Mad to Live

Since arriving in Montana, I have been bombarded with an invigorating sense of truly being alive. My life here differs drastically from the norm, giving it the impression of being unrealistic, a dream land. In fact, my friends and I jokingly call our home here Neverland, an imaginary time warp that confuses the days and all inklings of time passing. It's strange to me that this lifestyle which in so many ways contradicts most people's perceptions of "real life" is the life that fills me up and overloads me with a burning desire to live and love and, most importantly, to never stop yearning.

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."
Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Yellowstone Adventures

My first weekend in Montana I was lucky enough to have off the first two days. On one of those, my friend Dre and I ventured into Yellowstone, or simply The Park as its called here, and did a 3 hour driving tour. She has worked as a bartender in Yellowstone for 5 seasons so she knows her way around very well. We drove through Lamar Valley, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and Mammoth Hot Springs. We saw mountains, geysers, waterfalls and a ton of wildlife: goats, rams, deer, elk, bison, antelope, a crane, a raven, and FIVE bears. My experience in the outdoors department is severely lacking, but everyone accustomed to it says that seeing five bears in one day is pretty rare.

A week later Dre, Natalie, Baker and I went on a mild hike on a mountain called Everett's in Yellowstone. As we hiked up, we could look down on the neighboring small town called Gardiner. We also we able to get pretty close to a herd of sheep with their lambs. As this was my first legitimate hike, I was struggling quite a bit, but making it to the top was an incredible feeling.

the black bear that crossed the road right in front of us

Mr. Bison

Mammoth Hot Springs

spectacular

hot springs

Natalie and Dre on our hike

little baby lamb scratching his butt

Add caption

Daily Life

In a word... daily life on the ranch is pretty fantastic. The work is long - sometimes 10 or 11 hours on my feet - but I get to work with amazing people, all of whom I'm friends with, and because I mainly work in the dining room I get to interact with the guests. Mountain Sky is unique in the sense that it not only allows but encourages its staff to talk with the guests, share your background, and get to know them. There's a bar connected to the dining room in which both staff and guests drink, mingle, share travel stories, and dance the two-step.

My job involves all the processes of eating. Setting up and preparing the dining room for meals, serving the food, and then clean up after meals and begin the preparation for the next meal. Sometimes it feels that all the guests do is eat because I am constantly in the kitchen or dining room. But regardless of the long hours, it's incredibly difficult to dread going to work. Chefy (the head chef) said as long as things are done properly and efficiently, the kitchen is the best place to work on the ranch. And I would have to agree. In between meals we dance and sing as Eye of the Tiger or Adele blares in the background, and we get to sample just about everything that exits the kitchen. With some of the best chefs in the business cooking 5 or 8 course meals, this is quite the perk. There's also and strong sense of unity and teamwork. We all have our own duties and roles, but everybody helps each other out so that everyone can leave at the same time.

After work, if there are a lot of guests hanging out, we'll usually go hang out at the bar and do some dancing. On quieter nights we tend to migrate towards the hot tub, beer cans in tow. Every so often nights are dispersed with guitar/ukelele jam sessions, beer pong, hatchet throwing, star gazing, and intensely competitive games of pool.  Everyone here also loves to be active, so games of tennis, soccer, basketball and volleyball are common, and if you have a day off you will most likely go hiking or fishing. Basically, you have to try to not have a good time. I wouldn't trade my unconventional life for the world.

"Congratulate yourselves if you have done something strange and extravagant 

and broken the monotony of a decorous age."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Finally in Montana!

After several months of anxious anticipation, I have finally made it to my new home for the next six months: Mountain Sky Guest Ranch in Montana! I love everything about being here, the mountains, the fresh air, the people, and even my job. I am still in awe that I'm actually here. Here is my address and a few pictures of the ranch. I'll give a more in depth description of my daily activities and life on the ranch soon, including my first trip to Yellowstone!

