Home sweet home

So I'm in Montana now because two of my old friends, one I grew up with and one from high school, are marrying each other. I'm expecting a high school reunion - a little reminiscent of the college reunion I had a month ago at another wedding.

Flying into the Flathead Valley always reminds me why I love Montana. From an airplane, you can see the peaks surrounding a large, flat expanse, dotted with lakes. The Rockies make the foothills look like washboard on a road. No offense to those who are loyal to the Mother Lode, which too has a unique beauty, it's just different. Much of that probably is because I grew up here and am a little biased.

I left this morning at 3 a.m., drove to Sacramento and arrived here at about 12:30 p.m. It was fun to see my mom and brother waiting for me as I got off the plane. New buildings keep popping up in Whitefish, but home is the same. My sister, Amanda, and I went for a mountain bike ride up the forest service road across from our house, which is about 10 miles out of town. I've done the loop a million times, but it seems like forever ago. We finished just in time for a thunderstorm, but now it is clear, sunny and a little chilly. I'm not used to it after the dry California heat.

My 12-year-old brother just took me for a ride in my old Subaru Justy. Yeah, that's right, he's 12 and driving. It's weird, but he gets so excited that it's cute. We just went up the forest service road, and I don't think we broke 5 mph the whole time.

Now I'm just waiting for my dad to get home. I had to call his cell phone and make him stop working, so he can see his long lost daughter.

Lesson Learned: There is no place like Big Sky country.