Photos

In order, an image of a grizzly bear... Haystack Falls... Otokomi Lake, frozen... Two Medicine Lake... Upper Saint Mary Lake, about a quarter of a mile from the lodge...

Life Lessons

Before I can begin sharing stories of my adventures in Senegal, I have to share a few life lessons learned during my glacial adventure in northern Montana.

1. Always check the expiration date. Without fail, many foods served in the Employee Dining Room (EDR) were leftovers from the lodge's restaurant. Any food that was too old to be served to customers came to us, and more often than not the milk had expired over a week earlier. I couldn't help but notice that after we through out rotten bananas from the grocery store, we had banana pancakes, and after we threw out rotten tomatoes and celery, we had chili. Coincidence? I think not.
2. Be nice to people. Even the slightest gesture of kindness can go a long way. For example, a friend of mine that worked in the coffee shop was not given a dinner break, so in order to eat from the EDR she either had to sneak out of work, run over, and bring back a plate of food, purchase something from the grocery store after her shift, or forego the meal. I offered to bring her a plate whenever I could, and in exchange she frequently provided me with free fudge, hot chocolate, or (my favorite) huckleberry iced soda. It was a pretty sweet deal for both of us - excuse the pun.
3. Appreciate hot showers. It took about ten days to get hot water installed in my cabin. In fact, we didn't even have lukewarm water for a while, but instead it felt like pure glacier water, so cold that it made my head hurt. Instead of suffering through that (or being dirty), I went to the cabin next to me to use their shower every day. Again, refer to lesson number two.
4. Having a work uniform is awesome. Every day, I knew exactly what to wear and didn't waste any time staring at my (small) wardrobe. Everything I had packed comfortably fit into one suitcase. There was no comparison among employees, and my morning routine was very quick and simple. I was even allowed to wear my hiking boots instead of the black shoes required for most positions.
5. Stay flexible. My experience in Montana was not what I expected. Instead of working at the front desk, I enjoyed the grocery store. Instead of hiking daily, I went on long and grueling thrice weekly hikes. And instead of feeling very secure, I met the most eclectic and eccentric assortment of people of my life. While the experience did not carry through the entire summer as expected, I made the most of it and will always remember some of the great (and crazy) people and hiking trails.
6. Look for the good things! This is directly related to lesson number five. As Padre always says, if you look for the good, you'll find the good, and if you look for the bad, you'll find the bad. On a bad day, I stopped to think about how many timeless stories I was accumulating, how beautiful the bear grass looked in bloom, and how much I enjoyed having a philosophical conversation with my new Kazakh friends. Suddenly, any kind of day just isn't that bad...
6. Look at the sky every now and then. Since I was in Big Sky country, I took a few moments every day to enjoy the sky and appreciate being in this beautiful corner of the world. One night, after working the late shift, I walked back up to the EV in the dark, lit only by a full moon. I was impressed by how bright my path still was and had the opportunity to admire the light's reflection in the pond alongside the road, the crisp breeze, and the peacefulness of a still night.

Hitchhiking

Today, I had my first experience hitchhiking. Another employee and I decided to go hiking, but we couldn't find anyone with a car that had the day off and an interest in a long hike. Since all the nearby trailheads lead to boring trails that we'd both already done, we opted instead to hitchhike about five miles into the park to the Rising Sun campground. The first car to pass us picked us up - a middle aged couple from Southern California on their way to do some photography and a mild hike of their own. They dropped us off near the trailhead and we set off. This five mile trail had a 2000 foot elevation climb - most off which happened in miles one and four. The trail itself was incredible and varied - we started in a woody area surrounded by mossy spruce trees, opened inot a meadow bordered with yellow, purple, and orange wildflowers, climbed across rocks and snow in an open stretch of mountainside void of all plant life, and ended in an ice-coated lake in a basin between several snow-capped mountains. Although we didn't see any animals, the landscape was incredible, the hiking was tough, and the final destination was picture perfect. The hike out took about two and a half hours, but with a half-job, the return trip was under an hour and forty-five minutes.

Once we had reached the road, we obviously had no interest in hiking another five miles to get back to the lodge, so we attempted hitchhiking again. This time, our luck was much worse and over twenty cars passed us before a white van pulled over. I have to describe this van for you... There were no seats in the back, but instead they had three lawn chairs (one already occupied by a South Dakota-born woman with long, twiggy hair in a pony-tail, very crooked, yellow teeth, glasses that magnified her eyes to the size of Professor Trelawney's, and a crackly man-voice). On the right side of the van's interior, the entire wall was covered in makeshift shelves, on which sat all the fishing gear. On the floor, a basketball rolled around knocking down several coffee mugs, a potted daisy, and assorted hunting equipment (although I didn't see any guns). The van smelled strongly of propane, and the floor was carpeted in a thick camouflage blanket. The woman told us about their road trip from SD and showed us pictures of a bison alongside the road, Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse. The driver spoke very little, and the man in the passneger seat was silent. The woman explained to us that he was her friend from Iceland visiting, and so they were showing him the US. After a stop in East Glacier, they had no plans as far as where to go next. So they dropped us off at the lodge and continued on their bizarre road trip, and we laughed about our good fortune in getting a ride in the most unusual lawn-chair-van ever.

The "Real World"

I spent some time today thinking about the mythical "real world" that happens after college. I really hope this isn't it. I've decided to compare and contrast my idea of the Real World and this experience.

