I'm alive, I swear!

You'd think I abandoned writing, or going online, or checking my or other people's blogs/ljs/myspaces/facebooks four thousand times per day.

No, I didn't give up any of that. I've just been driving, lots.

Well friends, you won't be seeing me for some time ... unless you live in Montana (and western Montana, at that). At a sunny six AM July 9, I geared up and got lost ... but not lost at all, I had a wonderful atlas and driving companion. 2300 miles later we ended up in Missoula, Montana. It was QUITE the trip. We visited a place called the Corn Palace where we bought postcards and "authentic" popcorn. We traversed - super-speed-limiting - along an inter-state/gallactic highway that surely stretches forever, further west and then into the galaxy, paving stairways toward Mars. We visited the Badlands, found eerie beauty in the desert(ed) plains and unique rock formations, but shook this feeling once we entered Wall, SD - little beauty, mostly eerie, or just plain strange. But at Wall we bought magnets, which now decorate our refrigerator. We stayed in Sundance, WY, where the only supermarket in town closes at 8 pm, and got pulled over by a cop - we missed a stop sign, were let go with a warning ("When you're some place you don't know, be sure to pay attention to stop signs"), and the next day made our way to Devil's Tower. We ate good salads at the co-op and then got cheap Cold Stone ice cream from a little princess I know.

It's been real, and incredible, and I love it here. And I know what you're thinking - "It hasn't snowed yet though."

Soon I'll write more about ... people here and lots of other things.