No Place in the World Like this Place

Montana Rainbow

So, here I am.  Sitting in the sunroom off the porch of our Montana rental home, looking at a wide-open blue sky and Emigrant Peak (part of the Absaroka Mtn Range in the Paradise Valley).  It's our last day before we pack up and head back tomorrow and we could not be more sad.

First, there is no place in the world like this place.  Mind you, I haven't been to all the places in the world that could compete - every place has its beauty (even Houston), but this is the place we come to year after year after year - the place where we are amazed at the expanse of blue sky over our heads, the clear water of the Yellowstone River that runs through this valley, the cool breezes, the amazing afternoon thunderstorms that produce double rainbows.  We've been to many, many places - but this place - it just takes my breath away in a way that no other place has yet.  I think everyone I know has a place like this - it might not be Montana, but I'm sure there are places that many folks go to that have the same effect on them as this place has on me.

Nate splashing around in the Yellowstone River

Secondly, we have found that as much as we love our hometown of Houston, Texas - if we don't get out of the heat and humidity for a portion of time in the midst of the summer, we are miserable.  And you can't beat the 40-50 degree temps in the evenings - and the lack of humidity even when it's 85 degrees in the afternoon.  That, plus a dip in the glacier and snow-pack melted Yellowstone river keep us cool in a way that even air conditioning cannot in Houston.  It does something for our spirits.  It gets us to the fall when things cool down in Texas.  Until you've run 3 miles in July in Houston, you really can't appreciate the gorgeous summer weather in Montana.  This respite helps us finish our summer back home without feeling like we'll melt away any minute.

Third, I have to say I'm still a Western girl at heart.  I like the West.  I like the fishing here (or rather, I like watching my family fish here while I sit and encourage them from the banks of the river).  I like the horses.  I like that we got to spend time with my parents' good friends who have run a cattle ranch near the Beaverhead for several generations now.  Not that I want to start herding cattle, mind you, but I like the fact that we know some folks who have a relationship with their land in a way we do not in the city.  Land is precious to them because of the family and hard work it represents here.  Land is merely an investment and commodity for those of us who are urbanites.  There's a respect and kinship with land in this state that is not the same for those of us who buy townhouses in the city.  I am sure I have a romanticized picture of what life is like in the West, but dang...  I'll keep it.  It takes me back to my childhood when me and my Grandpa Field used to swap Louis L'Amour books while camping and fishing next to Deer Creek in Northern California.  This place reminds me of those stories... so I'll take it.

Fourth, I am not a tourist.  Never have been, never will be.  Please do not put me on a tour bus and take me to see 20 different things in 10 days.  I would die.  That's not relaxation  - that's overwhelming.  I'm just not wired that way.  I need a home base where I can soak in all the local flavor, surroundings and beauty and I'll wander out on my own to explore.  More than anything, give me one place where I can BE instead of feeling like I have to DO something constantly.  Being a "tourist" in the literal sense makes me think of a Chevy Chase "Vacation" movie.  I just can't do it.  I want to hear the river run by me and watch the clouds float overhead all afternoon.  I want to enjoy seeing Nate catch a fish or float down the river or play Boggle on our vacation home deck in the evenings -  not place him in front of historic sites and take a picture so he can claim he's "been there and done that."  Not that we won't someday... just not this summer (or next...). :)

Brooks oversees her Montana Domain

Finally - I love that the people around me love this place as much as I do.  I love sharing it with people for the first time (like our niece, Katherine, who came to join us this summer).  I love that our dog, Brooks, (who by the way, herded cattle on the Montana Ranch with my parents' friends for a few years) loves this place.  I love to watch her run up and down the banks of the river, like a wild animal, romping around in the tall grass and sunning herself on our deck - that kind of freedom just doesn't exist in the city.  She always has to be on a leash or in our backyard.  She was built for open spaces - and in many ways, so are we.

For us - this is what vacation is all about - a little romanticized, beautiful surroundings, building relationships with our family and friends who come to share it with us, running wild in wide open spaces... We've already started planning next summer - same place.  Oh yes, we'll go other places in the world as our lives take us to various locations for work or fun.  We always do.  But, this particular place... there's no place like it and we just keep coming back.

We're headed home - and I am grateful for home in Houston.  But, this little spot on earth... it's become home too.  Of course, I've never spent a winter here.  In that case, I'll take Houston as home in the winter months! :)

-Rachel for the Quan Clan