This Blog Thang

Many of you faithful readers have noticed and commented on the disappearance of my previous post about driving from Duluth, Minnesota to Whitefish, Montana, and all the thoughts that went through my head about the ending of my marriage during that drive.  Yes, I've taken it down.  If any of you saw the comments Oldman wrote on the post, I'm sure you understand why.  (And I'm sorry about those.  Yikes.  Relationships and breakups are certainly emotional little buggers.)  When I saw the comments, I panicked and deleted the whole post rather than just his comments.  Now I've adjusted the comment settings and am ready to get back in the blogging saddle. (Montana cowboy pun intended.)

The whole debacle started me thinking about why I do this blogging thing anyway.  Plenty of people keep travel blogs with details of their trips and photos along the way.  But why do I post such open, vulnerable things about my life as well?  Why do I write this blog, anyway?  Here is what I came up with.

Why I Blog the Way I Do:

• Writing about my life helps me process and learn from it in a way that simply thinking about it or talking with a friend can't do.  So yes, a primary reason is selfish.
• In sharing about my travels and adventures, I hope that others might see how possible it is to follow their dreams, and refuse to be held back by whatever strings they imagine to be tying them down.
• In sharing intimate details about my struggles and challenges, I hope that others are inspired to be courageously vulnerable in their own ways.  Like so many authors and songwriters have done for me over the years, I hope that my readers will feel less alone in their own struggles as a result of reading about mine.
• I want my life to be an offering.  I live and write not only for me, but for the betterment of all beings.  If opening my head and heart up to all of you turns what feels like a mess to me into a blessing for you, then it is worth it.  Over the years - and especially the past two months - the flood of messages I've received from people telling me how much a post helped them with something in their life lets me know it's working.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THOSE MESSAGES.  They are really what motivate me to keep writing.

And now, before I jump directly into what I've been doing here in Montana, I'll re-post some of the pictures from my drive west, simply to keep a consistent log of my travels.

Northern Minnesota

Sunset in wide open North Dakota

Sunrise the next morning in North Dakota's oil country
(one of the scariest places I've been in the states, by the way)

My first glimpse of the Montana mountains after a year of
longing for them and four days of flat driving to get there.  This is Glacier
National Park in the distance.  This sight brought tears to my eyes.

So now I'm in Montana with Katie, a good friend I made on last year's road trip west.  I'll be staying with her and getting some backpacking in before it gets too cold up here and the main sport turns to skiing.  I have plenty more adventures up my sleeve, and plan to write about every one of them.  Thanks for reading.  Thanks for your trust, your support, and your love.