Montana
I remember the first time I came to Montana over 10 years ago I had this romanticized notion in my head of what it was going to look like. I think I got it from “Dances with Wolves” and other western movies. I was thinking that Big Sky Country would be beyond my wildest dreams. I think I built it up so much in my mind that my initial impression was somewhat of a disappointment. But it has grown on me over the years and the rolling hills, the mountains, streams and forests really are something to behold. It really is wide-open country – Big Sky Country. Unfortunately, at the end of this summer it has been Smoke-filled Sky Country. This wildfire season has been one of the worst ever (and is a big reason why I have no pictures this time.) I spent 3 days in Missoula and the sky was pretty smoky all 3 days. It didn’t matter too much, though, because I was feeling pretty hiked out after Canada. I just wanted to get some errands done now that I was back in the US and check out Missoula. Like many western towns it has grown like crazy in the last decade and real estate prices have gone up accordingly. I talked to a woman who owned a small pet shop who said she still loves Missoula, but it isn’t the same as it was even 10 years ago. It has a Wal-Mart, Target, Pier 1, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, etc., etc., etc. But the same is true all over the West, and in most places in the US. In some ways I think it is sad. So many places that used to have a distinct personality are starting to look more and more the same. But, at the same time, how can I tell the people who live there who want access to better shopping and more affordable choices that they shouldn’t allow these stores to move in. Also, when I go to a town and see a familiar store I feel like at least I know what I can expect. I know what the quality level will be, good or bad. But it still feels like it’s a shame that so many places are starting to all look the same. Fortunately, they still have some of their personality, their distinction, left. Let’s hope they keep it.
I better quit with the soapbox before this starts to sound like a real blog. Missoula is a bit blue collar, but it has the University of Montana which injects a more progressive nature I think. To me, university towns seem to have more life to them. Not just a younger influence, but a more educated, open-minded influence which I find refreshing. In some cases it is a more liberal influence, though not always, but I tend to like that. (Don’t worry Dad. I don’t consider myself a Democrat. I like them about as much as I like the Republicans which doesn’t say a lot for either.) Oops. Forgot I was off the soapbox.
I stayed in a nice little RV park outside of Missoula, of which the biggest attractions were that it was neat, clean, reasonably priced and they had a free concert on Wednesday night. The artist was LeGrande Harvey one of whose claims to fame is that one of his songs was voted in as the Montana State Ballad in 1982. Another of his claims to fame is that he is the brother of Alex Harvey who wrote, among other country hits, “Delta Dawn”. It was a top hit in the early 70s and it brought back great memories when LeGrande played it for us. I can still remember my sister, Terri, Peggy and Jean Weisenberger, and I belting it out every chance we got one year at the beach. Our family was real thrilled every time we sang it. The words came back to me like it was yesterday. That and the huckleberry ice cream afterwards made my night even though LeGrande and his partner played a lot of other nice songs. If I wasn’t the only one in the room under 50 besides the owners of the park I woulda stuck around a while. Abbey didn’t have a great time in Missoula because we spent a lot of time in town and there wasn’t much water around. One day I did take her for a walk downtown and she managed to bring me down to the river where some kayakers were practicing their “rodeo” techniques in what looked to be a manmade rapid. She paid no attention to the kayakers, but had a great time in the water and only got a little testy when I paid too much attention to the kayakers and forgot to throw her rocks. One of the kayakers had brought his dog along with him, who also happened to be fond of diving for rocks in the water so I had to keep both of them busy. The only thing that saved me was that we had to go back to make sure the parking meter hadn’t expired.
On Friday we drove down to Bozeman, another place I had always wanted to check out. I had signed up for a rock climbing class near Bozeman on Saturday and there happened to be a campground near where we were climbing. I have been wanting to take a class for quite some time so I was pretty excited. It turned out to be a lot of fun, but quite tiring. I felt pretty good, though, when I was the oldest one there and yet was the only one who got to the top on the most difficult climb we did. Of course, I was pretty sore for the next several days not having used those muscles much before, but the youngsters don’t need to know that. That night was the big Ohio State vs. Texas football game so I decided I was too tired to cook and went to Montana Ale Works where I had dinner and watched the game. I ended up talking a long time to a chef from Hawaii who comes up every September for the month to go fly fishing in Montana and Canada so I didn’t see much of the game. It turned out to be not so good anyways. Speaking of fly fishing my brother-in-law Tim was drooling over the fact that I was in “The Land of the Trout” as he called it, but I hate to admit I didn’t do any. I called a few places to check on classes or guide service and it turned out to be way too pricey for me. I figured if I’m going to spend that much money on lessons I want to be able to go a lot afterwards to really get the hang of it. Since I don’t have the equipment I knew that wouldn’t happen. It’ll have to wait ‘til next time.
After the first couple of nights I found a nice forest service campground in Hyalite Canyon, a little outside of town. The best part about it was that it was nearly empty every night, and the second best part was that a stream ran right through it. Abbey seemed to love it right from the start. The first morning she got me up a little after 7AM and, except for 20 minutes to eat breakfast, was “fishing” and hunting for field mice until 1PM. The next morning she got me up even earlier and it was the same story. After eating lunch on the second day I figured she must be exhausted and I could go for a hike. When I got to the trailhead, she jumped up and was ready to go. I guess I know what perks her up – mice and fish. Not to mention that it was pretty cold when we got up in the morning with frost on 3 of the mornings. She’s more of a cold weather dog. The third morning she slept in ‘til 8, but we still went on a hike, though a short one, around noontime. I think I was more tired than she was. I thought she had had enough by the last morning, but after I ate breakfast she was waiting outside the door of the RV. I thought she wanted to come in, but no. She was waiting for me to come out and go for a walk up the creek with her. After our walk and after I cleaned up we took off for West Yellowstone. On the drive down she finally crashed. I guess she realized she wouldn’t see those mice again for a while. Tomorrow we say “Good-Bye” Montana and head down to Jackson, WY to meet up with some friends I met in Big Bend back in February. Then my friend, Chris, comes in for a week to hang out with us in Jackson. It’ll be nice after being on my own for a while.
