TravelStream™ news feed for member jasonrebecca on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jasonrebecca en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:03:27 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1232229540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1232229540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1232229540/tpod.html Sat, 17 Jan 2009 17:03:27 -0500 Holidays in Africa 2008

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Essaouira, Morocco

Sobefore getting to Marrakech we had tried to make a reservation at a place thatwas recommend by another couple but we didn't find out that it was booked untilthat day. So we turned to our trusty Lonely planet book and found a riad thatwas listed as the "coolest" riat in Marrakech. So we were glad that we couldget a room. Unfortunately after staying in the riats in Fez, and the twoKashbahs in the desert (which we thought were pretty cool) our definintion of "cool"wasn't as hip as the Lonely Planets. I don't know what this says about us(maybe we're not as  hip as wethought) but this place was way to chic for us and kind of a disappointment. (Blackand white tile floors, plain white walls, no tile work, and a purpleroom.)  We decided to stay thereonly one night and be on our way to E ssaouira. Weventured out to the grand plaza, called DjemmaEl Fna.  It was filled withdifferent "shows" or circus/acrobatic acts, story telling, musicians, fortunetellers, etc. that each had a surrounding of people watching and giving a fewcoins for the show.  There was alsoa line of stalls with fresh food being served, including fried calamari andother fish, and fresh vegetables that you could chose to have cooked up into aside dish for example. It was quite the show but we just felt like we wouldenjoy a lower key city in our last days in Morocco. So the next day we were onour way to the coast. Essaouira We caught a bus to thiscoastal city.  About 2 ½ hours awayfrom the bustling Marrakech, we were entranced by the calm and relaxed fishingvillage.  Essaouira was the portcity at the end of the trade routes so at one time it was an important city.Now its more a fishing village with a tourist slant that was all white washedbuildings with blue windows that reminded Jason of the Greek Isles.  The medina was not near the intenseenvironment as with the other towns we had been, which was a nice break.  We could stroll through and look forany last minute souvenirs without being hassled.  We strolled along the fishing port and watched thesunsets.  We stayed in a beautifulriad that had a ceiling terrace with views of the coast, called Riad de la Mer,which was recommended by other travelers we met. Finally, after about a week ofcool rainy weather we were rewarded by beautiful blue skies, sun, and only alittle wind.  It was a great way toend our trip.  A breath of freshair.We took the train back up toCasablanca and flew out the next morning.  We barely caught our connections each time and from now on will book ourtrip on one flight ticket, instead of buying separate US and internationaltickets.  Even though this may bemore expensive, any delays on one leg would be caught by the next airline andthey will know where we are and be more forgiving when we show up late.  Now here we are back inMontana and trying to get adjusted to the time difference.  Even though we had been up andtraveling for 24 hours yesterday, we both had trouble falling asleep aftergetting back, because it was 8AM Morocco time.  Now we have a weekend to recover before getting back towork.  It feels like we've beengone for a long time after all we've seen.  We both feel very fortunate to have been able to take such awonderful adventure.  
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Merzouga, Morocco

