HB&GG Adventures

On the Road to New Mexico... the Land of Aliens..

2009-11-06T14:36:00.005-06:00

Yes, we are still on the road to NM. We would have arrived yesterday or maybe even Wednesday but we had a 3 day delay in Redding, CA. We maximized our time in Redding by running, riding and hiking. I was even able to get quite a bit of work accomplished. :-)

Our delay was due to a few issues with Atta, our truck. She was having problems with her break system and a few of the main seals on the vital parts of her systems. She is running great now and actually seems happier than before she visited ICU at the Dodge Dealer in Redding.

We loved our temporary horse home, a nice little horse motel facility called A & B Horse Hostelry. Garrett and I would highly recommend it to travelers with ponies. :-) There was a nice arena for riding and electric/water hook-ups for Millie, our trailer.

The horses are really getting keen on traveling. They hop in trailer and even try to load themselves now. It is amazing how far they have come, especially Lightning, the little Mustang. Murphy, my Appaloosa in AQHA clothing, has always been pretty good. However, he is getting even more "vocal" about his needs or should I say 'wants'.

We stayed at the fairgrounds in Turlock, CA, Thurs. night and will make it to Blythe, CA tonight. There is a horse hotel there called Choat Equestrian Center. It is just over the AZ border. That means a long push tomorrow and an early morning. Yikes!

Our plan is to be in Bent, NM before nightfall tomorrow. We are really looking forward to seeing our new place, meeting our new friends, and figuring out our newest job description. I think that we will fit right in. It sounds like the apartment where we can/will live has all the comforts of home.

More than anything, I think that Garrett is excited that we will have satellite TV, which means SportsCenter for him. I, on the other hand, am looking forward to meeting our newest animals. There are 15 dogs, 20 cats, 4 snakes, and a bird that are expecting our attention and care.

We already have a few job leads for Garrett and there are several clubs that I want to check out in the area. Garrett and I both want to get involved in a club sport and I am going to join the Chamber in Alamogordo and Ruidoso. These are exciting times!

Lots of changes are coming our way. We are planning to be in NM for at least a year and are actually looking forward to that. We have heard really great things about the area and it sounds like there are 4 seasons, beautiful forests and also lots of desert canyons to explore.

We may even make a journey down to TX near Christmas! We thought that a visit to the Parrie Haynes Ranch and to our good friends Ari and Tom Burden might be in store.

I have 2 trips planned to Phoenix in the next few months also. They are both business trips for Reliv. One is a MAT school over the 3rd and 4th of December. The other is the National Conference which in the 4th-6th of Febuary. :-) Good Stuff! I am glad that I am so close to the action this year. Phoenix is just a days drive from Bent.

I will get some new pictures posted after I find my camera/computer adaptor. Yeah, that causes just a little problem, huh? You guys will just have to use your imaginations about our awesome trip to HI and our time on the road.

Our next entry will be about the details of our HI trip. It was great. We want to thank the Sepersky family once again for the airline tickets. Also a big THANKS to Eric and Shelly Batha for putting us up for a week at their place on the big Island!

We were able to hit 3 islands and mostly camped and backpacked our way around the Island State... To be continued...

Love and joy to all of you!!!

And Remember, "Life's a Garden, Dig it." ~Joe Dirt

In Love and Joy~ Heather & Garrett

Montana looks like winter...

2009-10-04T11:33:00.002-05:00

And that is what we are running from. So we loaded up the two horses, the Roy and set our Dodge on runnin' down the line. (We have been listening to a lot of Johney Cash! :-))

Garrett and I both agreed that 6 months went by pretty fast, even though there were days that seemed long. Garrett got to spend most of his time in a hotel room in Billings and I kept myself busy with caretaker duties and Reliv.

I know that both of us are ready for a new adventure, a new location and to have a much anticipated vacation in HI. We will be flying out on Friday at 830pm PST! Yay!

We left Ennis, MT at 6:34am on Sat. morning, drove to Spokane, WA, and stayed with Anna Ackerman and her family. Her maiden name is Anderson and we have been friends for well over 20 yrs. It had been 15 years since we had hung out and it was so amazing to see her, meet her family and see how our lives have changed. I feel so blessed for the times we've shared and the friendship that has sustained through all these years. Love it!

We should be back in Portland by 3 or 4 today and then it will be the mad rush to see the family, get some Reliv work done, make it down to Myrtle Point to see my family, a little detour through Glide and then back to Portland for a haircut and an airport run. Whew! It will be a busy one.

HI will be amazing! We will fly into Honolulu, cruise around Oahu for a day or two, travel to the Big Island to see Eric and Shelly Batha, and then to Kaui to get back to our earth muffin type roots. I plan on a lot of ocean time, fun in the sun, and camping out under the stars. :-)

We will be back from HI on the 25th. That day we will be watching our nephew, Mason, be baptised and seeing some family on my side as well. Garrett and I just want to make sure that we have enough to do. :-) It seems like time just flies when we are home.

Bend is a destination as well, that will be on the 26th. We will have 3 nights with friends, having fun and seeing my sister. I have a few appts set up to share Reliv with people and that is also where my friend Michelle Frank will fly in to. She gets into Bend on Wed. at 1pm. It will be a lot of fun. She has not been to OR before and she will get to see a good portion of it. :-)

We have a few appts set with Michelle and our Special Event in Roseburg on the 29th. It will be awesome! I am so excited to open up southern OR and share the hope that I have seen with this company and using the nutrition. It is exciting to think about all the lives that will be touched.

As for our next step... Well, we know that Michelle is flying out of PDX at 8am on Sat. the 31st. After that we will be packing up and getting ready to go south. At this point, it looks like it is going to be NM for the winter. :-) Seems like we are both really drawn to that state and we have been wanting to check it out for quite sometime. :-)

We just talked to a nice couple yesterday that have a 40 acre place in between Riudoso and Alamogordo. It is called Bent, and it is about 20 miles from each of the listed towns. The husband was a former psycology prof in SC and they have an animal rescue. It would work out to about 20 hrs. per week and I would have a flexible schedule for feeding and cleaning. Garrett and I would also have an appt and a place for the horses. The couple travels a lot and there is actually another caretaker couple there that we will share duties with. :-)

It would definelty be one more very unique situation. The property borders hundreds of thousands of acres of BLM and is about 20 minutes from a good fishing lake. As most of you know, water is a rarity in NM. We are also near Lincoln County, home of Billy the Kid, and location of the Lincoln cattle wars. Shot down in the Blaze of Glory, we are talking about Young Guns here guys! Lots of history here.

The area seems pretty neat. There are horse racing tracks, cultural events and many things to do. It is a chance to explore a state that we know little about and we will be right near the center.

So, that is all for now. We will get lots of great pictures in HI and post them when we get back to the states. I know that our trip will be wonderful. Garrett has never seen the islands and it will be super fun to show hime around. :-) HI and the west are beautiful places. :-)

Hope to hear from all of you soon. Love and joy~Heather & Garrett

Labor Day Weekend...

2009-09-05T22:34:00.004-05:00

...marks the last big camping weekend in Montana. It is a time when the woods become full of family campers and bow hunter hopefuls. September is in full swing and we are just a month out from heading back to Oregon for our October visit.

We are really excited about our trip home and know that we will not have nearly as much time as we want to get around and see everyone. I am not even sure that we will make it over to Bend. Much of the time that we have in October will actually be spent driving and also vacationing in HI. :-)

We plan to get around to friends and family in the time between the 4th to 9th and then again from the 25th to the 28th. After that we will hopefully be headed South for the winter months.

We continue to look at all different options that are available to us. We both believe that we are at an advantage being mobile and on the road. I am really feeling the spirit of opportunity and I feel that our future is getting brighter and brighter. Garrett and I were talking today about how lucky we are that we are able to travel around the country and go to where the work is.

It is working well with Garrett and his line of work and I am learning a new way to walk through my life and my journey. I am starting to understand that I need the horse bit even if it is PT and that I am really gaining ownership over being apart of Reliv.

It truly is an amazing company and we do so much to Nourish our World. We have 270 feeding stations around the world and feed nearly 43,000 people Every Single Day our nutrition. We even have stations in the US and more are be created all the time. :-) It really is a company with a mission and an organization that I am proud to be apart of. :-)

Garrett and I both know that the right situation will find us at the right time. I believe that it will be by the end of the month and that it will be in the SW. We are looking at one position in Skull Valley, outside of Prescott. We will see if we bear any fruit from that inquiry.

We had a great weekend. We camping with our friends, Michelle and Wes at Michelle's parents ranch in southern MT/Northern ID. It was awesome. Fished in creeks, saw some elk while hiking around and had great conversation and good food. It is a 6,000 acre hunting ranch and the only structure is a cabin that runs off a generator. :-) Pretty sweet!

