The Simple Life

On our recent trip to Montana, we passed through a small town called Circle, named for the cattle brand of a local ranch. As we approached the town, population 593 as of 2003, we passed a man riding a horse along the highway. Now here was a bonafide cowboy!


We pulled into the Circle Sinclair service station to gas up and discovered that the station was still  a full service station. I couldn't believe that they still existed.


As we waited for our fuel to fill, the cowboy trotted his horse into the station. He dismounted and led his horse right up to the door. At first I thought he was going to take his horse right inside, but he didn't. He tied the reins to the door handle and emerged a few minutes later. The proprietor followed him out and started to chat.


"How many horses you gonna break this year?" (Please read this with your very best Montana drawl.)
"Oooh. Four 'r five..."
"Weeel....you must be doin' a good job."


That's all I heard of the conversation because the cowboy - complete with lasso, hat, boots, and belt buckle - had wandered over to the side of the building to a bench, horse in tow. He sat down and enjoyed his Mountain Dew and a snack. A couple minutes later and he had mounted up again, heading his horse farther into town.

I found myself envying his way of life.


Why do we lead such complicated lives? A lot of people around the world are happy with their lives, even though they don't have the possessions and conveniences we have here in the United States.


I especially saw this when we took a Jeep tour in Spain, one of the highlights of our trip to Europe.


One of our stops was to a traditional goat farm where they made the most delicious cheese. Maria and Pepe care for over a hundred goats every day. Pepe spent his mornings milking the nannies, then herding them and the billies out to pasture, where he spent the remainder of the day.

Pepe and Maria

We even tried our hand at milking

The cheese rounds

Every day, Maria takes the milk and forms it into cheese in their cheese house, using traditional methods. The cheese is completely organic and resembles a mozzarella. Since it's not pasteurized, they cannot sell it in the neighboring town of Istan. Their product is well known, however, and the locals come to the farm to purchase.

Some days I find myself longing for a simpler lifestyle.