Wemet the taxi driver the next morning, and despite one of them saying the roadover the mountain pass would be closed due to snow from the day before, theother taxi driver insisted it wasn't.  So off we went and about 2 hours outside of Fes there we were in a fewfeet of snow in the Swiss-like-town of Ifrane, with a snow barrier closing offthe route.  We sat there for awhile with some other cars trying to get through but the guards said we'd haveto take a longer road around. About10 hours later, we arrived at the desert, which was supposed to be only aboutan 8 hour drive total.  We stayedat a Kasbah, or castle shaped hotel at the base of the dunes in Merzouga,called Kanz Erremal.  This was oneof the first stops coming out of the desert along the trade routes from Timbuktu.The staff were very accommodating to our late arrival and even had a greatdinner ready and waiting for us.  The next day we took the camels out to the desert with a guide andcamped out there one night and then came back the next morning.  We were the only two people on our trekwhich made it nice to be able to chat with the guide and not feel as if we werepart of a large tourist group.  Wewere told that during their busy season, during Christmas and summer, thatthere are groups of up to 100 at a time!  Werode the camels out for about 1 ½ hours and then got off the camels and trekkedup the dune to the top and got amazing views of the distance and the gentlecontours of the sloping dunes.  Wethen descended and walked down to our camp, which consisted of three tents madeof a wooden frame with Berber carpets/blankets for the walls.  The roof had a canvas covering.  The guide, a 20-year old boy, had ourtajine cooking and sat and visited with us while it was on the fire.  The weather was quite cold when we werein Morocco, and in the desert, the wind was strong and cold, but the tent wassurprisingly warm so we stayed inside most of the time.  Interestingly, it began to rain atnight and rained all night until the morning.  It was a soft, slow rain that we could hear patter on thecanvas and were happy to have shelter.  Who would have thought... rain in the desert???  We slept on foam mattresses piled on the sand, with about 5layers of thick camel hair blankets.  Despite the outside temperature, we weren't as cold as we thought we'dbe. Unfortunately due to the rain we didn't get a really good view of the fullmoon and the stars.Thenext morning, the guide gathered up the camels and we were on our way back tothe Kasbah.  Wegot showered and had a delicious Moroccan breakfast at the Kasbah.  The typical breakfast includes freshsqueezed orange juice, tea, bread, a pancake-type crepe, served with jams andbutter.  Sometimes eggs are servedtoo.  Aftergetting our things together, we went out to get in the car and the chauffertells us the car will not start.  So we wait around all day while the mechanic tried several differentways to jumpstart the car. Finally by about 4PM the chauffer tells us that weshould look for another option to continue our trip.  The hotel helped arrange this, and we left by about 6PM inanother taxi.  We were a littleuneasy about leaving so late and driving in the dark, but our next stop wasabout 4 hours, and we were already a day behind from the snow and roadclosures.Wearrived in Kalat M'Gouna by 10PM and again were greeted by friendly staff and agreat chicken tajine.  The placedwe stayed was called Kasbah Itran, and we really recommend it.  It was a bit cold during this time ofyear, each room had a little wood burning fireplace and lots of heavy Berberblankets.  The place was like amini-fortress with neat little stairs and terraces to look out at theview.  The next morning we wereamazed at the cliff it was hanging over, and the views of the river valley andhistoric castle it had views of.  Unfortunately we had to get back on the road after our breakfast,otherwise we would have liked to explore this area more.  We wereoff to Marrakech.  The road ahead passesover yet another mountain pass, but thankfully this one was open.  It was kinda like the pass over theBeartooth mountains in Montana, lots of hairpin turns and snow covered peaks tolook at.  It was amazing such aroad exists in Morocco, it seems like such an engineering feat.  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1232229120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1232229120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1232229120/tpod.html Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:55:25 -0500 Holidays in Africa 2008