We rode Sat. and had a great time. We checked out a few new areas and made it back just in time since Lightning threw a shoe about 10 minutes from home on our way in. :-) Saturday evening we went into Ennis to check out the Madison River Fly fishing festival. Had a drink, watched some people, walked around town and did not win the boat raffle. :-( Oh well... I guess that we just have bigger things in store.

This week is a busy one and over the weekend we have a special visitor, Terry, GG's Mom. We will have fun taking her riding, fishing and to a special Reliv event on Friday here in Bozeman. I have a training on Sat., but Sunday we will get to ride and have a fun time showing her around. :-) It is always a great time when family comes to visit.

Well... It is time to get some things done outside. I am so excited to tell you guys where we are going once we find out. Winter seems to be right around the corner and we are still wanting at least one more endless summer.

Hope that you had a great Labor Day!

In love and appreciation~HB & GG

Dirty August(firefighters know what I am talking about)!

2009-08-05T23:18:00.004-05:00

Yes, it is a current picture. We were hiking 2 weeks ago and got caught in a thunder/hail/snow storm, In AUGUST, crazy!

Hi fellow humans! Hope that all of you are having a fabulous August. I have no idea what we have done in the past several weeks. Well, except for work, play and appreciate that we are here on this beautiful earth.

I want to share my gratitude for all of you. I have such a deep love for my friends and family. Emily, I appreciate your last comment. Can't wait to see you and Josh. And yes, we may end up a lot closer than we planned. That would be great.

I also want to let you guys know that we lost a great young man a few weeks ago. Ben Symmes, a friend of mine that I worked with on the Prineville Hotshots was lost as sea a few weeks ago in AK. He was fishing, fell over board and after 4 days the search was called off. He was a MT native, a great person and an inspiration. I suppose that he will continue to be an inspiration to me. He will be missed.

On a brighter note, GG and I have been able to get out hike, ride and we even have done a little air time. Last weekend, we were in St. Louis, MO for Reliv's International Conference. It was Awesome! I am so proud to be apart of what Reliv is doing for people and we just published our 3rd clinical study regarding the effectiveness of this great nutrition. :-)

This weekend we plan on going camping on Saturday night. We are going to be out in the wilds of Barb Anderson's (Lamere) mom's yard down on Twin Falls, ID. She is visiting from the east coast and I am so excited to meet Sydney, her little girl. :-0 Then on Sunday evening, after we get home, we are going to a pre-wedding reception for some friends, Mel and Garl, who live out here in McAllister.

As for the next step in our journey??? We really have no idea. We are keeping our options open and are just knowing that we will be presented with the right situation at the appropriate time. I will let you guys know when we get something in writing. You may even know before that. :-)

Our MT departure date will be the 28th or 29th. We shall see...things are always subject to change. :-) We are heading back to OR and are going to try to see my folks in MP, GG's family in P-town, the Youngs in Glide, and the Bend folks, all in less than 2 weeks. Man, we might be a little busy. Super Fun though!

Then it is off to HI for 2 weeks and that will be a blast. 3 different islands and lots of fun in the sun. :-) We are super excited to see Shelly and Eric. I am pretty sure that we will come back, at least for Roy. :-)

Again, I am so sorry that it has been so long. We have sooooo many photos to upload. I did have to get a new laptop and that put me out for a week, other than that, I have no other excuses except the pleasures of life!

I look forward to talking with all of you and I hope to see you if time allows when we are back in OR. Otherwise, no matter where GG and I are, our single wide always has an open door. Oh, come on, It ain't trashy liv'n in a trailer. :-) Love to all and to all a Rainbow Day! XOXO~HB&GG

Three Weeks! What? Zamm, half of July in Gone...

2009-07-16T23:07:00.007-05:00

Check us out! First day on Ennis Lake. At 80 deg., summer feels like it is finally here. Even Roy likes to go for a paddle and fish. We didn't have any fish luck but we did catch a sunburn. :-)

I can't believe that it has almost been three weeks since I have updated our life journal. :-) It is about time. I will only share about 1/2 of our past weeks events but it will at least give you guys an idea as to what we have been up to.

Besides fishing and touring around on our days off, we have gotten a fair amount of riding in too! The pics are from our 16 mile ride a few Sundays ago into Twin Lakes. Pretty isn't it? It is great that we have all this right out our back door. No trailering! It was a fun little adventure and we even got chased out by a pretty intense thunder storm. The horses were great other than the fact that they are herd bound and barn sour right now. It isn't their faults though. They aren't getting out nearly as much as we would like them to. Soon though...

We also went to the Ennis Rodeo and Parade over the 4th. My friends Michelle, Lacey, and I even tried our luck in rodeo competition. I guess that since I am not competing as a barrel racer yet, Calf-dressing will have to do. It was awesome and we won 2nd place and $150. We had to hang onto this crazy calf and put a t-shirt on him, and then drag him another 200 ft. It was truly the highlight of my rodeo experience (Garrett's too). :-)

We took an awesome drive up at 9-10,000 ft. too. We were checking out a road system in the Gravelly mountain range. It was incredible and we have decided that we have to take people up there who come to visit us. We didn't watch the town fireworks but I was able to see the fireworks that people were setting off over Ennis Lake from our front porch.

Speaking of Ennis Lake... That is where we spent Sunday last weekend. The three of us started in the kayak with all of our gear in the U-tube. However, it didn't take long before Garrett was re-arranging and moving himself into the U-tube so that he could fish and I could drag him. He decided that I am a pretty great Tugboat. :-)

We had an awesome time just hanging out and enjoying the sun. It was incredible and we both needed a day just to chill and turn the brains off. :-) We are hoping to have another Sat. like that this weekend.

Garrett is looking forward to his weekend since they are working a ton and had to work last Sat. We are amazed that we only have 10 weeks left in MT. It is amazing how fast summer goes. Oh wait, we will have more summer, won't we? That is obvious since we are totally planning to move South again for the winter. We have been talking to a few people in AZ and NM. We shall see where we end up. :-)

I also wanted to share that we are getting a few guests this month as well. My really good friend, Jess Saxton, will be coming to see us sometime before the end of the month. I worked with him on Prineville Hotshots and I haven't seen him in 3 years. He just finished up training as a Green Beret. Awesome huh! So he and his little brother are going to spend a few days with us to break up their drive from NC to WA.

Randy and Tracy, Garrett's dad and other mom are planning a trip too. They are looking at the end of July for a Montana trip. Lots of fun stuff! Well, it is time for me to get outside and do more caretaker duties. I think that I have some deep cleaning on the new cabin on the agenda as well. That is definitely my least favorite thing to do in the world. Maybe I'll go groom some horses instead. :-)

This weekend is going to be filled with the Gallatin County Fair, fishing and river time, and a Montana Microbrew festival in Virgina City. :-) Could be way too much fun. I might go for a ride too but our horses are due to be shod and they will be more comfortable and back in business by next Wednesday. :-)

Oh, one more thing! On Tuesday I have a radio interview with a couple who live over on the Big Island, HI. They wanted to interview a person(s) who are care taking and living an alternative lifestyle. They mainly target young adults going through the transition of college to the "real world". There names are Beth and Jim, should be fun. Their website is http://www.wheresthemap.com/ if you want to check it out.

Love all of you guys and can't wait to hear how all of your summers are going. In just 10 weeks we will be headed back for Oregon. We are also totally looking forward to our trip to HI in October. Then south again for the winter...

Have a sunny weekend and I promise that I will write again soon....In love and joy~HB & GG

Aloha Mr. Hand... Our years of Frequent Travels...

2009-06-28T09:53:00.009-05:00

I had to get a picture up of little Mason, this is Josh and Sara's little one. Josh, Garrett's brother, is here with his son. :-) Mason was born the day after Mother's Day. YAY!

Only one place says Aloha like Aloha, and that is our 50th state, Hawaii. Which is exactly where Garrett and I are going in October! It is a very special trip since the flight over is a wedding gift from our good friends, the Sepersky family. Thanks so much Kyle and Rob, we love you guys.

