We have spent some time in Bozeman, MT the last couple of years, mostly visiting friends and spending at least a week ice climbing each year. Last summer I came here and hiked and enjoyed some amazing summer weather and views with friends, and each visit left a lasting feeling of longing to return.
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| How could you not want to live near this? |
So this spring when I found out that my original plans would not be coming to fruition, I started to toy with the idea of trying to move to the place that could fulfill all my passions and still be somewhat close to home. Joe’s sister Melissa also was playing with the idea of possibly trying to go somewhere new, and after passing back and forth with her the idea of her, Joe and myself getting a place we decided to start making that idea into a reality.
I was quick to look into a job opportunity at Spire Climbing Center, the local climbing gym here in Bozeman, and had sent in an application and showed my interest of possibly getting a job here. In the meantime we all packed up our things and headed to Alaska for what was quite the trip, as many of you already know.
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| This somehow feels like it was forever ago, I can't wait to return. |
After returning we all went our separate ways, Joe and Trav back to work, Melissa back to MA for her job, and I went back to Boise for some much need downtime. Though I have to say most of that time was spent trying to plan for the big move to Bozeman. I had heard back from the gym and made a quick visit, and was eventually offered the job. Somehow all our plans were magically panning out, not only did I get offered a position here at the gym (which I was completely over the moon about to be working at another climbing gym, and a great one at that) but Melissa also got offered a job at the ER working as a nurse.
I finally made the move up here at the end of June, and was living with our good friend Laramie while looking for another place for Joe, Melissa and I to rent. While balancing a new job, trying to find a place to rent, and finding the time to get outside and explore Bozeman it seemed like the days were never long enough, and even now we all agree that this seems to be the case every day.
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| Moving to Bozeman means you become a mountain biker, and commute to work with a bike too. |
In mid to late summer we finally found an amazing place, near downtown and the bridgers. We really lucked out with such a great place and awesome landlords who also climb. Our move in date wasn’t until mid August, so I continued to live at Laramie’s place in the meantime.
Bozeman has a certain way up upping the outdoor activity level than any place I have ever been. For example, on a day out with some girlfriends, we opted to go and run the Bridger Traverse, which I had hiked last year and was thoroughly dead by the time I finished and even more so by the time we finished running it this year. Though on the flip side, being able to crush 20 miles and over 5,000ft of elevation gain with some super ladies was a great experience.
Melissa arrived to Bozeman at the end of July and a couple of weeks later we moved into our new house. Joe and I had made a quick trip to Canada for a friends wedding and arrived back to a fast and quick move in day. The fact that none of us had any furniture made the whole process go by really quickly. It was great to have Joe here to help us move in, he actually was in town for my birthday a month earlier and looked at the house with me when we offered to rent it. So to have him here for even a short period of time to join in on the process was excellent before he had to leave for another two months of work.
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| The Bridger traverse, with the best ladiies. |
So now Melissa and I have been settling in at our wonderful place. Plenty of thrift store visits have already happened and I am sure there are countless more in the future. Slowly items have been finding their way into the house and starting to make it feel like a home. This whole process is new for all of us, and even though it is quite scary and intimidating, I think it's something we have thought of doing for awhile and to be finally doing it is exciting.
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| Big smiles all around at the beginning of the Traverse! |
I think I have so far failed to mention how much I love my job. I never got the chance to thoroughly throw myself into the position at Urban Ascent, and regretted that immediately when I found out the gym would be closing. So I knew that I would try not to let that happen with this job, and to make it a goal to work and be available for this new job at Spire, and so far it’s really paid off.
On top of the job being so amazing, Bozeman has truly been a place where all passions can be fulfilled. One of the main reasons I moved here was because of the ice climbing, but the summer has proven to be just as amazing as the winter. Being able to run, hike, mountain bike, and other mountain sports close to home is about as close to heaven as you can get.
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| All the trails are unreal and close to home which is great. |
Most of my time right now is spent working and trying to fit in all the things I want to in what always seems like not enough time in a day. But truly, Bozeman so far I think has exceeded my expectations by a landslide. And recently, we woke up to a dusting of snow on the Bridgers, only to add to the excitement of cold weather, snow and most importantly the ice.
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| This year the smoke was immense, so here's a photo from last year to sum up how beautiful it is here. |
It may not be a giant adventure to a new country, mountain, or crazy ice climbing location but it is a whole new adventure in itself. There is a part of me that sometimes asks what the heck am I doing, and that I probably should have just gotten a van, but the other part of me is feeling really satisfied in the decision to stay in one place for longer that a month at a time. So with the process of moving, settling in at a new job, and finding the time to get outside and play in my free time, I have completely failed to keep up with the blog and updating all the people who care to see what I have been up to! So hopefully from here on out, things will start to feel and become more consistent again! Cheers to new things, and adventures…. And maybe even some adulting in there too!:)
