Montana Bound!

As my first travel blog EVER, allow me to introduce why travel invigorates me.

For years, this Kansas girl has wanted to journey freely across the West. Such a journey has meant a chance to feel pioneering; feel my stomach hurt from rounds of laughs; ride horses and ride powder snow; people watch in a culture apart from my own; see exotic landscapes.

Despite the anticipation that comes with travel, it can also be wraught with disappointment and loneliness. So, in type A travel fashion, I have taken steps to hedge the "loneliness on the road" risks:

• Notify several girlfriends in advance, that I am willing to meet their random friends and family members if they will be in the vicinity of my upcoming destinations. If it's a good time, I promise to throwing in a bottle of vino upon my return.
• Email second cousins living in the surrounding target areas - it's time to reconnect!
• Read up on conversation starters at the Continental Breakfasts. So, I see you have a trucker's hat, are you a sports fan?
• Carry my Guidebook and a free local paper into the bar - this will suggest I'm open to talking to people when I otherwise wouldn't be in my hometown.

Approaching my first stop, I realize who my new companions will be for a little while: the front desk clerks, the coffee baristas, the waiters, whatever outdoor guide services I may render, the occassional Joe actually in a mood for conversations with strangers, maybe a random person at the locker room of a rec center where I've paid the visitors' fee, and of course, the retirees I see at the Super 8 free breakfast (with stories about their daughter and what a wonderful life she lives married with kids and a meaningful career).

Tonight, I'm at my recommended Solo Type A budget traveler accommodations: The grand ole Super 8. I get free coffee, free breakfast, internet and never seem to have to verify my Triple A discount rate card.

I am armed with tips from the Moon Handbooks and a mission for feeling a little extra jingle....like a good day of sun and powder snow - you can't help but hollar!