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Fes, Morocco

So we arrived in Casablancain the morning and jumped on the train to Fes.  We had heard from others that Casablanca didn't have much overthe other cultural cities, so we skipped it.  Fes was about a 3-hour train ride.  The train was surpisingly nice, with comfortable seats.  We had booked our first night at RiadLouna, a place we had read about in the Lonely Planet.  It was one of the oldest "riads", builtin the 1300's and beautifully restored.  A riad is a Moroccan house that surrounds an open courtyard.  The courtyard often has plants growingand a fountain.  The courtyard,stairways, and other parts of the house often have extensive and elaboratetilework, which many of our photos show.  Rebecca couldn't stop admiring the tilework, and was surprised at howoften the patterns are similar to quilt blocks/patterns.   In the Riad Louna, there were twocourtyards, and we were overwhelmed with the beautiful plants, fountains, andnumerous stairs that seemed like a maze through this house.  We got a small, simple room in the verytop corner of the place, with an outside terrace that we went out on and couldlook down into the courtyards and into the small alley we walked down to get tothe riad.  After arriving, we set outinto the "medina", or old town enclosed by a fortress type wall, not allowingcars.  The streets are very narrow,allowing only about 2 people to walk side by side, as long as no mules arecoming by loaded with goods for the shops.  This particular medina in Fes is believed to be the largestcontiguous car-free area in the world.  It has a very medieval feel, and is like stepping back in time.  We wandered the streets, admiring thediversity of the shops, the bustling activity of the locals, and had dinner ata small café.  Rebecca was definitelythrilled to be in Morroco after the first bite of her vegetarian couscous,which was piled with vegetables and delicious dates and raisins mixed in achutney-like garnish.  It had verygreat sweet and spicy flavors that are distinct to Morocco. Jason had a chicken"tajine" or roast that was also piled with vegetables and fat juicy chicken(unlike any chicken found in Benin).  Again full of flavors and spices (cumin, cinnamon, saffron, etc... foundin Morocco. Thenext two nights we stayed in Dar Roumana, another written up in Lonely Planet,which to our surprise, was owned by a friendly American couple.  They were very helpful from the firstminute we stepped in the door and were key in our plans for the rest of ourtime in the country.  A "dar" issimilar to a riad, except that the courtyard can be closed off to the elementsand therefore can be warmed throughout instead each room individually.  This place also had amazing tile workand original wood overhangs and doors as seen in photos.  We would recommend either of theseplaces for lodging in Fes, the staff at Dar Roumana were more helpful andfriendly, but Riad Louna was more in the central medina and easier to find forthe first time. Wespent two afternoons visiting with Berber carpet shopkeepers and bought somefor our house.  We also bought a beautifulbowl with the typical blue and white patterns of Fes.  Despite Fes having many tourist shops, we were pleased thatthe majority of shops were of local goods and the tiny alleys were packed with localsroaming the streets, which was great to sit back and watch.Thistown was full of culture and after visiting the other towns, we realized that Fesin the end was our favorite, just because of the it gave you. We've been otherplaces that give you an aspect of history but this just has the rawest medievalfeel we've ever been. (Just full of smells, people, dirt, mud, flavors, alleyways,architecture, etc...) Our originalplan was to spend several days in only three cities (Fez, Marakesh, andEssaouera) and not go like crazy trying to see it all (which is how we normallytravel). Well after talking with the couple in Dar Roumana, the temptation tosee it all was just too good to pass up. So early the next morning we were off ina bush taxi through the countryside headed for the Sahara. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1231085700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1231085700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1231085700/tpod.html Sun, 04 Jan 2009 11:18:21 -0500 Holidays in Africa 2008

