China in the AM

Waiting this morning for my pet sitter to come pick up my boys.  I always get a little sad when I have to leave them with someone else.  I haven't left them with anyone since being on the road so I hope they will be at least content while I am gone.  They will make new dog friends and I'm sure will have a blast.

I think I have everything set for my trip.  Packed 2 changes of clothes and PJs.  Have stuff to entertain me on the 18 hour flight and the 10 hour train trip I will take from Shanghai to Beijing.  I almost did the 22 hour train trip but figured I would probably regret that decision.  They have the fast train which can get you there in 5 hours but I wanted to see the country a bit along the way.

I will be spending a few days with my friends in Shainghai to get acclimated and figure out the rest of my trip.  I will be couch surfing in Beijing.  I will be speaking with students for an hour a day for a meal and place to stay.  Not sure yet how long I will be in Beijing.  Will be getting my plane ticket to Bangkok when I get to China.  I hope to do Beijing Sideways tour to the Great Wall.  Quite a splurge for me but hoping I can pull it off.  That is the only thing I have in mind for Beijing.  Not a big planner.

Then Thailand... I have no clue.  I want to go to Chiang Mai and rent a motorcycle for a few days.  Hope that can happen.  I haven't had any luck with couch surfing in that area so will most likely stay at a hostel.  Then it just depends on time and if I'm bored.  May go down to southern Thailand for a day or two before heading back to Bangkok to catch my flight back to the U.S.  

Plans are made to be broken so I'm just going to let life happen.  I know I have a plane ticket from the U.S. To Shanghai, a train ticket from Shanghai to Beijing and a plane ticket out of Bangkok back to the U.S.  So at some point I have to get to Thailand but other than that everything is up in the air.  

Letting life lead and the adventure will follow.  

I will try to post when I can but will hopefully have tons of pictures and stories to share when I get back.  Hopefully won't be as boring as those vacation slideshows...I will try to make it entertaining.  :)

Fall in Montana

The leaves are changing color in Montana!  Here are a few pics.  I have the weekend to enjoy and then off to China!

Montana Day Rides

Went on a couple of day rides this last weekend.  There were 2 different loops.  

Saturdays ride was 269 miles.

This was just south of Jackson Montana.

The bugs were most definitely out.  The freezing temps at night don't seem to kill them but Blue does a good job.

Sunday I took another day ride around a loop for 311 miles.

 Need to find a couple more places to ride this coming weekend before my trip to China.

Nube... Nube

It is Nube's year to be at the vet.  Last week the side of his face swelled and then the next day it was fine.  The Friday evening it swelled again and just got worse throughout the weekend.

This was early in the weekend.

  

This was Monday morning.

We went to the vet and they took out 8oz of ooze.  Yuck-O!  He was running a temp because of the infection from a tooth.  Nube has a pretty serious heat murmur... The vet told me a 5 out of a scale of 6.  Since I am leaving I a few days she said not to pull the tooth.  It would be really hard on his heart and with his age it was not recommended.  The tooth is loose so we are hoping it will fall out or if I get courageous enough I could pull it myself.  He got a light antibiotic again because of his heart.  The vet said it will most likely get infected again if the tooh doesn't fall out but this is he best way to go since I am traveling and his heart. 

Here is Nube after the vet.

The meds seem to be working.  This was later the same night.

Nube is feeling much better and back to his rambunctious self.  He is eating dry food, snacks and drinking so all seems to be on the healing path.  My trip to China was postponed a few days which gives me some time to be sure Nube is good before going to the pet sitter.

To show 12 hours.  Left was the morning and right was that night.

Preparing for China

I leave for China on Thursday.  Yikes!  I will be outside Shanghai for a few days, Beijing for a few days and Guanghzou for a few days and then go to Thailand for a week.  All together I will be gone for 3 weeks.  Pretty nervous and pretty excited.  I think I found my excitement for the trip.  I have been trying to find a way to ride a motorcycle to the Great Wall.   I believe I found it!  Beijing Sideways does tours to the Great Wall in a sidecar! http://www.beijingsideways.com. If I can't ride my own what better way to ride but in a sidecar!  Now to figure out where to get the money to do it.  Since I am going to work for Amazon.com for the season I think I can pull it off.  *fingers crossed* Woohoo!!  Now I am excited!  Just emailed them to get more info.  Wish me luck!

Now to figure out what to bring.  Going to just bring 1 backpack and that is it.  Not too hard.  Should be a simple thing.  I can live with next to nothing for 3 weeks quite easily and since I only own 1 bag of clothes it will be quite simple to pick out half to bring to China.  Hahaha... That sounds quite funny... That I can bring half of my clothes to China.  :)

Will be taking lots of pictures and will tell you all about my trip.  Getting excited!

Lewis & Clark Caverns

This last weekend was so beautiful here in Montana... felt like fall.  Tomorrow we are expecting snow but back in the mid to high 60s on Friday.  So a quick taste of winter.  A few weeks ago we had hail that looked like snow.  It seems to always have pea size hail when we get a good rain but this was a bit ridiculous.  People were sliding down the walkways.  Quite entertaining.  

Anywhos... over this most beautiful weekend I went up to Lewis & Clark Caverns.  It's only 50 or so miles from where I am staying and all the tourists talk about it all the time so I figured it was time I go.   It was a 2 mile hike the whole way up, back and thru the caverns... not bad right... boy, it was quite the workout.  So not ready for my work at Amazon.com... my thighs hurt for 2 days. hahaha

Here are some pictures for you.

from the top before going into the cavern

 after the hike (I survived!)

Short Day Ride

Had to ride up to Belgrade to get Blue an oil change and decided to take a short detour to West Yellowstone and back thru Quake Lake on the way home.  Much needed day ride.

Plans

Finally finished up the season at the photoshop.  Very excited to be done.  Now comes time to figure out the next few months.  I am going to China with some friends to help bring their kids to China.  Will be very exciting!  I also have the opportunity to volunteer at a Buddhist Nunnery in India.  Still trying to figure out all that needs to be done for that.  The Visa stuff I just don't understand.  So if I can get the Visa to India I will be there until December 1... if I can't then I will be back in the states in 3 weeks.  I will travel thru China and Thailand.  Either way it is a great experience but living with Buddhist Nuns for a few months would be amazing.  So keeping my fingers crossed I can get all worked out.  I do have plans here in the states if I can't stay... I will go back to Amazon.com for the season.  We will see where life leads.  Ready for a new adventure!