We are flying out of PDX on the 9th and back to OR on the night of the 25th. We are planning to be on Oahu for a few days and then to the Big Island for 5-6 days to see our friends Eric and Shelly Batha. Our last five or six days will be spent on Kauai doing some camping and backpacking. I need to get Garrett onto the Nepali coast line. It is so gorgeous! :-)We have been looking forward to seeing the Batha Clan since last October when we left OR and they moved to the Big Island. :-)

Another plane ticket was purchased this weekend. It is a ticket for Garrett to accompany me to St. Louis, MO in Aug. for the Reliv International Conference. He is going to spend Thurs. night with me at the conference and then the next two days he is planning to go to Louisville and visit his Aunt and Uncle. :-) We will only be out there from Thurs. afternoon until Sat. night but I know that it will be a fun trip all the same. :-)

Now, I know that we don't like to plan too far in advance but we have another ticket we need to use by the fall of 2010, so it looks like we are starting to conjure up a trip to the East Coast. We are thinking that Portland, OR to Portland, ME would be awesome! We are going to rent a car and head north into ME. We have to visit the area where lived and see some friends there. Then it is down to Boston, over to Cooperstown, NY, to NYC, D.C., and on down to the Smokeys and the Carolinas. We are stoked for the trip and will probably try to do 3 weeks or more? :-) We shall see!

We may make one or two more trips to Oregon this summer for weddings, but other than that we will be in MT until October 1st-ish. :-) We had such a great time in Oregon during this 24 hr. trip and I am glad that we made the overnight push. We were able to see my sisters, mom and dad and also most of Garrett's family and some of his friends. A very productive visit indeed!

I also wanted to mention again that my parents, Ted and Rhonda Fischer, just celebrated their 25th wedding Anniversary! I think that is such an accomplishment. Not only have they put up with us for all these years, they also continue to tolerate each other. :-) Love you guys!

I hope that you guys enjoy the new pics! We have been seeing some great wildlife. This coming weekend will be filled with Hometown Parades, 4th of July BBQs and the Famous Ennis Rodeo. We are also going to get some fishing and riding in I am sure. It seems like our time in Montana is going by a lot faster than our time in Texas did. The energy, growth and expansion has really been picking up lately. Garrett and I are happily looking forward to our next living/working situation while enjoying the bountiful days that are abundant NOW!

Reliv health and business and health is awesome too. I know that I seem pretty healthy but I guess that I have always been an optimist and never shared the negative changes that I was aware of in my body. I continue to feel healthier and stronger. I still have some health concerns but I know that I am now giving my body what it needs to address these issues. Garrett continues to see new changes also and his immune system seems much stronger than before. It is nice to be growing younger. At the same time I am getting to help and see others feel more wellness and hope for their future. :-)

Love to all of you and looking forward to your company! Best~HB & GG

Spring is here...(Sure doesn't feel like summer yet!)

2009-06-21T21:27:00.005-05:00

This baby Bambi signifies Spring to Garrett and I. We were fortunate to see this little fella when we were headed home from fishing on Friday evening. He/She was so scared! It was separated from its mama and was trying to hide on the gravel road that leads back to the dam were we like to fish. The little guy was gone the next day but that doesn't mean that I didn't want to take him and raise him just like 'The Yearling'. (Not the killing part though)

It has been a while since I have blogged but last week was a whirlwind. Monday and Tuesday were super full with Reliv appointments and other personal business. Wednesday through Friday I was up at the Big Sky properties 'yardening'. That is my new favorite term, I picked it up from my friend Michelle. :-)

Last weekend Garrett and I had a great four hour ride and a few fishing ventures. There was also a special event with Reliv on Friday that Garrett attended with me. We ended up going out to dinner in Bozeman, checked out some art that was displayed downtown. The paintings were actually done by one of our neighbors! We had another full day training on Saturday with Reliv, which was great! Besides that we got some rest and some hiking in. :-) It is hard to fit the play dates in at times, but important indeed!

One of the pics that I posted to the right was taken of some folks moving their cattle on Hwy. 287 this Saturday morning while we were headed to Bozeman. At 8am, on a foggy morning, it was a little surprising to make a corner and crest hill at about 70mph, only to find 150 head of cattle using the highway as well. :-)

Garrett and I both ended up with new gifts this weekend. I finally got a new pair of New Balance running shoes. (Sorry Tracy, I had to go back to the 'Ol faithfuls.) I tried them out on Sat. and I plan to go again tomorrow. Good fit! Garrett is super excited because he bought himself his first Fly Rod. He took it out on Sat. afternoon and caught his first 2 trout on a fly rod. So exciting! We went fishing again this am and each hooked a few small ones. This afternoon while I was riding, Garrett went back to the River and hooked 2 more! Unfortunately the second one snapped his line and he lost a fly and his lieder. Dang it!!!

We have another busy week ahead and another special weekend planned. We are headed back to Oregon after Garrett gets off work on Friday for a quick visit Sat. We are going to be heading back to MT on Sunday by 5am. We wish that we could stay longer but we will have a good visit with everyone in Sept/Oct.

I am pretty excited about Wednesday as well. Robert(President, CEO, Co-founder) and Sandy Montgomery, the top executives from Reliv, are coming to Bozeman that evening for a special event. I know that it will be awesome! :-) Reliv is such an amazing company and that has life changing products. It will be great to meet the people who started it all 21 years ago. Fun!!!

We are finding that the weekends are pretty short these days and we are looking forward to the time when Garrett works in town again and I am FT, self-employed. :-) We have applied to a few new caretaker positions that are down in the South Western part of the states. We are starting to put energy towards our winter plans and the fact that we want to be on the road by October 3rd at the latest. :-)

Well, that is all for now but I will give you guys an update on Sunday while we are on the road. That is a good time for me to write since I held captive in the truck while we are driving. Garrett has definitely adjusted to the fact that vehicles are a moving office space.

Lots of love to all of you! Have an awesome week and Happy Summer! Best~HB&GG

Snowy June days bring hungry fish and the resident truth...

2009-06-07T21:46:00.007-05:00

If you will look above, you will see the two things that I caught today. We stopped at another hole on the Madison before Garrett caught a few as well (not fish though). It was only a high of 38 today with snow on the ground. Regardless of our Spring like weather, Garrett was super excited to show me the great fishing hole where he caught 2 last weekend.

Sure enough, as soon as I switched lures (spinners) after we had been out about 20 minutes I caught a 12 or 13 " Brown Trout on my second cast. After we sent that one back to his watery home, I cast two more times and BOOM, another. This one was a 16" Brown Trout. Amazing! The bigger one is in the top photo. We were both super excited. Man, it has been a while since I've caught a nice fishy. Beautiful! Don't worry, the second one went back to his cold home as well. We only eat them if we are camping and don't have other food. The want to live too!

We spent another 20 min. there and then headed to the little town of Jeffers. Then it was on to Ennis Lake and the north end of the Madison River, near the dam. This is where Garrett's fun really began. Always an adventure! Yeah, it is a long story. Garrett didn't really get in too much trouble.

This is what really happened. The fishing licenses that were issued to us were actually for residents vs. non-residents. Dang it! So even though it was an honest mistake, we still had our signatures on the license. Fortunately, I was not on the river when Game Warden, Ryan, asked to see Garrett's license. Garrett received a small fine and a warning. We just need to go in and get the proper ID. A day in the life and the pictures to prove it!

Besides all this fun today, we have had an eventful time around the place and taking care of our frozen children. The ponies are wearing there blankets again and we had to cover all the outdoor hanging flowers. From what we hear, it is not uncommon for this area to get a late snow storm around the 4th of July. Crazy! We think that MT is beautiful, beautiful for a nice short summer.

We just heard that Garrett gets a 3-day weekend and doesn't go back to Billings until Tues. He will probably work Sat. now and won't get to join me for the Reliv special event at MSU this Friday. We are lucky enough to have on of the top distributors here this weekend for an event on Friday and to run our MAT school on Saturday.

MAT stands for Master Affiliate Training, a training that I am excited to attend. Even more exciting is that the President and CEO will be here in 2 more weeks along with his wife the Co-Founder. Bob and Sandy Montgomery are coming to Bozeman because of all the growth in this area with Reliv. I am truly in the right place at the right time once again!!! Fabulous!

A wonderful week in south central Montana and just the beginning of an eventful summer. This week we plan to enjoy the warmer temps, get some new fishing permits and move some cows with one of our neighbors, Pokey. I talked with him last week and he asked if I needed an excuse to ride? I like that kind of excuse, it is always more fun to ride with an outside purpose. :-)

Have a great week everyone and stay tuned for next week. I have some news to share but Garrett and I aren't spilling the beans until we know for sure. :-) NO, I am not pregnant. And we are stil looking into our next living venture, it is not that either. Love and hugs to all of you!!! XOXO~HB & GG

Happy Birthday Jennie! My cousin Jennie turns 28 on the 9th! You go double mama! XOXOX

June, the month of changes...

2009-06-03T20:59:00.004-05:00

Greetings. to all of you out there! I wanted to give you guys a few inside shots of our new pad referred to as the "Grizzly Cabin". One view is from the living room looking towards the kitchen and the other is from the utility room looking at the living room. It is very spacious and we are enjoying the open floor plan and the creek just 5ft. off our porch.