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Materi, Benin

We just arrived in Cotonou after a week in Materi. There is so much to say, I don't know that we'll be able to put it all in this post. We arrived first to Mama Charlotte's, Rebecca's work partner.  We had stayed with her for our very first week in village, so we knew she would take good care of us.  She was so surprised to see us, and relief swept over me, when she embraced us in happiness.  She has added on to her house a "guest house" which made it perfect for us, even our own private shower room!  Charlotte cooked us great meals everyday, and we showed our appreciation by giving her some money and showering her with gifts, which she loved.  Meals included bouille (corn or millet porridge) for breakfast, and for lunch and dinner a variety of either pate de mais (boiled corn meal), pate de mil (boiled millet flour), couscous, or igname pilee (big pounded potatoes). Of course, every meal was served with a piece of meat, including chicken, guinea hen, goat, or fish.   After a day or tracking him down, we got to see Dassibou, our best friend while we were there.  Our first meeting brought tears of joy to my eyes; I was so relieved to see him healthy and doing well.  He also embraced us and was overjoyed at seeing us.  Almost all of our good friends talked of how it was like a dream for us to be there, something unbelievable that we had done, coming back to see everyone.   Dassibou is working for a non profit organization and doing well. Dassibou had to drop out of school when his father died but fortunately he worked on finally got his Junior High diploma (this opens a lot of doors for jobs).   He has also taken a wife.  She is from a smaller village and does not speak French, but at least we could greet her in the local language.  Our local language returned the minute we began hearing it, much to the surprise of the locals.  Many would respond by saying "Oh!  You foreigners speak Biali???  Ho!!"  And we would respond, "just a little", which would further floor them that we could speak and understand even further what they were saying.  That part was fun. Many of our friends were students in higher levels of high school during our service, and it was great seeing that they had graduated and were either down at the university in Cotonou, or working a job somewhere and were back in village celebrating the holidays with their families.  They looked all grown up and mature, we felt like proud parents seeing them so independent and doing well.  One of the girls that we supported while we were in village and after we left through Benin Education Fund, had found a job with a non profit organization and was driving around on a motorcycle!  This is quite the status symbol in village, and shows that she has become a "grande".   We saw our family that we lived with.  Unfortunately, Maman left Papa and went back to her village. She has the two younger children with her, and two older boys are with Papa.  The boys are going to schools and very shocked to see us.  We were just as shocked when they ran out as greeted us with Bon Arrive (welcome in French!). While we were there the extent of their French was Bon Jour and Ca Va? So seeing them after a couple of years of school was great especially from Nambigua, the younger boy. Mama gave birth to another child, Sambieni, who is about 10 months.  He is a very happy child and seems very well nourished.  Narou, the youngest while we were there, was also happy to see us, but shy at first to approach us.  By the end of our visit to the village she let me pick her up for a photo.  The boys unfortunately don't look well fed, there is no woman at the house there to cook for them, so we discussed this issue with Charlotte and Dassibou, and we decided to buy some millet grain for Maman to help feed them when Papa isn't around.  It was a kind of complicated thing to sort out, but hopefully we made the right decision. Much to our surprise, Materi now has cell phone reception and everyone was walking around talking on cell phones.  I thought it was a hyperbole seeing someone on a cell phone speaking an only partially written language.  However, after reflecting on this, I am glad that they have kept certain things like their language and clothing, preserving their culture despite the technological developments and Westernization that is occurring.  I think a Beninese woman will always value her pagnes (colorful pieces of fabric). With the new President Yayi Boni, change can be seen throughout the country.  There is a huge new highway being built from Cotonou north.  People in Materi told us that he got some rice from Japan and had it shipped all over and was cheaper than the other rice, which allowed people to eat more last year when the harvest wasn't good.  Also, he shipped up cement to Materi and probably other villages making it cheaper to buy and therefore more people have added on to their houses.  The electricity is now constant during the evening hours and more people have bought into it.  It was nice having a light in the shower room at night. Another excellent change (which we talked a lot about during our service) is that the president has implemented free elementary education. This is huge for smaller villages and as a result Benin is now grappling with just a big teacher shortage. To solve this they have implemented a military/teaching program. If you have a high school diploma you can go through basic training and are then shipped out to teach in schools all over Benin for a 2 year service. As an incentive, those that go through this program are then eligible for "veteran's status" if government jobs or something else is available. One of our good friends is now doing this and its cool hearing how people from our village are now living all over.  As far as transportation, the bus system is AWESOME!!! Air conditioned and bad martial arts movies included. Unfortunately it still took us from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm for a taxi to fill up with enough passengers to leave. Curse you taxi-man!!! Fortunately we had the seat of honor in the front of a Toyota Mini Bus that normally holds 8 or 9. As it's the only one to leave that day and there are not other options the taxi-men wait until they have about 20 peopled jammed on top of each other. Imagine six people sitting in the far back seat of a mini van and you'll get the idea. Fortunately that was the only time we had any problems with taxis and sitting two in the front passenger seat was a dream compared to the back.  Well we're now back in the heat and humidity of the South. It was really dry and dusty desert winds in village (highs in the 90s and lows in the 70s with no humidity). As soon as we stepped off the bus in Cotonou we were back in Houston like weather (high 90s and humidity 90%). Oh well at least it for only a couple of days and then we're off to Morocco. It's so weird thinking about how its 0 degrees back in Helena right now.  Once we get to Morocco we'll write more. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year. Everyone in Village says hi too! Love, Jason and Rebecca 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1229692800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1229692800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/4/1229692800/tpod.html Thu, 25 Dec 2008 14:08:25 -0500 Holidays in Africa 2008

