Wedding in Darby, Montana

This gym name would only exist in a place like MT.
I mainly took this photo to send Craig because he likes corny signs.

            This last weekend, I rode up with my friend Melissa to Darby, MT for a friend’s wedding. We left Friday after work. It was exciting to go somewhere new, but I was also a little anxious to go somewhere without my husband. I didn’t want this to get in the way of me having fun though, so I basically just ignored my anxiety.

            We stopped in Missoula for a late dinner. I got the Ginger Nori Salad at Market on Front which basically tasted like sushi, but with spinach instead of rice. It even had wasabi peas on it!

The Inn we stayed in at Darby, MT. We arrive late at night

          

            We got to the Mountain Spirit Inn where we were staying around 9 pm. It was a super affordable room ($70/night), had two bedrooms with a kitchen, and had woodsy decor.

My bed- Melissa and I each got our own room.

            Saturday morning, we had a chance to walk around Darby a bit. The town really embraces cowboy-esque architecture, probably for tourism. We walked a mile down main street and back, stopping in an old-fashioned candy store where I bought Craig some locally made fudge!  

            

            The wedding was up in the mountains in a remote location. The drive was beautiful, with Aspen and Cottonwood trees changing colors from green to oranges and yellows.

My outdoor wedding in October outfit.

             Unfortunately, it was dumping rain and was freezing during the ceremony! The bride and groom where pretty laid back about it though, and it didn’t seem to bother them at all. Luckily, we had the reception indoors in a cute cabin.

The ceremony location. Note the approaching rain clouds.

             I didn’t sleep well the next night, and was awake around 4:30 that morning! I waited till first light, and did a run on main street. I wanted to run 3 miles, but the sidewalk in town was less than a mile, so I ended up doing a couple laps down town and back. It was fun! I saw a mama deer with her fawns and then later a stag. I was probably within 5 feet of them each time!

            The run was a slow one (I blame the higher elevation!). My abs and hips were super sore too because I’ve been incorporating more strength and core training into my routine.

            Melissa and I were both pretty tired for the drive home. We just enjoyed listening to music and driving through MT and ID, this time in the daylight.

We could see snow in the mountains on the drive home.

            Yesterday was Columbus Day, and I had day off (paid) for the first time ever! It was good to catch up on chores and relax for the day after the trip.

            I don’t have any more trips planned for the rest of the year other than holidays. Even then, I’m not exactly sure of what we are doing. Craig is going to be graduating at the end of the semester which I am extremely excited about! I am very proud of him and am looking forward to both of us to move on from graduate school.

            Now that things are slowing down, I hope to write more frequently. I really love to write, so I am going to make a goal of posting weekly for the rest of the year (maybe at least every Tuesday).