It feels like it has been a long time since I've written. Glad that I can be back at it. I can definitely tell you that already, in just 3 days, June is going to be a very exciting month. Don't get me wrong, May was full of new perspectives and experiences as well, especially the last few days of the month. But there is something special about this month, can't quite put my finger on it, but it will be good!!!

I had a great trip to CA on Friday and the drive back to MT went very smooth. Sip, the other driver, is a good friend of the Johnson's and this was his 8th time hauling their horses to MT. He hauled 4 and I hauled 2. I totally traveled in style, driving a 09 Yukon Denali and rolling with the sunroof open. We stayed in St. George, UT the first night and north of Ogden the 2nd night. We each had a dog in our 2 vehicles. Jackson was my co-pilot and he belongs to Patti's daughter, Tammy. Pretty funny little dog. :-)

We arrived back in MT on Monday afternoon, got the horses settled in, and then I settled myself in by taking Roy for a run. It felt so great to be back up in the mountain air. The last few days I have been doing odds and ends around the place and taking after the horses and Bear, the other dog. He is a Golden Doodle. I haven't been around those before but this one has an anal gland infection. Fun huh? He and I went to the vet yesterday to get some new antibiotics. It is always something, isn't it. :-)

Garrett had a great weekend home alone. He went to some car races in Bozeman on Friday night with some guys from work, got some rest, and went fishing. He checked out a new creek and lake and actually caught a couple rainbows. He said that one was 16" and the other was 18". Pretty Awesome!

We are both excited about this weekend. Sounds like he gets Sat. off too and we plan to go fish and also explore some more behind our house. I went on an awesome ride today with Murphy, Lightning and Roy. We climbed quite a ways and found some amazing trails and vistas. Incredible! Garrett will just love it and we have only scratched the surface. :-)

Ooh! Sounds like we are going to be getting some visitors in July as well. Terry, Garrett's mama, is coming to visit over the 4th. Then his dad, Randy and Tracy, over the last weekend of July. Also a good friend of mine, Jess, somewhere in between. Yay! I think that a college roomy, Chris, and his wife might come out in September. I am so excited to have visitors. It will be fun to show people around. :-)

Things really are fabulous and we are so excited about our future and our next adventures, not only in MT but beyond. I know that life just keeps getting better and we are both feeling better than ever. I am so happy that our bodies are getting healthier since that makes everything more rich and fullfilling. Getting older doesn't have to mean aging and I feel 10 years younger in just the last month. Seriously!

So, as far as our Reliv updates go... Garrett and I continue to see health improvements and I have more energy and focus now than I have for longer than I care to remember. My hands continue to heal and I am regulating my body temperature so much better. I can not say enough about the products and how they are helping some of my customers already too! One of my friends has lost nearly 15 lbs. in a month on the Slimplicity program. :-0 Yay!

I know that I am on the right track and really love sharing the products, the business opportunity and the hope that these formulas give to people. What a rewarding way to spend my time. :-) Can't wait to see where we are next week.

Well, I must bring this to a close. I have a few more phone calls to make tonight. That is my favorite thing about what I am doing with Reliv, the fact that it is putting me in contact with all the people that I care about on a more regular basis. I love all of you and am so happy that you guys check in on us. We really appreciate that. Have an awesome weekend!

Oh, Happy Birthday Randy!!! XOXO~HB&GG

Finishing up a busy weekend...

2009-05-25T18:00:00.005-05:00

Phew! It is amazing how exhausting a 3-day weekend can be. It is about 5pm on Monday and I thought I'd start in on our blog before it was time to BBQ up some steak and corn on the cob, my favorite, the corn that is. I think that it is time to break in that beautiful BBQ that Patti and Robert have. :-)

We have had a great weekend. We ran around in Bozeman on Sat. and then headed to Pony to check out the Duck Races. Pony is about a 45 min. drive from us on developed roads. Unfortunately we were a little too late to buy ducks (I guess that we needed to be there more than an hour before it started) so we decided to go exploring outside of Pony instead. I am sure that the rest of the races were fun but not being able to compete took a lot of the intrigue out of it. :-)

We drove outside of Pony onto the USFS land to see if the road was open between there and our place on North Meadow Creek. By the looks of it on the map, we were within about a mile of connecting, the roads were just too snowy still. Soon!

So we headed home, made a great dinner and watched an old movie, a Bette Davis flick called Dark Victory. I had never seen a Bette Davis movie and was curious as to the feel and look of her on film. Not bad. I have to mention that we are now staying in the Grizzly Cabin, which is the new home that Patti and Robert are still in the process of finishing. We love it more than the other home and don't mind living in a construction zone for a few more months.

Sunday we headed out before 10am with the intent of fishing some of the High Lakes behind our house. Sure shot Lakes were our destination. We loaded up the horses, Murphy mainly, with water, lunch, fishing poles and first aid gear. Roy carried the fishing tackle in his pack and Garrett was in charge of the media equipment and personal protection. Fun! I ended up walking about 7 of our 12 mile journey since I like to walk and also felt bad for Murphy. The ponies are out of shape and the lakes are at 7500 ft. or more...

We got into the first lake around 12 and it was still pretty frozen. So out to the road and on to the second. The horses both had a major freak out moment when we came across some horse-eating backpackers and their gear. However, both ponies managed to survive the encounter.

We arrived at the second lake, had some lunch, tried to fish and realized that the rain seemed to be getting heavier. At this point we decided to head for the barn. By 2 pm it was coming down pretty good and we picked up the pace. We arrived back at the house at 3pm, soaking wet and pretty cold. But, it was a fun excursion, none the less. :-)

A town trip and a movie rental finished up the night with a great salad and a cold beer! Yum! I should mention, if you are a dog lover and haven't watched "Marley and Me" I encourage you to. Garrett and I were both totally in tears by the end. (Don't tell him I said that.) Loved it!

Today was started off by baking cookies for GG's work week, then a few Reliv appointments with family, an awesome run, some lunch and more exploring. We headed to South Meadow Creek today and were not surprised to see that the lake we were trying to hike to was under more snow. Hmmm, I am sensing a theme here. I guess that we are a little eager to get out and explore the Montana forests.

Anyhow, last week was great, busy and filled with great experiences. I had a friend, Jon DeGroot, visit me on Tuesday. We went to school together in Glide, OR and have known each other for about 20 years. Pretty cool! He lives in Jackson Hole, WY and is a musician by profession. GG and I are planning to get down to see him play and also romp around that area.

As far as next week goes, I am flying out on Friday for my horse hauling adventure from CA to MT. I will be home on Monday and Garrett will be here over the weekend to take after the kiddos. Patti and Robert should also be here by Friday at the latest, so all bases are covered. I will take my laptop to be in touch and work on the road.

Garrett and I continue to see great things happening with our health as our Reliv journey continues. I am so thrilled that I have the opportunity to share this with other interested people. I have decided that helping people attain better health and/or finances, is a pretty great profession. I have decided to specialize in it. :-)

Make sure to check out our new photos. There are several. We are starting to plot our next location come fall time, so stay tuned for that. Warmer winter weather is in the forecast. :-)

Love and joy to all of you and I can't wait to catch up... Remember, our hearts will always be in Oregon! Look out, here we come! XOXO~HB & GG

Happy Memorial Weekend!

2009-05-19T20:59:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone! I hope that all of you are making big plans for the weekend and getting that extra day off! Garrett gets a 3-day weekend and I do too!!!

We have a plethora of plans including; horseback riding, fishing, hiking, and checking out the Duck Races in Pony, MT. I am sure that we will eat, sleep and be married as well.....

The time is just flying by and I am going to try to do one more blog this next week before I take off for CA on Friday the 29th. If not, I will do an update after the 1st of June. Garrett will be here over that weekend to hold the fort down while I am driving 2 of the Johnson's 6 horses from CA to MT. There is another gentleman pulling the other 4. We will also be traveling with the Johnson's 2 dogs and possibly both of Patti's daughters, Tammy and Amy. We should be back in MT by Monday afternoon. After that my job duties and responsibilities will start to morph. :-)

Things are great with all of the kiddos and I have been starting to get our horses tuned up and in shape. Roy and I have been running or hiking daily. Roy really loves his new home and spends most of his time outside in the yard. He doesn't know it yet but he is on the look out for bears. I think that I mentioned that Murphy and Lightning are wearing new shoes and I really like Chad, our new farrier.:-)

I can't express enough how thankful I am that Garrett and I get to spend the summer here. I have met some great people in the area and continue to meet more daily. I have 3 good friends from home that live around here too and that is exciting. We have lots of plans to get out and play now that the weather is shaping up. :-)

As for other aspects of my day to day~ I am having just a remarkable experience sharing the Reliv food science formulas and growing my business. I haven't sponsored anyone yet in the business but I have a feeling that I may just meet that person tomorrow. It is all about others have better futures, either in their health, finances or both. :-) Michelle and I are hosting an opportunity presentation here in Ennis on Thursday evening and then I will have my weekly Saturday training also.