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Cotonou, Benin

This is for all those fellow PCVs out there... So picture back to the time when you've got a looooong bush taxi ride ahead of you and after fighting with the taxi guys the previous nights you wait and wait for the taxi to come it finally arrives and then something goes wrong with the engine and then the taxi gets a flat and everything just seems to be going really badly. Well that's been kind of like the beginning of our trip so far...It all seemed so simple. Just a connection in Minneapolis and then another in New York and we'd be off to Benin. Unfortunately snow in both Minneapolis AND New York caused a three day delay in leaving the US. Fortunately we have such amazingly hospitable friends in New York that if we're ever delayed by snow again I hope it's in New York if Ellen and John will take us. So finally we had lift off from NY to Morocco and the flight was fine. The 13 hour layover was made really palitable by the fact that Royal Air Maroc puts you up in a hotel and feeds you. Then finally off to Benin. Unfortunately the fact that we had slept like the dead in Casablanca meant that when we arrived at 3:00am in the morning there was no way we were getting any sleep. Fortunately it seems like the chaufer has finally found the akassa and is lining the tire walls so based upon previous experiences in traveling through Africa, all the traveling bad karma should be done and it should be smooth sailing for now. This is especially evident with our journey today.After getting really bad vibes last night from the taxi guy who promised that we'd be leaving early early this morning, we decided to stiff him this morning since he hadn't shown up by 8:30am (when one usually leaves at 6AM) and go visit our host family in the south for Christmas. It was such a relief to finally be on the road. Traveling in the south is so much easier than going up north where we used to live. We just jumped off our moto-taxi and into a bush taxi and we're on the road in less than 5 minutes. We had thought about calling our family before to give them a heads up but all the phone booths were closed because of the holiday and so we just showed up. What a surprised it was for them!!! They were so excited to see us and Christmas is such the perfect holiday here to spend it with family. Everyone was off and our Mama was already in the middle of cooking a great dinner when we arrive and she just kept piling more food on the charcoal cook stoves. We ate and visited and caught up with everyone. We brought some left over Obama campaign posters and they were so excited to talk about the elections. They have also had a recent election where a younger intellectual won and they say he's really made some good changes that have cut a lot of the old favoritism and ended some of the corruption. In the end our family gave us some new fabric with which we're supposed to make matching clothes. Really cool... especially since they repeatedly said we were the best volunteers out of the many they've hosted. Ok so tomorrow... we're taking the bus up to Natitengou (that's right a bus; rollin in style!!! Take that taxi man!) and hopefully will continue our good traveling karma. We'll probably write sometime after the New Year when we return from the post. Merry Christmas!We hope this finds everyone well and that everyone had a good Christmas.Love,Rebecca and Jason 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1163722020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1163722020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1163722020/tpod.html Thu, 16 Nov 2006 19:59:00 -0500 So after all our searching we've finally decided to work and play in Helena, Mt.

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Helena, Montana, United States

Ok This is a test to see how this works,
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1162870500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1162870500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1162870500/tpod.html Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:22:55 -0500 So after all our searching we've finally decided to work and play in Helena, Mt.

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Helena, Montana, United States

