Bozeman, MT 2021

As a man struggling to acquaint myself to the world, I am eternally grateful to my aunt, uncle, and cousin for inviting me with open arms to their lively home in Bozeman, and gleefully dragging me out to new experiences. I returned recently for a week after regrettably staying away for three years. This time, as an adult, I was more ready than I've ever been to experience Montana.

Theirs is a home more feral than mine— Outdoor sandals on indoor carpets, one cacophonous parrot and two gentle giant dogs, mountain views, snacks in bulk from Costco, plants in every room outgrowing their pots sitting on yogurt lids, vegan muffins and yellow cups from upscale coffee shops, the best damn grilled chicken of my life, a blue 70s Jeep with stories to tell and the scars to prove it, NPR playing in the kitchen, freshly-picked strawberries and rhubarb, windows open in the cool night. Yet I was not out of my element. The home is simply a home of mine in a different world.

I packed up my bags for a rather unglamorous two-day road trip with my mother and her partner to get out to Montana this year. The destination is the focus of this post.

I'll keep the exposition sparse and allow the detail-dense photographs to tell the story chronologically.

On the last night, I chased the sunset with my cousin and aunt. It felt like an end credits scene right after a bittersweet happy ending.