work this summer. The transition is going smoothly so far! Adios! :)

Lazy Sundays

I'm sitting in the lobby listening to the 2 attendants talking about dogs. They are talking about how awful and inhumane it is to leave a dog inside of a car. hahahahaha...it must be a slow day. I can't remember the last time i've had such a lazy Sunday afternoon...and I like it! :) No catching up on homework, or taking the car back to the PR lot...I can get used to this!

Dad and I went yesterday out South Fork Rd. headed towards the most remote area in the continental U.S. We didn't go INTO the most remote area, but we were really close to it. We saw TONS of mule deer, elk, and bighorn sheep.


After we got back midafternoon, we took a short break and then went back to the museum to look at a really neat exhibit on western saddle work and bridlery. Some of the saddles were going for $9,000-$10,000!! They were extremely fancy (but I don't know if I would go THAT far). We went to Bubba's for supper and both had some really good BBQ. It was good, even if it wasn't Hannah's. :)



This morning we got up early and took Dad to the airport. I wish he could stay longer, but we've had a great trip out here and gotten everything done that we wanted to. I went to First Pres here in Cody at 9:30 and somehow have already gotten roped into singing in the choir next week! Jonene (pronounced john-een) introduced herself before the service started and then later I saw she was the choir director. The choir had a really good anthem so I went over to talk to her after the service and told her I really enjoyed the anthem. She asked if I sang, and when I said yes, she said, "Good! Come to choir practice on Wednesday at 7!" She then took me around and introduced me to several people (Deb, Vince and Mary-Kate and their 2 kids Garrett and Aspen (what an awesome name!), Pat, and somebody else whose name I forget) and talked to me for awhile. She really made me feel welcome and at home, so I expect that I will be singing in the choir next week to show my appreciation. The choir only has 1 more week before it's off for the summer, so she also invited me to the end of the year choir picnic! :) I think we might be going to a ranch outside of town? I sure hope so!


Work starts tomorrow morning. I'm supposed to report at 8:30 and my summer work will officially begin! I'm going to go get some supper, watch another episode of America: The Story of Us, and possibly take a short walk around town before getting an early bedtime to be rested tomorrow! Hope to hear from all of you soon!


In case you missed it, my address is:

Kathryn McKee
719 Lindsay Lane
Cody, Wyoming 82414

I Have An Address!

Well, we made it!! Safe and sound. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers these past few days...we only hit a little bit of rain late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. We drove 939 miles on Wednesday, going from home to Kansas City, Missouri. Then on Thursday, we went from Kansas City to Douglas, Wyoming. Today we got up and drove for about 6 hours or so from Douglas to Cody. We got here right after lunch.

My address is:

Kathryn McKee

719 Lindsay Ln.

Cody, Wyoming 82414

I'd like to send a quick shout out to my dad. Today is his birthday!! And in true McKee style, we are planning to celebrate tonight. We have plans to go eat a big steak..we aren't sure where just yet but don't worry...we'll follow our noses to a good spot!

During the drive today, we passed several REALLY COOL old train tunnels. The tunnels were probably 150 years old...well...at least the LOOKED that old! The train tracks were on one side of the river and the road was up above on the other. It was very pretty. We drove about a mile past all these tunnels, and we saw a train wreck! There had been a big rock slide a couple days ago and the train had de-railed. There was a big work crew picking up all the wreckage.

Once we got to Cody, we checked in at my dorm/house thing. It's a house, but they call it a dorm. I don't know whether it is ironic or just funny, but right now, there are 9 other people living in the house, 2 Ukraine boys and 7 Mexican women that hardly speak english. I guess i'll be brushing up on my spanish skills in the next few days so that I can communicate with the girls. The little bit that I've talked to them about (I told them that I like to cook and that I can teach them how to cook American food and they can teach me how to cook Mexican food...and i DO know 1 sentence that I got right...I told them my dad likes jalapenos and they got really excited! They like them too!) was a struggle...no surprise for those of you who know my spanish skills...or lack thereof. But, I AM looking forward to hopefully learning some from them and helping them with their english. It will be exciting to see how I can minister to them while they are so far away from their families this summer. I expect to be talking to Anne and Caroline a LOT this summer to get some spanish help so I don't look like a complete idiot when I talk to them. :)

We went to the museum and met with Dr. Rumm. I'm expected at 8:30 on Monday morning for some check-in and orientation kinds of things. The summer is starting!

Dad's waking up from his nap so I expect we will soon be on the hunt for the best birthday steak ever! Happy Birthday Dad!