Hello Everybody!!!We're sorry its been a while since we've updated you all on our outs and abouts in the wild west. We're finally getting settled here in Helena. No more need for trips to furniture stores or searching the want ads. Hopefully what we have will serve us well until we need to set up roots permanently. (hopefully sometime after housing prices drop). So the past month most weekends were spent either going on short day hikes or trail runs in the mountains surrounding Helena. It really is fantastic to have open space trails so close by and with such diverse scenery. We've been to the top of both Mt Helena and Mt Assention (the two largest mountains that overlook Helena) that have really nice dirt trails up both and fantastic views of the surrounding area. What else... Let's see I guess I'll talk some about work too. Two weeks ago was pretty neat/crazy, I was waking up early to drive over an hour to get my hazardous waste training that teaches you there is no 5 second rule when it comes to a superfund site and you shouldn't have even had those M&Ms on the site to begin with. It also taught about how to work in one, how to wear and work in one of those Moonsuits that you see in the movies, and other job related stuff. So in doing this I could catch the sunrise on the snow capped mountains in Butte, and then be back to see the sunset just light up the Helena mountains and valley. Not a bad beginning and end to a day. At least I had good weather and I didn't have to worry about snowy roads. I also learned about the "health mines" that I passed daily. These Health Mines apparently cure all sorts of chronic arthritis, rheumatism, etc... The downside is that they work by sending you down an old mine and you breath in Radon gas several times a day for over a week. So on one hand you get temporary relief and on the other you breath in radioactive gas that will give you lung cancer in 15 to 20 years. But apparently lots of people come from all over. On last Friday we packed up and headed to Billings, MT (about 4 hours away and MT's largest city of I'd say a couple hundred thousand maybe??? definitely no more than 3 but I'm thinking between 1 and 2) to see a fantastic gal we did Peace Corps with and who is still crashing with her parents. Great seeing her because she's a blast and it was also good for her because she's going a little crazy staying cooped up in her parents house. So we spent most of the weekend hanging out with her and staying up too late talking. Then drive back and hit a snow storm about 30 miles from Helena and that takes us about an hour and a half to get through. Really light small snow that was just blowing across the highway like a sand storm and covering the lanes and stuff. Really weird and spooky even more so because it was at night and you couldn't use your brights. So the monday after that it might have gotten above freezing but I'm not sure because I was too busy getting ready for a sampling trip up to Kalispell Mt. (a cool town that's getting really pricey because its close to Glacier national park and has a really huge lake with lots of waterfront property, around 3-4 hrs NW of Helena). So Tues, Wed and Thurs three of us from work were out taking water level samples and keeping an eye on a this site. This site is a good one because there were three different industries all polluting at the same time with different nasties and of course they've since merged in one big groundwater plume that flows underneath several properties including a hotel, gas station, and a Walmart. We started at 7:30 in the morning because any later and we'd run out of light and it would be hovering in the mid teens. I've never had the desire, much less the need to wear fat insulated hunting Carhart Coveralls. For those of you who are ill informed in the latest hunting attire a Coverall is a one piece that you stick your legs in and then your arms and then zip all the way up to your neck. So kind of like feetzy pajamas but without the feet. I felt like the stay puffed marshmallow man but at least with that, two layers of socks and three gloves, and another hooded jacket I was warm. And this is November!?!?!?!? So that's what I've been up to. The job is going well, everyone working there actually wants to make a difference in the environment and wants to be in Montana so its good company and we get lots of suggestions for hikes and things to see. Rebecca is diggin her job working at the Veterins Hospital. Kind of the same thing applies for her work too. The Doctors are all really nice because they're living where they want to live and doing what they want to do. They actually ask for her input on patients and while most of her patients are old men, they aren't grumpy, bitter, or dirty, and usually treat her like she's their granddaughter. Helena's still pretty sweet, we're still exploring the ins and outs. I just found an adult soccer league and actually played a fun 8 v 8 pickup game with them a couple of weeks ago. I got a sweet goal off the left foot (too easy to miss really) but unfortunately it was the last week of the fall season. They say there's a group that plays indoors at a Highschool so I'll have to check that out. One of Rebecca's Doctor co-worker invited us over to go running with him and says there's a group of Doctors that run at night (because that's when they get off their shifts) with head lamps so we'll see about that. But he was really nice and should be good to hang out with even during the daytime. Well that's enough for now... I hope you and yours had a sweet Halloween and are getting ready for the Best food fest in the west for Turkey day. Mmmm I just can't wait to have so much pie that it hurts and then fall asleep in a food induced drunken stupor on the couch until... Did someone say pie for breakfast??? Our fantastic Peace Corps friend in Billings and her family have graciously invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them. I'm slightly suspicious that it has something to do with the fact that she was present for our 9 pie Turkey Day Spectacular in Benin. Ahh Great Memories...I hope all of you get out the Vote. Montana State employees have the day off so I'm going to be ensuring as an official election judge that no Florida or Ohio shinanagins happen here in Helena. The Race for MT Senate is about as close as you get so who knows what people might try. Take care and we hope to hear from you soon.Love,Jason and Rebecca
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1159381680/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1159381680/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1159381680/tpod.html Wed, 27 Sep 2006 18:34:54 -0400 So after all our searching we've finally decided to work and play in Helena, Mt.

