bozeman snowman

found this image on a cool website whe i searched 'bozeman snowman'.

snow was falling the morning after i arrived in bozeman. so peaceful and quiet, i watched it out the big window from the cozy living room. after a leizurely breakfast i rode to the community food coop with ross, the other couchsurfer staying with our bozeman hosts. by the time we got to the store it had stopped snowing, and by the time we got back to the house it was starting to clear up a bit.
that afternoon we went for a walk in a little wetland area nearby. our host, kristina, showed us little places and things she liked about this place, like a spot where the sun illuminates the golden leaves of a stand of trees just right in the late afternoon. this was a special time of communing with each other and nature. we cooked a meal together in the evening and all sat together at the round table.
after dinner ross entertained us with his guitar and singing. i played a few songs too and worked on patching my trusty wool pants.

the next day the fog rolled in again. we hiked up into it in the afternoon, slowly making our way up to the 'M' on the hillside. this was our second experience of communion with creation. we got into a good discussion of spirituality on the way down. kristina says she is atheist, but lives as if she knows god.
the third couchsurfer, kia, was at the house when we returned. she was a perfectly complementary addition to our little group. we were four around the table again that evening, as she took the place of kristina's father. so nice to share meals! i sang the blessing song "for the golden corn...".

on this second day there was an important event i'd like to note. kristina's father had a talk with me about his needs regarding the couchsurfing arrangement. his needs differ a little from kristina's and they were trying to make it work for both of them. i had only planned with them on staying one night, but kristina had invited both ross and i to stay a little longer. her father felt it would work better for him if couchsurfers could stick to the plan that was laid out before arrival. in this case he would be okay with letting us stay through friday night if we needed that. we talked about other things too. anyway it was just important to me that he brought this up in such an open way and we were able to acknowledge each other's needs. this is the kind of work that needs to go on if humanity is going to get through hard times together!

on wednesday all us kids went for a hike in the snow up to palisades falls, a short drive outside of bozeman. this kind of community activity was becoming a strong theme of my bozeman visit! in the car we listened to modest mouse on the way up, and i was in nostalgic heaven, singing along and smiling. on the way down we spun out and went off the road! it was a gentle crash though and we got right back on the road, just a little shaken up.

ross made a satisfying breakfast of egg/qionoa wraps for kia and i on thursday morning. they both took off after breakfast. i ended up staying another night. it was nice to have some more solitary time and the chance to interact with kristina one-on-one.