Garrett and I are continuing to see astonishing results in energy and healing. Both of us have noticed increased hair and nail growth, clearer skin, and I seem to be regulating my body temperature much better. :-) I am still impressed that my arthritis is clearing up so rapidly and Garrett continues to wake up with little to no joint pain, in just weeks. I am so excited that I am able to share these formulas and the other opportunities that Reliv offers. Splendid!

Oh, and I have decided to go to the Reliv International Conference in St. Louis, MO in August. Garrett is considering going as well. I feel that it is necessary for me to go an experience this event in order to forward my growth not only as a distributor but as a person. :-) A transformational experience, indeed!

Oh poppycock, looks like I better be moving on. Lots to do tomorrow and I am trying to finish up a horsemanship book tonight. Tomorrow I will continue to move us into the new cabin, follow-up with customers, ride horses and enjoy the springtime! Thanks for tuning in... Until next time!

Happy Trails~HB & GG

Montana Horses Horse Drive...

2009-05-14T23:11:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! So, I am sure that you guys remember me writing about the Montana Horses Horse Drive through the streets of Three Forks, MT a few entries ago. Well, it turns out that a friend of ours from Klamath Falls, OR was riding in it!!! Nadine just emailed me with a few photos of her 3-day adventure! Such a small world! Luv~HB&GG

Spring Snow Showers...

2009-05-12T20:03:00.003-05:00

A view of our drive home from Norris Hot Springs, the drive over Warm Springs...

Yes, I do believe that spring snow showers are a common thing in southern Montana. I suppose that it is not too different from Central Oregon in many ways... However, the skies are blue now and I am hoping for nice weather tomorrow since the boys are getting new shoes on tomorrow. I am so excited about that. I am looking forward to longer rides and some serious exploration now that the trails are starting to clear! I might even be lucky enough to get Garrett out on a horse this weekend. It is typically a whole lot easier to get him on the river. :-)

Now, before I bore all of you with our weeks happenings, I have to share all the baby news! On Friday the 8th, the second Great-Grandbaby was born on the Heather side of the family. My cousins, Jennie and Jeff, had their second kiddo. Charlie Guerin Ruh was born early that morning and was a healthy 7.11 lb. baby boy. More importantly, the first boy to be born on that branch of the family for FOUR or is it FIVE generations. Incredible! Lucky kid, right. Just think about how spoiled that lil' sucker is going to be. :-) Congratulations guys! We luv u!

Just as amazing, on the Garrett side of the family, only 3 days later, another little one joined us. Josh and Sara Gregory had their first on Monday the 11th at 1:52 in the afternoon(I think that is the right time). Mason Randall Gregory was 8 lbs. and named after his Grandpa Randy. Congratulations to you both as well. Garrett is extra excited since this makes him an official UNCLE. (Me an Aunt, well I guess that I was technically already an Aunt with Jennie and Jeff's kiddos) We are planning to make it home for a whirlwind weekend at the end of June to see the new ones, celebrate graduations, birthdays and see several different family members and friends. Always an adventure!

Speaking of friends, we had our first Oregonians visit last week. Yay! The Wolfensons and Telfers from Central Oregon dropped in last Wednesday for a visit. Garrett was working but I met then for a soak in the Norris Hot Springs. We met for a few hours and had a great time enjoying the sun break that we had while we visited in the thermal pools. The pools are just 15 minutes from our place. They were all in MT for Kelly's graduation from nursing school. It was a brilliant time and I am so thankful for their friendship and the visit. It was perfect!

Another thing that we are realizing is that springtime in MT means lots of wildlife. Besides all of the birds that have been blessing us with their presence, we are seeing some pretty large 4-legged creatures as well. Garrett saw a young Moose on Friday night on his way home about a mile form our house. I know that I mentioned last week that I have been seeing Elk. In fact, last Thursday, I was south of Ennis towards the Park (Yellowstone) and I saw a herd of at least 1,000 Elk. Incredible! They are such noble, amazing animals.

Around the home front, I am working on the honey-dos and keeping up with our caretaker duties. Tomorrow I am off to get more hay and grain in Ennis after the horses are shod. I also have a few more minor things to do on the Grizzly cabin, our new place. I plan to start moving our belonging in there next week and then we will start staying in the new cabin, the Grizzly, the week after. Robert and Patti will arrive on the 27th and then I will be flying down to CA on the 29th to haul 1/2 the horses back over that weekend. I will be pulling 2 of them and they have another friend hauling the other 4. Garrett will be home to do stuff around here and get ready for another work week that Monday. I will miss him completely that weekend since I fly out on a Friday morning and arrive home on a Monday. :-( I guess that that is what happens when one is in high demand.

Garrett is staying busy with work and typically gets a 10-12 hr. day in all week. They have worked one Sat. and will continue to do that occasionally. He is pretty beat on the weekends but I still drag him out to play at least one day. :-) Mainly we have been fishing and hiking around a bit. I think that we will do a little more exploring south of Ennis this weekend since that stretch of the Madison opens up this weekend. One of my buddies, Ben, told us about a super sweet dirt road to check out as well.

As for my new venture, Reliv, it is going great. I have many customers starting to see some desired results with weight loss and energy. I know that it is early on but I am noticing even more happy changes in me and Garrett is noticing a substantial reduction in joint soreness. I love sharing these nutritional formulas with people and I am happy that they are starting to make positive differences in people's lives. I love that and that is my 'why' for taking a chance with the products and the company! It is great that both the products and the business opportunity have a $$ back guarantee. Reliv really does have something special going for them. (Besides me) :-)

Well you guessed it... It is time for me to sign off and get some work done before bed. Tomorrow is another day and another discovery. We send our best to all of you out there in Cyber-space! Lots of love and joy to all of you~~~HB&GG

Busy times in the Treasure State...

2009-05-03T20:22:00.004-05:00

Garrett and I have been busy kiddos... From here on out, I'll be updating our blog once a week because of work schedules and play time. :-) Thanks for checking in on us and for cheering us on through our travels and new endeavours.

Before I get into the daily life kind of updates, I have to tell you guys about all the great animals I have seen this week. First of all, I saw a herd of about 50 Elk on the way home from Bozeman after dropping Garrett off on Monday. Then, on Tuesday, as I was driving down our dirt road towards town, and saw a herd of about 200 Elk. The photo at the top of the page was of some of the 200. Amazing! Oh and our neighbor, Larry, had a Black Bear in his garage on Monday night and it came back to his porch on Tuesday. :-)

I also see lots of Herons, Sandhill Cranes and Eagles everyday. I am just loving the wildlife. Garrett and I went fishing for a few hours today on the Madison, it was beautiful but we didn't catch anything. Oh well, it is always great to be on the River, listening to the eternal passing of time...

Tomorrow will start our work weeks out. For me, that means a week of adventure and new discovery. I love the people that I am meeting and all of the events that I have been attending through Reliv. :-) To say the least, I am very proud to be a part of our organization and share our wonderful products with others.

As most of you know, Garrett is working for Walker Excavation and they are putting in 11-12 hour days. He stays out of town during the week and I pick him up for the weekends. The first few days he is gone each week is hard on little Roy dog, but we try to go for lots of runs. Garrett loves the fact that he is working hard again and is learning new things. He is able to operate all different kinds of equipment and is enjoying the guys that he works around. It seems like at least 1-2X per week his boss goes over to Billings and buys all the guys dinner. Pretty Sweet company for him to work for.

I have been a Master Affiliate with Reliv International for a week now and I love their science based food nutrition. All our products a triple tested for potency and pureness and are taken in liquid form for optimal absorption. I am feeling amazing and my skin, joints, and digestion are all seeing improvement, even in just a weeks time. Garrett started his basic 3 nutritional products yesterday and no complaints yet. I can't wait to see what happens for us regarding our health improvements.

I also have 10 customers (friends & family) starting on the basic 3 next week. It is exciting to know that I can help people that I care about in gaining better health. :-) I love my new job and I am my own boss! Yay! I plan to work my Reliv business PT until October and then pick it up FT. It is great that I can take it with me wherever we go, even if we were to move to OZ or NZ. :-) I know, wishful thinking...

Anyhow, enough on that. I will write again soon and appreciate the never-ending support and love. Best to all of you and Happy Cinco De Mayo! Salute!~ HB & GG XOXOXO

Happy Birthday Mom!!! We love you!!!