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East Glacier, Montana, United States

Hi everyone!!!Well our first snowy weekend here we spent unpacking (getting things together around the house) and exploring the downtown walking area of Helena. This past week everyone at work was telling us how the next couple of weekends would be perfect to get out and see the aspens turning and go take a hike in the mountains. They stressed the next couple of weekends because before too long it'll be too cold and the trails will be covered in snow. So considering they're the experts that's what we did. Jason's coworkers are all hikers and were able to give us lots of suggestions on where to go and what trails to do. Saturday we drove up north of Helena to a trial outside of Choteau through lots of rolling golden pasture land that had a great backdrop of the newly snow-dusted Rocky mountains Almost all the Rocky mountain range in Montana is either national forest, wilderness areas, or parks so there is really an endless selection of places to hike and explore. Our first stop was going up to Our Lake. The trail was surrounded by snow covered cliffs and ragged mountain tops but started going through a beautiful douglas pine forest. It was great just taking a deep breath of cool crisp pine scented mountain air. The hike was really nice and not too steep or long. When we got close to "Our Lake" (a rather large glacier carved lake up near a crown of mountains) we hit about a 4-6 inch layer of fresh snow from the day before. So that turned everything into a winter wonderland with all the fir limbs covered with clumps of snow. The lake was nice but unfortunately really windy that day. Nice crisp air blowing over snow and frigid water to greet us Brrrr... so we looked around at all the peaks, saw a couple of white mountain goats, and then headed back. That night we continued up to Glacier National park where we camped in one of the campgrounds there right next to another huge mountain rimmed lake. Glacier is visually just amazing and is hard to describe to those that haven't seen it. There are so many pointed/pyramid shaped peaks coming strait out of the ground that you are just constantly wondering how all of this was formed. To add to the spectical most of the peaks were dusted in white that really contrasted with the clear bright blue sky. The next morning we were off to tour up and around 2 mountain lakes. Again it was so nice hiking up looking at how the angles of the mountains towering around you change with every bend in the trail. Once we reached the top we stopped and had a nice lunch on a rock overlooking the upper lake and pinical just behind it. We were just about to finish up when a pretty big fuzzy head sticks its nose around the bush in front of us. All three of us jumped back a bit, him started at the fact that two humans were sitting there so quietly and us that a black lab size Black Bear had just come around the corner. Looking at him you could tell he wasn't after anything, so we stood up quickly and shooed him off. Surprisingly Montana black bears understand the same warnings and Ha's as African goats. So that was startling but also really cool. On our way down we were talking about that and looking at this other lake when out walk a huge female moose that just wades into the water for a bath and a bite to eat. So we sat there for the next hour just watching her stick her head under and come up chewing. Once she had had her fill she then gets out, shakes off, and then disappears into the trees. What an amazing first outing!!!!We like to think of it as a sign from the Great Bear and Great Moose spirts welcoming us into their world. After that it was a just a really pleasant hike back to the car and drive back home. Just driving in this state you see tons of mule deer, prong-horned antelope, pheasants, etc... So whenever any of you decide to come for a visit we'll definitely provide some wild entertainment. We hope you are all well and we're thinking about you.Love,Jason and Rebecca
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1158438540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1158438540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1158438540/tpod.html Sat, 16 Sep 2006 16:54:06 -0400 So after all our searching we've finally decided to work and play in Helena, Mt.

