I’m writing from southcentral Montana, where I’m taking my daughters to visit the places they heard me talk about spending time in my youth. And it’s just as well, because my running is just not going well.
Case in point, I did find a middle school track (clay cinders, just like I ran on in the ’80s when I was in high school), but my workouts there have been hilariously bad. I set out this morning to run 400m repeats with shorter breaks (in an effort to get accustomed to carrying speed for a full mile). There were some dogs barking at me on the backstretch, but they seemed secure behind a tall fence. I ran three intervals at 5:30ish pace, just an effort to keep things steady, not blazing fast.. Then on the last one, one of the dogs got through the fence and chased me. I ran across the infield and hopped a fence. After he got bored of figuring out how to get to me, he trotted home. So my last 400 had a pretty good burst of speed! But I didn’t finish it, alas. I walked the long way around the school to get to safety and jogged back to my hotel. Such is my training lately.
But the rest of the trip has been very nice. It’s just me and my two daughters (19 and 15). They’ve been wanting to see places I talked about spending time when I was growing up. So in addition to visiting my mom in Billings, they wanted to see the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness and Mystic Lake. It’s a highly-accessible wilderness as wilderness areas go. Just a 6mi roundtrip hike up and down a mountain that affords a gorgeous view. Here’s the shot that makes the hike worth it:
My kids have been peppering me with a lot of questions about the small city where I grew up. They ask about the economy, politics, landscape, people, etc. I have a tendency to know a lot of weird trivia about Montana, and because I’m a storyteller, I often have some tale connected to current events. Even our hotel. “Why’d you pick this place, Dad?” “Well, it’s got some history. A few presidents have stayed here and even the king of Norway. Back in the ’40s this place was the tallest building in the whole state.” They were astonished that a 10-story building at 140 feet in height could be the tallest building anywhere. Anyway, you get the idea.
I am not a particular fan of my hometown, although I do feel deeply connected to Montana and wild places like the Beartooths. So, I’ve been very open wth them about how I saw this place as a child and how I see it now. So they are connecting quite a few dots, and I think the visit has brought us closer together.
We’ve still got a few more days, which will include some fly fishing north of Yellowstone and a drive through the towns in this part of the state. But I will keep it short since I’m on vacation and just say that I encourage you to make an effort to be present with people you love. It’s hard, I know. I often get paralzyed by my experience of time passing, somehow thinking if I just sit still, time won’t move either. I know it’s not true, but I think that’s what my brain does to me sometimes. So I’m embracing the days with my girls and I hope you’ll embrace some moments with someone you care about, too.