Mountain Goat beside the sidewalk in Leavenworth

My post a few days ago mentioned that you’d have to revisit my site to learn what my vacation destination was. Today I’m posting on A Small Town Girl’s Guide from a Bavarian mountain town called Leavenworth, Washington, roughly two hours east of Seattle. I’ll be rock climbing and camping for the next two days, and I’m beyond excited.

We’ve decided that if anyone asks us if we have experience climbing, our answers will be, “Oh, definitely. I Googled it.” or “Sure, I mean I read ‘How to Rock Climb!’” on the flight to Seattle. We’ll either frighten people or make fast friends with them. Either way, it should be fun.

Yesterday we visited Mount Rainier National Park. Our drive through it was fairly quick, so we didn’t do any hiking our tours in the park. Instead, we enjoyed driving our Subaru Outback rental car and the scenic mountain roads. So far, this vacation has been amazing.

It feels better than I can put into words to be in a different place, with my mind on completely different things that it’s on day-to-day in my small town Missouri life.

Since it’s time to head out on our climbing trip, it’s possible that the next time you read a post from me, it’s a post recounting my experiences in Leavenworth ER.

Until then…

Ever since you saw my post earlier this week about life in Missouri being good, you’ve had trouble sleeping. You’ve tossed and turned in anticipation, wondering what this small town girl’s up to in her free time.

You’ve been reprimanded by your supervisor for compulsively checking A Small Town Girl’s Guide during the work day. You try to explain to them how big of a deal Small Town Girl’s new hobby announcement is, and they just won’t listen. You feel misunderstood. You feel all alone in the small town world you’ve found yourself sucked into. I know. And it’s alright.

Small Town Girl’s pull is magnetic, and the cliff-hanger (pun intended) in that last post was just too much. You need to know what my new hobby is. That new hobby, my internet-stalking, blog-reading friend, is rock climbing.

I’ve started climbing with some frequency, and while I’m still not very good at it, I’m gaining focus and determination through climbing (and through running) that carries over into my work, my relationships, and my perspectives on small town life.

I’ll be leaving this weekend for a hard-earned vacation to a city I’ve wanted to see for years. Any guesses as to which city I’m visiting? I’ll give you a hint; I’ll have the opportunity to practice my new hobby when I arrive there.

Here are a couple of photos of my vacation destination, and the mountains we’ll be hiking, climbing and camping in while we’re there. I’d always admired climbers, but never thought I’ve have the strength and skill to be one. Luckily, life in small town Missouri allows me the resources to try new hobbies like this one. Here’s to hoping our climbing goes well next week.