For regular mail:

Mandi Schmitt

PO Box 335 

Emigrant, MT 59027

For packages:

Mountain Sky Guest Ranch

Mandi Schmitt

480 Big Creek Road

Emigrant, MT 59027

my room with a king size bed

the front of the cabin

my backyard

the main lodge, where I eat and work

where the horses live

British Columbia

Exactly four days after returning from South Carolina, I boarded yet another plane. This time, after a flight to Seattle and a three hour bus ride north, I arrived at Vancouver, British Columbia. My friend Bridgid-Anne, who I met while in India, picked me up and took me to her house in Agassiz, about 90 mins from Vancouver (again, it pays to have friends who live all over the world.) I stayed with her and her family for five days in their tiny town sandwiched between mountains. It was breathtakingly beautiful and so refreshing to wake up to a mountain everyday. I got to spend Easter with her incredibly welcoming and kind family and meet a bunch of her friends.

We spent a day biking along the water around Stanley Park in Vancouver, visited a cheese farm, tried poutine (a classic Canadian dish: french fries smothered in cheese curds and gravy), watched several Cannucks hockey games with hardcore Canadian fans, and visited a fantastic used book store in Chilliwack, a neighboring town. 

For the second half of the week, Bridgid, her boyfriend and I took a road trip around Vancouver Island. We caught a two hour ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, our first stop on the island. Other cities we stopped in were Coombs, Parksville, and Victoria, the capital of BC. The three of us had such a great time finding cheap hostels to stay in, exploring the scenic beaches and hillsides, shopping at the kitschy Goats on the Roof market, feeding sea lions at Oak Bay Harbor, playing hacky sack in front of the Parliament building, making friends with old men at a Scottish pub, and hippie dancing at a night club. Everything was entirely relaxed and carefree, and the mountain air mixed with the sea breeze was a rejuvenating medicine. I absolutely intend to return to British Columbia to do some more exploring - my allotted ten days wasn’t nearly enough!

Harbor in Victoria

the old men at the Scottish pub

night clubbin' it

Stanley Park in Vancouver

the cheese farm

ferry ride to Nanaimo

Departure Bay

the brooding Edgar Allen Duck

Piper's Lagoon

the goatless Goats on a Roof Market

Rathtrevor Beach

feeding Splashy the seal

Southern Tour

       The last month and half has been quite a hectic one. After returning from Tampa, I very fortunately got loaded up with babysitting jobs and a two week secretary job with the Board of Education. This provided me with a little extra cushion for my upcoming trips and I couldn’t believe how well the timing worked out. I also sold my car which provided me with some extra cash while simultaneously snipping one more thread linking me to the material world. Though I had to depend on other people for rides, it was oddly freeing. 

On Friday March 23 I jetted down to Memphis to meet my friend from University of South Carolina, Julie. We ate BBQ, went to a dueling piano bar, and walked along the Mississippi River. She is currently studying law at Ole Miss, so we also spent some time where she lives in Oxford. Because we live so far away from each other we rarely get to spend time together, so this trip was extra exciting.

On Tuesday the 27th I caught a Greyhound to Atlanta, GA. I have a friend from high school living there so I stayed with her for two nights, checking out the ritzy area where she lives called Buckhead, and then together we drove to Charleston, SC on Friday.

Another high school friend lives there so we, along with about ten other people, crashed his apartment for the weekend. Saturday morning I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k and spent the rest of the day/night hanging out in downtown Charleston, a very picturesque city. Sunday we spent the day in Myrtle Beach and I caught a ride back to MD Monday morning. 

Traveling is something I love to do and not much can stop me from doing it, but it’s infinitely easier when you know people who live in different and enticing places. One of the best parts about moving around so much is the people I meet who might unwittingly provide me with another travel opportunity or at least give me alternate ideas on where to go and how to get there. 

Roaming over four states in ten days with just my hiking backpack, seeing a ton of old friends, and making several new ones, was exhilarating and I am so glad I was able to go.

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles" Tim Cahill

Me and Julie in Memphis

Nikki, my Atlanta friend

high school bros

rooftop in Memphis

The Square in Oxford, Mississippi

the gang in Myrtle Beach