Montana Mountain Mama

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Montana is coming to an end. We have all had such a lovely time up here in the boondocks and it seems longer than a week as time moves by very slowly in the woods and the sun finally sets near 10pm. The drive out here was long, but we did not want to drive much at night to stay safe and we switched, Ken and I, so that nobody would be too tired. Saturday evening we arrived to my dads house in Utah to stay the night, it was a nice but short visit as we left Sunday about 11am for Montana. Red rocked dry dessert mountains turn into rolling green carpeted hillsides as we drove further North. Certainly a gorgeous view the entire time and you can see variations as you pass state lines. After gathering some finally groceries at Walmart in Idaho I put the petal to the metal for the last leg of the trip. As soon as I felt myself getting too comfortable and going to fast, the good ol Idaho State trooper clocked me and graciously gave me a lovely sheet of paper for going 88. A phone call and a $81 credit card charge later and it is all in the past. On with the trip to Montana.

Sunday at 5pm Ken and I rolled into the Sunshine Station off Highway 1 in Philipsburg, Montana. We waited for a few minutes and then Jim pulled in to have us follow him to his house. Once at Jims we met up with more CS people, we sat for a bit chatting and then we took our vehicles out to Stony Creek campsite. Nicole had rented the cabin on the campsite, which we stayed in each night. I feel a little bit like I cheated on this whole camping experience by sleeping on a bunk in a nice toasty cabin, but I am still giving myself brownie points for bathing in a ice cold river, having no electricity, eating food from a cooler, no flushing toilet, no warm shower, no internet and no reception. But then, we cheated again. If you take the ATV up alone for 5 miles up a mountain and stop just along where the view of many mountains and trees are in the distance, there the lovely AT&T service comes in with about 2 bars. Awww yes, reality. I did the drive up twice, but when others went I would send my blackberry with them to retrieve messages and then would read them when they got back to camp.

The campgrounds and surrounding area is beautiful and green, with the sounds of running creeks and the river, the eerieness that perhaps something wild lurks about beyond our vision as we meander through bear and mountain lion country. Other than driving past horned sheeps and a couple random deer, we did not see other wildlife. Horses and cows are common on the acres we pass. Moosecaca is also common to walk past while hiking around the area and a couple people from our group did see one up close. At camp we had at one point 10 of us, 4 dogs and 1 cat. Dogs and cats run wild in these areas, they all get along, none of them are tied up they know how to get in and out of where they want to go and they are extremely loyal. Bubby the cat even brought back a little furry gift to leave outside Jims tent one morning, so thoughtful. The sound of my friends chopping wood and the smell of fire pits still resonates even though we have left camp. I had more S'mores this week then I have had combined in my life. Such a great combination of yummyness are S'mores roasted in a fire.

On one of the days Jim took Ken, Tracy and I on a hike and we were accompanied by the 3 dogs. We walked along the river through the woods, built rock cairns along the side of a road, passed through a ranchers bone yard finding many bits and pieces of dumped cows, then watched our step as we passed the moose poo and twirled sticks through the spider webbed air. The view of our surroundings was beautiful from the top and all was well until the "how are we going to get down" settled in. Tracy and Jim had hiking boots and are a bit more experienced then Ken and myself. We paired off on our way down. Ken and I saw a spot that looked manageable to go down, from where we were it did not seem as steep or as far down as other spots. The back side was steep and mostly grassy hills and dried out moss, one misstep and the tumble down was much further than the other side and who knows where you would end up. We chose the side with all of the broken rocks, more like shingles, that as they fall they sound like broken glass. When one shingle would move, so would a dozen others. We started down and it was still seemingly ok, until we got about 10 feet down which at that point going back up would not be an option, but the way down was not looking so good either. The rocks were piping hot and not something you can just walk down. My hands, feet and butt were all needed to get down the hillside. I mainly scooted with my feet in front of me, on my butt the entire way, using a couple of sticks to give me some stability. When our friends down at camp finally noticed us a couple said they were a bit nervous seeing us up there and the sound of shattering glass was uneasy as the rocks slid by handfuls from underneath us. After some time we made it to the bottom, it would be great to say unscathed but that is not the case. We certainly could have been much worse had we rushed ourselves or were not careful. When Nicole greeted us at the bottom I showed her and our other friends how the back of my pants did not survive. The entire butt of my pants was completely gone exposing only my underwear. It has been I believe 3 or 4 days now and yes I ache and my bottom is scratched up and black and blue, however it goes well with the countless number of mosquito bites covering my body. Bathing in the ice cold river was not only necessary for dirt removal right afterwards, but to help numb my body. (it really does the trick as you can not feel your hand touch your body, you kind of just know it stops).

We have had a lot of fun getting to know each other in person as only a couple of us have met before, however for over 2 years we have all been talking over the couchsurfing website. It is almost like long lost friends. Yesterday as two friends left camp and we had to check out of the cabin, we packed up and all came to town to Jims house. We are slowly settling back into normal life, getting caught up on electronics and remembering the beauty of a warm shower. During the day we went in to town to brieful check out the stores and bought lots of candy and a very old candy shop that has every flavor of taffy, jelly beans and fudge you can think of. The city is gearing up for the activities of the 4th, which is today, and so last night we got ready, for once not needing bug spray, and we rode into town to go the local bars and meet other locals. Jim and Karen drove in the truck and the 4 of us sat in the back with then tail gate down dangling our feet above the road riding backwards. Everybody knows everybody here and they know everything about one another. There are 900 people in Philipsburg and about 1 million in the entire state. We must stick out like sore thumbs as we hang out on Broadway and walk up and down the road with drinks in hand, because it is legal here to do so. This weekend is the 1st annual bike rally where families are supposed to get all geared up in Harley wear etc and cruise around town on their bikes. So far we have not seen much a turn out. We got back rather early last night for what I am used to but it was plenty. We thought of going to the rally today for $15 each but have decided to take it easy, have a bbq in the fire pit and then go sit on top of a hill and watch the fireworks. It is my last night here. Ken and I will leave near 10am tomorrow back to Utah and SHOULD be home Monday night.

It has been so long since I have made any travel entries, but I am back! Now I will go home, have my 29th bday on Wednesday, spend some time with my family, friends and new boyfriend before I depart for Africa on July 21. I hope I am able to do some good work with the people and children in Botswana while I am there. I am still not sure how much it costs, but I really hope to sponsor a child to go to school and bring some supplies with me to the kids. I will be back from traveling on August 24th and back to work August 26th. 😊 Life is good. Happy summer and lots of love to you all.

xo
Erin

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