Head 'em Up! Move 'em Out!

Before it was the Wal-Mart commercial song, it was the theme song for Rawhide, a great TV show from my childhood (satellite DID have its advantages), and my love for the Western (and Rowdy Yates) was born!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl2fONPgIJEhttp://

^^^1:04 :)

We're on the road! (well...almost...) Our plan is to leave early in the morning, drive all day, stop in Kansas City MO, drive all day Thursday, stop probably somewhere near Cheyenne, and then make it into Cody, Wyoming Friday about lunchtime. The time to begin this epic journey has begun! :)

I talked to the curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum, and my boss, Dr. Rumm today. We are getting all squared away and ready to start work on Monday morning! After several questions about my work this summer (and I still don't know EXACTLY what all I will be doing) I thought I would pass along what I DO know. The Buffalo Bill Historical Center is made up of 5 museums (Draper Art Museum, Firearms, Plains Indians, Natural History, and Buffalo Bill). I am the intern for the Buffalo Bill Museum. In the fall of 2011, the Buffalo Bill Museum will close to reconstruct and basically re-do the museum. They are going to redesign the information put forth by the museum and are attempting to make it more kid-friendly and interactive. That's where I come in. There are plans for a scale model of one of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Shows (shame on you if you don't know who/what he is...you'll have to google him yourself to find out)...anyway...with the scale model, they want me to find stories, antecdotes, artifacts, pictures, etc. about the people involved with the show, whether it's Buffalo Bill himself, or people helping set up the tents or working with animals. Dr. Rumm said I would become VERY familiar with a scrapbook that they have from one of Buffalo Bill's shows. I am also helping another girl in the museum with some artifacts, documenting what they are and that sort of thing. Other than that, I have absolutely no idea what else i'll be doing at the museum.

This internship is going to be terrific, because it'll show me what museum curators do, and it will help me decide if that is what I want to do as a career. I'm doing a lot more research oriented stuff, rather than just giving tours of the museum to kids and families that visit the museum.

I'm off to sleep, we're making an early start. Please pray for our safe travels and safe arrival. We've got 30+ hours of driving ahead of us, so we need to stay sharp and focused. At least THIS cattle drive only has 1 car in it. In the words of Gil Favor, "Head 'em up! Move 'em out!"

The End of MY Trail

With the time difference and busy schedules, keeping a blog is probably the best way to keep up with me this summer. I can't promise daily postings, (sorry Mom and Dad!) but i'll try to keep you up to date on what i'm learning and experiencing out in Cody, Wyoming this summer.



End of the Trail is probably my favorite statue, by James Earle Fraser, and the feelings that I get whenever I look at it (and yes, I DO have my own small replica of it!) are a little hard to explain. My heart feels sad for the Indian who appears so dejected and alone, out in a bitter storm with his horse. I can't imagine what trials and tribulations he must have gone through to be in this position. Throughout his life, he MUST have had fun times, sad times, happy times, tough times, and easy times as he's gone through the various stages of his life. He is nearing the end of his trail, the life he has led, and doesn't seem to be too happy about what might be coming next. Fraser sculpted this statue to show the transformation that Indians made into the 20th century. His final design replaced a buffalo shield with a medicine bag, depicting the changes that the Indians had to make to fit into the new world that American settlers gave them. When I look at this statue, yes I feel bad for what looks like a bitter ending to the story that he wants, a radical change from one way of life to another, but without the trail he has been on, he wouldn't be where he is today.



This fantastic opportunity at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming is just a stop along MY trail. I don't know when or where the end of my trail might be, but I look forward to all the people and places that I will see and know that make me who I am along the way. This internship is going to be extremely influential in my life, because it is going to help me decide if working in a museum is really what I want to pursue as a career, and living out West is going to be so awesome, but also help me decide if moving out there is really what I want to do too. I am really excited about this summer season of learning and growth in my life, although I am a little nervous about spending 3 months thousands of miles away from the ones I love (including Sundrop and sweet tea!). The good news is, I won't be alone! I will have Jesus by my side, and with Him, all things are possible...even living by myself for 3 months! He will give me the confidence and comfort that I need, and I am SUPER excited about what He might teach me this summer.



So...as I journey along MY trail, I want to share the adventures and shananigans I might find myself in. And while I know a lot of people aren't really interested in history, I hope that my stories might transfer some of my enthusiasm for history and the West into you, so that you might become interested in the people and events that have made our country into what it is (and at the very least, maybe you won't be bored out of your minds reading my updates).

Happy Trails! :)