montana was like a postcard; towering pines, mountains, rivers, and snow capped peaks in the distance. highways, backroads, dusty dirt roads; we spent hours driving around in awe of the landscape. we wandered with no particular plan; coffee, food, friendly folks, it all just seemed to fall into place throughout the weekend.
sometimes i can't help but look around and wonder "how in the hell did i get here." my friend kristen described these as "cinematic moments" (read her post here). to me these are moments where i just have to take a step back to fully realize where i am, who i'm with, what i'm doing, and just how damn good it all is.
i seem to be having a lot of these moments lately.
i'd like to think i'm not actively searching for them, and that they just manifest because of the people and places i choose to surround myself with. another facet to experiencing these moments comes from the fact that i try to go into things with no expectation of how they'll turn out, easier said than done sometimes, but for the most part i hold true to this. i had no idea what the weekend was going to hold, and i liked that.
so when i'm in a new state, with a texas rose, surrounded by hundreds of smiling strangers dancing along to the plucking of a steel guitar; i couldn't help but feel one of those cinematic moments wash over me. kristen summed up the feeling best with this line, "these are moments that make you feel alive."