2009-04-26T09:03:00.006-05:00

Today I woke up to snow and temps in the 20's. I am glad that we got out and about yesterday and that I was able to go for a run. Before I forget to mention it, I have to give you some background on the pigs above. (you guys must think that we are nuts, almost all of our pictures are of animals, we love them. :-))

These pigs live about 2 miles down the road from us towards town. About 2 weeks ago the people who own them were building this pen and Garrett and I were making bets on what it would house in the future. He did guess Pigs. I had to disagree, naturally, so I said sheep. :-)

Well, to my surprise, last Monday on my way home from dropping Garrett off in Belgrade for his work week, I saw! Yep, 2 cute little pigs, probably 4-H projects. GG was so excited to meet them when he made it home from Billings on Friday. :-)

As for the pictures that I added to the right, they were taken in Three Forks. It is a town that is about 45 min. NW of us. It is named that because it is where the Madison, The Gallatin and the Jefferson Rivers merge together to form the Missouri. Pretty Neat! It is also the town where Stephanie, my sister, and I are going to meet to hang out in a few weeks when she comes to visit. There are lots of State Parks and things to see around there. I guess that they also host some pretty great 3-day country and rock concerts as well. Probably similar to the Sweet Home Jamboree in Oregon.

Yesterday in Three Forks there were hundreds of people lining the streets awaiting the Annual Montana Horses Horse Drive. Montana horses is a leasing operation out of a ranch just north of Three Forks. They lease horses to pack strings, dude ranches and to individual recreational riders. They have been doing this drive annually from their winter pasture up Willow Creek to the summer pasture at the home ranch. I think that they have about 150 head and they also breed ranch/cow horses. It is a 3-day drive and the second night the riders stay in 3 Forks. There are craft and food vendors, music stages and other activities going on all day. Fun Stuff!

Sorry that I don't have any pictures of the horses actually going through town. We showed up about 2 hrs. before the horses were going to make it there and after walking around for an hr. we decided that we would rather go fishing vs. wait around for another hour. :-) Figures!

Anyhow, in other news, Garrett is liking his job and will leave again for Billings on Monday morning bright and early. :-) I am adjusting to him being out of town and am meeting more people in the area and getting out into the community. I have contacted a few local 4-H clubs to volunteer with through the summer and I also am starting up a new home-business. :-)

I have been doing a lot of thinking and have decided that besides the horse ranching industry and similar endeavours, there are really only two other topics that interest me, Nutrition and Helping people. As most of you know as well, I like to do my own thing and have wanted to be in business for myself for quite some time. I had been focusing on the horse aspect of business but have realized that until we own our own operation, I'd rather just have the time and money to spend with my horses.

I was fortunate to meet a gal last week that has a daughter my age who is also into horses. She is also helping people every day in her home-based business and making an awesome income to boot. I was a little curious about this. So I met with Michelle on Tues. and we chatted for about 3 hours regarding horses, life for her as a mother and her PT job. For 6 years she has been an Independent Distributor for an International Company called Reliv. It is a network marketing company that actually is backed by some of the best credentials I have seen for any type of Small Business in the US. It is publicly traded on NASDAQ, is a Fortune 100 small business, holds 5 US patents for nutritional supplements and still has the same management that started it in 1988.

After talking with Michelle, hearing several health recovery stories and testimonials, and attending a training seminar yesterday morning with Garrett, I have decided to give it a go.

I am wanting to reach out and help people achieve better lives on a daily basis through their health and their finances if that is their choice. This isn't a sales pitch guys, I am speaking from my heart and just sharing what I am learning. I have dissected the http://www.reliv.com/ website, have watched different DVD's on the products and read Success from Home magazine cover to cover. Incredible.

Garrett and I are going to start taking the basic nutritional 3 products that are recommended and also a patented item called Arthaffect. The basic three are the Classic, a synergistic blend of 72 vitamins, minerals, and herbs. Innergize, the vehicle to help ones body more readily absorb the classic nutrition and then the FiberStart for basic cleansing and detox. The Arthaffect is the best of its kind, for Arthritis and other joint reconstruction.

The products are clinically tested and proven and there are thousands of placebo tests and testimonials to prove it. There are about 13 products total that range from Simplicity, an amazing weight loss system to Cardiosentials, proven to help reconstruct heart scar tissue, lower cholesterol, and help with circulation. There is another amazing product called Glucaffect that has helped thousands with regulating and lower blood sugar levels, blood pressure and I am amazed at the results that it is giving to customers and distributors.

Another product that is highly recommended for people who suffer from MS, Fibromyalsia, and any other sort of chronic fatigue type symptoms is Pro-vantage. These products are giving people their lives back and I have already talked with dozens of people who have shared their amazing stories of recovery on a multitude of health challenges.

Wow, I could go on and on, but I won't. I think that I'll let the products do the talking. I am excited to have an improved quality of life and I am hoping that Garrett will regain perfect health as well. Of course I encourage any of you to call of email me if you are interested in improving your health or starting up a new way of living. I am so excited to share what I am learning and to make a positive change in the lives of others in a new way.... I know that these nutritional supplements can improve any ones life and they are reasonably priced, made easy for anyone to purchase in any walk of life. In love and appreciation~HB & GG

Reliv Independent Distributor

541.771.4244

heatherbarklow@gmail.com

Montana in the springtime...

2009-04-21T21:14:00.007-05:00

Is completely unpredictable. Seriously! We had a foot of snow last Wed. and today it is going to be a high of 72 degrees. Sounds a lot like Bend, OR huh? These are pretty common weather patterns from what I hear, and what else should one expect at 6,000 ft.

For those who didn't hear, last week was very eventful indeed! Garrett went in Monday for his first week of work and by Tuesday night I received a call that they were coming home. Luckily for me, Patti and Robert brought the extra work truck over from Big Sky and Garrett drove that home from Belgrade Tuesday night. He had a little trouble getting into our place around 9pm since by that point we had about 6 inches of new snow. We are a 2nd or 3rd priority as far as county road plowing goes. But hey, we are a little ways out.

By Wednesday morning when Garrett left for work at 630am there was about 10 inches and no sight of a plow job. He headed off in Blue and about 15min. later I was driving down the road to go and pull him out of the ditch. He made it about 2 miles down our single lane dirt road before the road disappeared on him. There was really nothing that he could do with the slickness of the snow/ice and the pitch of the road.

So we tried for about 34 minutes to pull him out when Todd, one of the contractors, came along. We managed to hook his truck to my truck and I was still still hooked to Blue and the three of us yarded that Blue Beastie out of the ditch. We now lovingly refer to that particular area as Garrett's Gulch. Fun stuff. The rest of that day consisted of shoveling and plowing snow before finally retiring to the house and a fire around 430pm. :-)

It was more of the same on Thursday, with an added trip to town for Todd. I also took care of my office work load and the horses. Garrett got in lots of TV time and a few well-deserved naps. Friday and Saturday Garrett layed low with a cold and I got lots of playing and tack cleaning in. There is always something to do! :-) ( I also love to be busy.)

Sunday was a fabulous day! We hit up the Madison River for our first time and played with the fishes. :-) We had our two poles with spinners and my fly rod. They weren't really biting but I think that we were getting more hits than anyone else. That day I came to a realization also. Now, don't get me wrong, I love to fly fish and I'll bait fish too! But as I said on Sunday, " Fly fishing is really just glorified bait fishing." It might not be live bait, but it is still bait. :-) Funny, the things we think of when the fish are snubbing us.

As for the rest of the week, it has been great. Lots of projects and I have gotten 2 reservation confirmed. Very exciting! Tomorrow I am going to meet with a gal that rides and is from the area. Her name is Michelle and she is my age. It is nice to start meeting some people. Seems like it always takes a month or so to get settled in. :-)

I have some more pics to post in the next few days. I am loving all the wildlife but fortunately I haven't come face to face with any bears yet. I think that I am going to see how far up the Forest Service road I can get the 4-wheeler tomorrow. We discovered by map that there are about 15 named lakes in the National Forest just behind our house. Plus, they are all stocked with fish. I also plan to check out a BLM short cut to Bozeman, via Norris on Friday! Good Stuff! That reminds me, I have to get extra fuel for the 4-wheeler tomorrow while I'm in town. :-)

Well, it is off to bed with me. Lots to do tomorrow and I am really no good after 9pm. I sure missed all of these early bed times when I was living in TX. I have always been early to bed and early to rise, it makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise. Ok, that was Benjamin Franklin who said that I think. Love and hugs to all of you wonderful readers out there.

Oh and stay tuned... My first book is about to get underway... "Tails from a Dude Horse, A Horses Journey Through the Heart of a Wrangler... by HB. We'll see... I plan on getting something going to that effect. The book has been in the works for a few years now, just not recorded on paper. :-) Love and joy to all~HB & GG

Wakee,Wakee...Eggs & left over Spaghetti.