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Helena, Montana, United States

Hey everyone...Just wanted to drop you all a quick line and let you know that we made it safely across the flatlands and the badlands and ended up in the great little town of Helena, Mt.After the first week of work I (jason) think I will really enjoy actually using my degrees to help clean up the hazardous waste spills in Montana. We were talking the other day and I have successfully put off working a typical 8-5 day for the past 5 years. Not too bad but I think this job I will really enjoy and it will allow me to get to see a lot of Montana and hopefully perserve some of this amazing land for future generations. Rebecca is in the process of deciding between two jobs and I think is looking forward to getting back to treating people and making a difference in their lives. We have a neat little Condo/townhouse place and have explored a little bit of Helena and the surronding area. For the past week we've been living without furniture becuase the truck has yet to arrive. But this has allowed us to recapture some of our Peace Corps experience and we've enjoyed noseing around goodwill and consignment shops for furniture and other stuff we'll need. The best thing we've found so far is a bread machine that works great and makes huge loaves for 3 dollars!!! There's also a great natural food store and library with fast internet and interesting movie selection. Once the movers get here tomorrow I'm sure we'll be busy busy getting everything unpacked and organized. Well this Saturday morning we slept in all nice and cozy in our sleeping bags and when we pulled open the curtains there were snow flaks a-falling and a nice dusting on the mountains behind our house and surronding the town. Just a taste of what's to come. It'll be in the 70s by Monday. But we're wondering why the thermometer the previous tenets left goes down to -60F. WE'll see!!!!Our new address is:1117 Woodbridge Dr.Helena MT 59601our phone is still 757-407-2129 but we'll probably be changing that shortly.Hope you are all well and we will be informing you on all of our wintery adventures soon. Love,Rebecca and Jason
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1156367460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1156367460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jasonrebecca/montana_bound/1156367460/tpod.html Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:12:31 -0400 So after all our searching we've finally decided to work and play in Helena, Mt.

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Helena, Montana, United States

Dear Friends and FamilyHow is everyone??? Well after many countless hours sitting in front of the computer and faxing/mailing/entering my resume all over the world, I (Jason) have finally found an employment that seems to really suit my background in environmental clean-up and is located in an area where Rebecca and I will be able to get our fill of mountains and outdoor living. Last week I accepted a job with the Montana's state department of environmental quality which is located in quaint and beautiful Helena, Mt. I went out there for an interview two weeks ago and really liked how the town still has its original historic charm and how close mountainous activities are. I was also able to find a townhouse for us to rent that's two blocks from several trailheads and only 2 miles to my work. The plan is that I'll try and bike as much as possible, that is until old man winter and jack frost gang up on us poor African volunteers and then hopefully my job will understand when I keep calling in sick due to the unhealthy temperatures and risk of exposure. Helena is has a population of around 30,000 and probably is only 4 miles by 5 miles. This will be a really nice treat to have everything so close. It is fairly surrounded by mountains and in the winter there is snowshoeing and cross-country skiing just 15 minutes away. Yellowstone and Glacier national parks are only 2-3 hours away with tons of open forest service land in between to do as much hiking as possible. So if any of you have ever wanted to see this part of the country you now have an open invitation. We are planning on leaving the Wednesday after Labor day (the 6th I think) up through DC to Chicago and then it's nothing but straight west from there. I'm sorry I haven't done as good a job of writing and updating people on what we've been doing, but I was in front of this computer way too often and that's all I was doing for days at a time so really nothing exciting to report. Rebecca has been patiently waiting for me to find something and decided to pass the time by learning how to quilt. Her idea is that once she learns she'll use the scraps of African fabrics we brought back with us to make a souvenir quilt. Who knew that she was taking up such a practical hobby especially since we'll be snuggled underneath it all winter long. She has now talked to a couple of hospitals out there and will hopefully find work fairly easily. (It must be nice to have an occupation where people actually hunt you down to offer you a job). Well I just wanted to let you all know what's happening here with us and I hope everyone is happy and healthy. Love,Jason and Rebecca
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