Montana

Here I am. In Bozeman, MT.

It is a little different than Michigan, much higher up and much less people. There are only about 37000 people here in Bozeman. The biggest city in Montana is 110,000, not much bigger than The Big House on football Saturdays.

But the mountains are great and the mountain biking is pretty good, too. I raced this past weekend at Big Sky Resort (the tallest Ski resort in the country, according to Mike). It was pretty brutal. I heard someone say it was 900 feet of climbing per 5 mile lap. And it seemed to all be concentrated in about 2 of the 5 miles. It was very steep and I was using my W-gear a lot. I surprised myself with 4th out of 6, and I was actually sitting in 3rd for the entire first three laps. But three laps was too much climbing for me and 4 was way too much. I forgot to mention that the start line was at 7800 feet, which is 3000 feet higher than where I live in Bozeman at 4800 feet.

I have mostly gotten used to the elevation. I still get a little winded walking up stairs, but biking has helped speed the process, I think.

School has gone well so far. Classes don't actually start until next Monday, but all of last week I had proficiency exams. I had to pass 3 out of 6 offered, and I passed 4, so I have completed that requirement. That will make life easier than if I had had to retake them throughout the year.

While I was studying in my office, I was usually distracted by the great sunset view I have at night:The picture doesn't really do it justice. You can kind of see the mountains in the background. Those mountains are actually pretty far away. Here is a picture of the Bridgers, which are much closer:You can see in the picture that there is a Block M on the side of the mountain. This is the "M" hiking trail. So I can actually look out my window from my apartment and see a really big block M, which makes it seem a little more like home.

There is a lot of hiking and biking and much else to do around here. Plus school. I am pretty sure once school starts, life will be pretty hectic. But I think I will enjoy that more than having too much free time, which I have had to cope with the past few days.

I will report more soon, and hopefully get some better and more pictures up once my camera arrives from Michigan.

Feel free to call or e-mail me anytime, any contact with Michigan is quite welcome as I am dealing with homesickness...