2009-04-12T21:00:00.008-05:00

Do I have news for you guys! Garrett and I woke up at 3:45am on Monday. We were out on the road by 4:15. Why you ask? After just 4 days in MT, Garrett has a new job. :-) He started with Walker Excavation, a company out of Belgrade. Belgrade is about 5 miles west of Bozeman and almost an hour commute for us. From his report last night, things are going great. Oh, and then he did call this morning and he said that his roommate is a snorer.:-) Ear plugs and a fan...that is all I have to say.

They are a pretty large company and have 3 jobs going right now with Sam's Club. Yep, GG is a Wal-mart employee too! :-) Two of the job sites are out of town in Billings and Great Falls. With that said, Garrett will be working in Billings for his first week. I dropped him off on Monday morning and pick him up again on Friday afternoon. They put the guys up in hotels and feed them, so that is pretty nice. :-) At least he gets to eat. I am happy that he has weekends at home and that I'll get to see him a few days a week. All in all, it should work out pretty well and we are thankful that he has a good position and doesn't have to make the commute everyday.

Other than that, we are loving our new place and getting to know our surroundings. We both have MT driver's licenses and fishing licenses also. I am getting more familiar with my position and the reservations/booking duties. I think that I am going to have more than enough on my plate. :-) On Saturday we met with The Johnson Family up at Big sky to check out the other properties.

We started with Moose Landing, toured over to Elk Crossing, drove up to Big Sky resort for a look, and then down to Livingston to check out The Centennial. All of the rentals are charming, unique and classy. Each has great river access and The Centennial boasts some of the best fishing in all of MT. 1000 ft. on the Yellowstone river is truly a treasure. :-)

In other news, we have been getting the horses out although they are in need of new shoes shortly. Roy is still just enamored with the snow and we have been enjoying the comforts of a fire each night.

Oh yes, I wanted to tell you also that I had another first on Sat. We headed into Ennis around 930am and after dropping off the recycling and garbage, we headed to Shedhorn Sports, It is a great local sporting goods store that carries a little bit of everything. We were after two purchases that were both firsts for me. One, was a can of Bear Spray. It is a precaution that most never hit the woods without. Especially this time of the year around here. We have black bears and some Grizzlies too. The next was a holster.

Lets back track, two days before we left Oregon, Garrett and I went to look at hand guns with yours truly in mind. It was a topic that had come up a few times in the week prior because of my adventurous spirit and the abundant wildlife in MT. I feel totally comfortable with the idea of carrying a weapon as a last resort, I just never have. The intent is to never use it, but at least I'll have the access to it. First I'll bust out the bear spray if the event occurred. :-) I am sure that the creatures of the forest and I will get along just fine. Heathers are friends, not food. :-)

As for the first few days of my work week, they have been good. I have made some email contacts with prospective rental people, ran some errands for the builders, and had time to get things organized before the snow melts. Oh yeah, but it is snowing right now and we are supposed to get 1-2 feet up here at 6,000 ft. We'll see! I think that I am going to have some shoveling to do tomorrow. I have to admit, not sure if I really would want to spend a winter here. Brrr!!!

Well I better go, I have a few things to finish up before I meet with Robert and Patti this afternoon or evening. :-) Enjoy the new pictures. The ones of GG and me were taken by Tammy, one of Patti's daughters. Cheers! With love and joy~HB&GG

Day three! The explorations begin...

2009-04-07T13:41:00.004-05:00

After a morning filled with snow shoveling and visiting with contractors, Garrett & I set off to walk around our 42 acre property. We know that 42 acres isn't huge, but when trudging through knee deep snow and leaping streams, it feels pretty good sized. :-)

I wanted to share a candid moment for Garrett leaping over one of the streams that winds through our property. At the top of the Lost Bear Ranch a stream splits and flows around the 2 homes. This is the same one that we show Lightning drinking out of in the picture to the right. Charming!

We made it to the Lost Bear Ranch around 3pm Sunday after a nerve wracking 9 mile drive in from Hwy. 287. North Meadow Creek, our road, is a dirt road that dead ends in the Beaverhead National Forest. We have traveled over 6,000 miles with our horses and trailer in the past 7 months and the closest call we've had was Sunday pulling into the driveway.

The road in was clear but still pretty soupy since everything is melting around here. We started to hit a little snow about 300 yards from the driveway and it was during the turn in that we got stuck. Up to this point, Garrett performed like a Rock Star by not jack-knifing the trailer when it started to slide off the road around a sharp corner to the left. He almost had the turn into the driveway but Blue just couldn't get his 15,000lb. appendage, Millie, around the corner quick enough.

We finally did get the trailer into the driveway and then we waited for Pokey, our neighbor, to come down. He had to finish clearing the drive and the bridge that we needed to cross to get to our parking spot. FYI, we did unload the horses and put them away as soon as the trailer got stuck, just so you know. :-)

In other news, we love our location. The 42 acres that we are on is about a 5 minute walk to 1 million acres of public land, the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest. There are several fishing lakes in hiking distance from our place that we can't wait to explore. We are at 6,000 feet elevation and have a lot of cool neighbors. We have met some of the folks around us and some other people during our visit to Ennis on Monday. We picked hay up yesterday from some neighbors down the road and tomorrow we are headed south to Cameron to meet with the Head Wrangler at the Sun Ranch Lodge.

Thursday we are planning to drive into Bozeman to scope it out, grocery shop and drop our recycling off. A few days later we are supposed to spend the day with Patti and Robert, picking out our computer and getting familiar with the other rental properties. They have been staying in Big Sky with Patti's daughters. We are having dinner with the four of them this weekend. I think that they are here for another week and will be staying with is one or two nights. We are staying in the upstairs of their place until our house is finished up.

We have started some of our caretaker duties like clearing snow around the property and checking the reservation inquiries for the rentals. We are preparing to stain decks and furniture as soon as things melt off a bit more. I did send out a mass email with the website of the rentals today, check out www.BigSkyFishingandSkiing.com or email me at bigsky@bigskyfishandski.com for more information or a reservation.

I know that Garrett and I have only been here for 3 days but we are happy that we get to spend the summer here. By the end of the summer we will decide along with our employers if we will extend the contract. It is a little cold in the mornings, but I am so happy to be back in the mountains and living an active lifestyle. It feels good to work using my body and mind. I missed the high elevation fresh air and the crispness of the high desert.

Enjoy the new pics and we will keep you guys posted on our trip to the rentals and beyond. Oh, we are also planning to head into town (Ennis) on Easter for the community parade and Easter egg hunt. We thought about letting Roy do the Easter egg hunt. He could fetch eggs and we could carry his basket. :-) Hey, the rules are children under the age of 12 and he is!

Best of life to all of you~~~ HB && GG

Entering the Treasure State...

2009-04-05T10:52:00.003-05:00

Here we go! We have entered Montana and we are transitioning into our next adventure. It is interesting to me all of the emotions that one can go through while under times of increased change. As we drive through the Western part of MT on I-90 I am feeling more and more at ease with our decision and the path that we are embarking on.

It finally hit me this morning when I checked the weather in Ennis that this is now the place that we will be until at least October. At 5am this morning when weather.com said it was 4deg. with a high of 47deg. I was a bit hesitant but I reminded myself that spring is on the way. :-)

This is a beautiful state and it is nice to be back in it after 2 & 1/2 years. The last time that Garrett and I were in MT was on our first date. It was on that 9 day road trip that we realized that we were pretty good together and we were just at the beginning of our journeys together. :-) I know, sappy isn't it.

We spoke with Patty and Robert this morning and they are expecting us around 234pm. For the next few days we will be settling in and getting the lay of the land. We are going to drive to Cameron on Tues. to meet Ryan Bell at the Sun Ranch Lodge about a position for Garrett. We will also check out the town of Ennis and the Post Office in Mc Allister. Fun stuff! You know, all the great things that you do when you are exploring a new area.

We know that we will also be checking into fishing licenses right away. However, we may want to get some new drivers licenses before that. We are in the process of investigating how things work in MT.

Alright, that is all for now. I feel compelled to get back to sight seeing and absorbing the changing scenery as we travel southeast to Missoula and beyond....

Until I blog again, Happy Trails! Dream Big~HB & GG

Montana Bound...

2009-04-04T11:17:00.002-05:00

Happy Saturday!

We hit the road at 634am this fine April morning. We had a stop on the Columbia River Gorge, but other than that, smooth sailing. We are so excited for our new living situation and life out in MT. I can't wait to get there and explore the surrounding forests, rivers, and mountains.

We will be stopping today at a Les Schwab for trailer chains and then staying in Coeur d' Alene for the night at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. Fun!!! The boys all seem happy to be back on the road and the sun is shining bright.

