Returning to Lake County

Reporter Ali Bronsdon returns after an adventure-filled hiatus

I've been in Polson for about a week, and I've barely had a chance to breathe.

On Tuesday, my dad and I climbed the hills behind town to shake off the 2,600-mile drive that started five days before in rainy Philadelphia, Pa. We paused along the ridge and as he focused the binoculars on a herd of elk bathing in Loon Lake, I took advantage of the unobstructed view of the marvelous Mission Mountains.

On Mother's Day, I went for a walk on Rocky Point, watched water-fowl dive for fish, a pair of osprey soaring high above the cliffs and song-birds dancing amongst the reeds.

The day before, I rode my bike around Flathead Lake.

I first moved to Lake County in March of 2008 to work as a reporter for the Lake County Leader. In a matter of days, this place became my home. When I left in November of the same year, I knew it was only a matter of time until I returned. Something about the Mission Valley - the lake, mountains and the community called to me every day I was away... And ‘away' I was.

With a heavy heart, but eager to see the world, my friends Caitlin, Theresa and I booked flights to Christchurch, New Zealand, and spent the first seven months of 2009 living a dream.

We celebrated New Years aboard a Boeing 757 as the sun peeked over the Pacific Ocean. After landing in Fiji, we mistakenly purchased a five-pound bag of muddy "cassava" (potatoes) instead of "kava" (powdered root used to make a traditional celebratory drink) as a gift for our host family, then laughed it off over a seafood feast speared by said hosts only hours before.

We poached first-class hammocks on a private beach, then slept in a roach motel and barely escaped a flooded Nadi by hitching a ride in the back of a mining dump truck, wheels 10 feet high.

In New Zealand, we bought a car for $750. I learned to drive the manual 1989 Toyota Corolla on sketchy gravel roads that rival Hellroaring in their twisty, rutted madness. That "wee little car" carried us from town to town and job to job, first as gardeners at a rustic Central Otago inn, then as maids in a backpacker hostel, apple packers and an outdoor retail sales associate.

During a few desperate shifts, the three of us worked the assembly line at a seafood factory. We scrambled to man our stations as blocks of frozen, gelatinous fish goo were sliced, breaded, stacked and then packed into boxes for shipment all over the world.

I must say, a highlight for me was the adventure racing. For three months, I lived, worked and trained in sunny Nelson. Culminating it all was a 24-hour adventure race through the mystical Nelson Lakes National Park.

Then, I flew across the Tasman Sea to Australia. I climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge, witnessed a sunrise over Uluru, kayaked and camped for four days in the Whitsunday Islands.

I saw giant sea turtles, spiders the size of my hands, penguins, seals and sea lions; camped on secluded beaches and beside pristine mountain lakes. I hiked a glacier and leapt from a plane at 15,000 feet. I have memories and even a few friendships that will last a lifetime, but through it all, I missed this place. I missed my life here in Polson.

So, I am happy to be back and excited to start a new chapter at the Leader. Though, it really doesn't feel like I've been gone for very long.

I did, of course, notice a number of neat new businesses, the animal fence and recently completed section of Highway 93 through Arlee. I'm sure there are some new names and faces around town, too.

Summer should bring the usual suspects to the newspaper desk: Cherry Festival, Hoopfest, the hydroplane boat races, etc. It will be nice to catch up on the schools and city councils as well.

I just hope that this time around my reckless impulsiveness will subside long enough for me to really enjoy all that this part of the world has to offer. I realize that may take a while.

Now, it's time to brush off the cobwebs and get to work.