GA to MT
It was in the high 40’s yesterday and went down to 10 overnight. While at church it showed hard. Got a couple of inches on the ground while I was in church. That said we missed the big storm. Cook City about an hour plus to the east got two feet of snow over the weekend.
Went to a Super Bowl party with some people from work. Had a great time. Great food and a great game. Enjoyed watching the Patriots lose.
Slept in and can you guess? Made waffles. They were good with the added bonus of some syrup I got at Walmart last night. Worked on the car, did laundry and cleaned the house.
Went for a jog/walk. Getting better with the altitude change. Did a little over 4 miles. Mr. Elk is still not happy with any mammals approaching his women rapidly, so I had to change course. Went past the Devil’s Slide.
Left work at lunch time to head to the big city to try and get a car tag and maybe my Montana license. You are highly encouraged to make an appointment for getting your license. I could not get one for the day I am going so will be rolling the dice. Going to Livingston first and then to Bozeman so will get two tries.
The bison are not happy with me clocking out early. They setup a roadblock.
Made it home and switched to my car and started on my way. It is really hard to explain the excitement I feel going to the big cities. What would I see? What would I do? The best way I can explain it is to say it was like when I was a kid and I knew we were going to Six Flags the next day. Part of me is a little uncomfortable that I am this excited.
On the way out of town I had another roadblock. Really cool seeing them up close, and he had no fear. Cars wised by and he didn’t flinch.
It’s a hard drive with nothing to really look at on the way….
Stopped in Livingston and found the tag office. No line and everything went smooth. I got a Yellowstone tag with a bear on it. Montana still has the option to just pay one year at a time for taxes, so went with the year option as I was wondering if I will still have a driver door on my car in a year.
Found the drivers license office. Went in and found about 6 people waiting and only one person working. A sign clearly stated by appointment only. I asked if I still had a house in GA if I had to get a Montana licence. They said that I could only claim residency in one state and I would need the licences from the state I want to claim residency in.
Stopped by the Verizon store on the way out of town as my data is still turned off on my phone. Checked on what a hot spot would cost, which turns out to be pricey and no unlimited plans unless I get a phone with Verizon. Will wait on that.
On to Bozeman I go. Found the driver’s license office. They had two doors. Door 1 was for appointments and door 2 was for walk-ins. The fact that they have a process for walk-ins was promising. Went in and was told that I could wait. Filled out the forms and only waited less than 30 minutes for my turn. So it turns out that Montana is in a fight with the TSA and federal government over licenses. That star on the top right of your GA license is a “smart id”. They don’t have that in Montana, so the TSA is saying they are going to stop taking the Montana licence for air travel. I asked the lady about it. She said that the state filed for a year extension. This means I “may” be able to use my new Montana licence for air travel. Regular lisence is about $40, and the “smart” one is about $140. She said it wasn’t worth it now and to just use my passport if the TSA stopped recognizing my Montana license. Well alright then….
I am now a card carrying member of “The Last Best Place”.
Now for some shopping and site seeing. I went to TJMaxx, Barnes and Nobles, REI, and Bed Bath and Beyond. Stopped at multiple hair cutters multiple times to be able to get my hair cut. I think they must have a shortage of places to get haircuts. Then for the big Walmart extravaganza. Capping that off with a stop at Taco Bell (inside joke – I am turning into my dad).
My big night out is coming to an end and time to drive home.
Started the morning off with snow and my men’s prayer breakfast. We talked about standing firm with our faith and being able to explain it to someone. We also talked about the need to do this with humbleness and not being the screaming people with signs that you see giving Christians a bad name. One guy told a great story. When this happened he had been a believer for only about a year. When he went into the shop a devoted atheist would say, “Here comes that a**h**** Christian.” Many of the other guys would then laugh. The man sharing said it really upset him and he was praying about it. He got to the point that in his prayers he told God if the guy did it again he was going to hit him in the face. He said he heard a clear voice in his head that said he should hug the man. He didn’t like that answer, but he determined he would try it. The next time he was in the shop the other man started to say the same thing. The guy telling the story said he interrupted him and said that God had told him to hug him the next time he made the statement. The guy said it anyway so the man telling the story said we went to give him a hug. The other guy ran and he chased him around the shop. That happened one more time and after that the atheist never bothered him again.
Now for the snow. Call for big storms between now and Monday night.
Still doing the long hour shifts. Was out the door at 7:00 AM today and this was the sky. The moon was so bright. It was amazing.
I am trying to through work that is being asked of me and put in place some of the things I want to have. To do this I need to put in some long hours. I get to work anywhere from 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM depending how fast I get out of bed. I work until 6:00 PM with a lunch break. At 6:00 PM I walk over to the employee cafeteria and have dinner. Then back to work until about 8:30 – 9:00 PM. Then I head home. Been seeing a lot of darkness.
While everyone reading this blog gets to share some highs and lows with me, I would like to take a moment and recognize the real hero in this story. A wonderful woman and my wife…Janet. She has been keeping everything going in Atlanta. She has been very supportive of me, and she handles the 3+1 cats with one that is certified crazy. Thank you Janet for being you! You make me a better person and you are the best thing that ever happened to me.
On the way back I ran into multiple buffalo jams. The one on the bridge reminded me of the one Janet and me had when we were at Mt. Rushmore.
On your left….please don’t hit me….
The main buffalo almost charged the truck in front of me. He started pawing the ground and lowering his head. I learned about both of these signs in the cafeteria safety video. When they do that you need to get away. Luckily a car on the other side got his attention and instead of fighting a war on two fronts he decided to move off the road.
They went down and crossed the water. I can’t imagine how cold the water was, but it didn’t faze them at all.
Went to Sunday School. It was good. We talking about how Jesus has authority and command in all situations. We also talked about it being safe staying neutral, but we need to be on the side of righteousness. That said we can’t be preachy. The main service was about dealing with tough times. The pastor talking about how the events could help us, give us the ability to help others or maybe keep us humble. He made a great point about sometime not praying for the right thing. He used the story of the man begging for money and Peter praying for him to walk and he was healed. He used that to say maybe we would be praying for money, when we should be praying for a healing. Two guys at church had this tattooed on their arm. It looked really cool.
Romans 1:16 ” “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
Got invited to lunch. It was nice talking with more people and the food was good. Had some pulled pork just like from Georgia.
Saw this parked at the restaurant. I want one.
Went to see if a broom ball game was happening, but didn’t look like it. Decided to drive east and go for a hike. It was just me and one lone buffalo. Very beautiful and quite. Had to make sure I stayed on the packed trail. I got off the trail once and my foot went into the snow almost to my knee.
The buffalo is in the center of the picture. You have to look for him.