They are expecting mid-high 40's in both northern ID and southern MT over the weekend. Not bad at all. :-) We will check in again tomorrow and later this week as we get settled in to our new home.

ps... Thank you Shelly and Eric Batha for our Satellite radio. We love it!! Cheers~ HB & GG

Oh, the preparations...

2009-04-03T08:55:00.005-05:00

The photo to the left is up in the Molalla Hills, above the River. We were trying to go for a hike in the Table Rock Wilderness area when we hit the snow line and decided that Blue was a little difficult to turn around in tight places. Worse case scenario was that we had about a 20-mile walk out to a main road. :-) This was a trip down memory lane for Garrett. He and his friends/family have spent a lot of time in these hills and fishing the river.

Garrett and I have been in OR for over three weeks now. It has been a wonderful visit, full of family and friend reunions. We were planning to pull out this morning but Blue had other things in mind. (I think that he just wanted us to wait for nicer weather.:-))

We were running around yesterday and on 3 different occasions we heard a clucking noise.You know, the kind that you know you should get checked out before hooking up to a 15,000lb. trailer and driving 1,000+ miles kind of noise. So we did just that at Mallar's in Canby. Sure enough, after hoisting him up on the truck stand, we discovered that he has a left ball-joint going out. Phew! We are happy that it isn't worse and better yet, they are getting us in today for a fix.

In retro-spec, it is better this way. The weather through Northern Idaho and into Ennis is suppose to be better this weekend for travel. It also gives us an extra day to double/triple check that we have everything squared away. I am going to take this opportunity to go out for another run this morning and get in one more acupuncture apt. while still in Oregon(better insurance benefits).

We still can't believe that we left TX a month ago and we have managed to stay busy this entire time. Garrett and I have decided that our life is a FT job. :-) We do feel prepared for this move though and I know that we are in great hands. We heard from Patti and Robert yesterday(our new employers) and they are headed out to Ennis. They are probably there right now actually. They already have 3 dozen bales of hay waiting for our horses and we should be able to move in to our new place by Easter weekend. :-) Until then, we will make good use of Millie. She has been a great home for us.

The horses are doing great and Roy is loving the fact that he gets to play with his brother Sparky. :-) We appreciate all of our friends and especially our families who have helped us out along the way. Thanks to my folks in MP, the Youngs in Glide and Garrett's family up in Donald for putting us up and feeding our kids. This entire visit back to our homeland is what makes us appreciate where we came from and who we have in our lives.

I will give an update in a few days and let you know how life is on the road. I am sure that we will have smoothe sailing and sunny weather to protect us on our way. Lots of love and hugs to all of you who believe in the power of Team Gether!!! XOXOX~HB & GG

ps...No news on the Amazing Race but we still have hope. I did see that they have 2 more open casting calls towards the end of April. If we haven't heard anything by the 30th of April, I might start to wonder???

pss... I did finally watch it. Garrett and I caught 2 episodes at his mom's place in the past week. At least I have more of an idea of what to expect and the kind of competition we would be up against. Fascinating and very 'interesting' to say the least... TTNF!

Brutus goes Bye-Bye...

2009-03-30T23:28:00.002-05:00

It is true. We sold Brutus on Sunday to a great guy in SE Portland. We decided that in our new situation he wasn't completely needed and that we will get bikes again in the future...

For now we will be riding 4-wheelers and snowmobiles when needed. Otherwise we still have our four-legged friends and my bicycle. We also have access to a work vehicle in our new caretakers position.

Here is a photo to remember our friend... Thanks Brutus! We love you!! HB & GG

Finishing up with our Central Oregon visit...

2009-03-26T15:29:00.002-05:00

Sometimes a Garrett just gets Dog Tired. :-) That is Sparky on Garrett's belly, taking advantage of a warm place to sleep. Aren't they sweet?

We are nearly back to Donald/Canby from our 6 day trip over to Bend, OR. We had a wonderful time seeing friends, family(my sister), and friends that are like family. We thank Tim and Pam Phillips for the comfy place to stay our first night and Stephanie, my sis, for putting us up the reminder of the time. :-)

We had great weather, were able to see almost everyone we wanted to see, and I was able to share some of my favorite running spots with Garrett. He loved it! ;-) It felt great to visit and drive by Rock Springs to see the changes that are occurring. Bend is going through a bit of a transitional period and the real estate market has a fair amount to do with that. It is nice that our mortgage is on wheels!

We have a busy week ahead of us now that we are back on this side of the hill. I know of 4 family/friend engagements and other preparations that are taking place. We have decided to sell Brutus, our motorcycle, so spread the word on that. He is a sweet KLR650 Dual-sport. Love him!

We are still looking at a April 3rd departure date and an arrival in MT on the 4th. We know that we are once again moving into the unknown and that is exciting and unsettling all the same. We did hear from the Sun Ranch Lodge, the 27,000 acre ranch south of Ennis. Garrett and I are going to be driving down to meet with the Head Wrangler there on the 6th to see about the commute and the position. They only have one position available and we are still mulling through our options. We will keep you posted there as well.

But for now, we are off to unload our truck and clean Brutus up for his next owner. Best to all of you! Many new beginnings are just around the corner. "Life's a Dance..." ~~~ HB & GG

Montana revealed....

2009-03-21T22:12:00.004-05:00

Flash back to September of 2006. So there we were(Garrett and I) driving through Montana on our way south from Glacier National Park, heading towards Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. This was the middle phase of a 9 day road trip. We now refer to this drive as our first date. As we traveled south we passed through the Madison Valley and a small town by the name of Ennis. We were both mystified by the area and Garrett proclaimed that he would live there someday...

It is now 2009, the 23rd of March. Garrett and I are anxiously awaiting our new caretaker/property management position in Montana. As most of you know we are going to be in Mc Allister, which is about 5 miles north of Ennis on Hwy 287. It seems to be the perfect location for us since it is an hour south of Bozeman and an hour north of West Yellowstone. The very location that we had been pursuing all along for our summer sanctuary.

The 42 acre ranch where we will be living is called the Lost Bear Ranch. We were wondering if Patti and Robert named it after their dog, Bear. The property backs up to the Beaverhead NF and the Madison River runs along its boundary as well. There are 2 houses on the place, one of which we will reside in. It is a 2200 sq.ft. log cabin. A newly built rental that boasts two master suites with king size beds and all the comforts of home. The other home is the original house and that is where Patti and Robert reside for part of the year.

Our new employers are a wonderful couple from Southern CA. They bought the property about 7 yrs. ago and they spend 1/2 the yr. there and 1/2 their time in CA. We will be there to feed their horses, check on the other 3 rentals and preform other tasks on their land. Besides this, they have asked me to take over the reservations for their 4 rental properties. Two are at the base of Big Sky Ski Resort and sleep 10-12. The 4th is outside of Livingston with 1000 ft. of river front on the Gallitin River. The houses are typically used for skiing or fishing lodging but would be great for any sort of gathering or celebration. I will be posting their site and other rental information soon.

After the middle of April I will be helping them set up a blog site and handling the reservations on a commission basis. We are going into the situation with open minds and hearts. We feel very fortunate for the opportunity and are looking forward to getting integrated into the community. After living in TX and being outside such a large city, we are thrilled to get back to a town of 1,000 ppl.

Another neat thing is that Patti and Robert are friends with the owners of the Sun Ranch Lodge. It is the 27,000 acre eco-ranch that I have blogged about. Garrett and I aren't sure if we will both need outside FT jobs. I think that I may handle the property stuff and our caretaker position and he may get an outside position in the area. I also plan to network and see if I can generate some horse related clients. :-) Only time will tell....

If any of you are interested in the rentals, let me know. They are all beautiful and contain any sort of household item that you might need while staying somewhere for a week or more. I will get more specific information out soon.

As for our current location, we are in sunny Central Oregon. Our first stop on Sat. was Lapine to visit with our friends Hud, Ona, and their new baby girl, Hazel. We are now on day 3 and we are staying with my sister, Stephanie. It has been a busy two weeks of family and friend visits and we have about 10 more days in Oregon. It is great to be home and at the same time both Garrett and I know that we aren't quite ready to be back for good. Until I write again...

Love and joy to you~HB & GG

A trip to the Coast, the Oregon Coast!

2009-03-20T10:40:00.008-05:00

Upon arriving in Oregon, Garrett and I agreed that we'd have to make a trip to the coast. Below are lots of photos that we wanted to share of us scaling rocks, Roy fetching sticks in the surf, and Roy chasing seaweed on the sand.

This is one of many public beaches and state parks in Bandon, OR. This particular spot is only 25 min. from my parents in Myrtle Point on the southern Oregon Coast. Enjoy! XO~HB & GG