Real World: People get up in the morning and go to work. They come back in the evenings, relax, and go to bed.
Montana: People get up whenever they do and might go to work. Just because they're on the schedule does NOT mean they feel an obligation to be there on time, or at all for that matter. They get back approximately whenever their shift ends (assuming they went), eat, go out and get in a fist fight, drink some more, wobble back in at some awful hour, and collapse (hopefully into their bed).
Real World: Newspapers tell news. Magazines spread either gossip about celebrities or more news.
Montana: Newspapers have a headline article about a local cancer survivor who participated in a Walk-a-thon, a list of short bios of all that year's high school graduates, and a heartwarming store about a man mauled by a bear and his park ranger savior reuniting five years later. Magazines with tips on hunting, fishing, and "how to find the perfect ATV" are the most popular.
Real World: At the grocery store, people buy milk, eggs, bread, vegetables, meat, and other assorted food products.
Montana: At the grocery store, people buy beer and cigarettes.
Real World: People gravitate toward family life - marriage, children, settling down.
Montana: People run away from family life. Instead, men have multiple girlfriends and/or wives and/or friends with benefits. And women the opposite. Well, except for some women... This is until they reach a certain age, approximately 55, when they decide to marry or enjoy bachelor(ette)hood permanently.
Real World: Radio features advertisements for All State Insurance and McDonalds. Radio contests give away concert tickets.
Montana: Radio features advertisements for crop hail insurance and bear spray. Radio contests give away tickets to the next rodeo. Each radio station features a weekly talk show with a local fishing expert who gives advice on when and where to go fishing that week.
Real World: Shopping involves a choice of which store to go to and often involves malls, outlet stores, or other shopping centers.
Montana: Shopping involves a choice between JC Penny's and Norman's Western Wear. And most people choose the latter.

in other news, the animal count is now: deer (5), red fox (6), mountain goats (22), snakes (1), moose (0), bears (3)
Miles hiked so far (approx): 71

One last entertaining tidbit: The lodge is currently hosting about 30 German tourists in the middle of a cross-country motorcycle voyage. They're a boisterous bunch all identically clad in black, leather Harley Davidson gear, shouting German phrases across the parking lot, and (of course) buying a lot of beer. Also, I saw an SUV earlier this week with enormous bison horns.

florence

I went for a really great hike today with a few other employees here. Six of us total, we set off in search of some waterfalls. There was one trail that caught our interest because none of us had been on it before, so we parked and set off. After about two miles nearly straight down, we hit the first falls - a two-tiered bubbling stretch of the river that gracefully cascaded over the rocks. Because the water here is so clear, you could see deep into the pool at all the patriotically colored stones (red, white, and blue). From there we continued another 3 miles to reach the Florence Falls, our ultimate destination. This was by far the most spectacular waterfall I've ever seen. It began several hundred feet up the mountain and fell in a stepping stone manner, spraying mist everywhere and roaring so loudly I couldn't hear the person next to me. We rested there for a while before turning around and attacking the five mile hike up to the road. On our way, we saw a young doe who was much more curious than frightened. Since we all froze in our tracks, she walked very close to us before heading off the trail to snack. This brings the wildlife sightings to: deer (3), red fox (1), moose (0), bears (0), and assorted other critters (many).

In other news, the experience of living and working here continues to become more ridiculous every day. Let me introduce you to another character. Athena, as in the Greek goddess, runs the gift shop for the lodge. On a typical day, Athena wears a track suit of all one color - white, black, lime green - whatever suits her fancy - with an enormous, color-contrasting scrunchie to tie her artificially blonde hair. I don't think she knows yet that scrunchies went out of style in the early 1990s. She's not an enormous woman, but she's also certainly not a pixie. While she could stand to lose a few dozen pounds, she will proudly tell you that she is an exceptional athlete with focus on her sports 24/7. Athena is a truly accomplished woman, as she will tell you in no uncertain terms. She is an ordained minister, an acupuncturist excellent at working out knots, usuing your pressure points, and getting rid of inner demons, a world-class athlete, a heartbreaker, an aura-reader... Not only this, but she can accurately predict your future based of the flows and dips and curls of your handwriting! A direct quote: "Basically, I can do everything." Truly, Athena is a Greek goddess descended to our lowly, mortal level. I am honored to know this woman. Fortunately, my roommate works in the gift shop, so she is able to share all these hilarious stories with me...

mountain folk

Many of the employees here, especially repeaters, are an unusual breed of mountain folk. A full set of teeth is hard to come by, although nearly everyone has a complete working knowledge of shotguns, chewing tobacco, beer, and beef jerky. The older men who work here all walk with a heavy swagger, cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, and the biggest silver belt buckles - usually featuring some type of wildlife (eagles, moose) and turquoise. The women, on the other hand, all have the most sun-damaged wrinkly skin and tend to sport jeans and a denim jacket. It seems the ideal is to find a set where the exact hue of blue is identical, but really any denim jacket will do. From afar, it's hard to distinguish the men from the women... Most conversations I've observed between the mountain folk include a lot of laughing, screaming, and "hey"s. I don't really understand "hey" because it seems to have several different meanings out here. First, it serves as a greeting, just like in real civilization (ex: "Hey! How are you?"). Second, you can just interject it anywhere in a story with a little upswing of the tone and everyone will repeat it back to you. (ex: "So I was walking down the road - hey! -" "Hey!" "- when I saw the bear.") Maybe it's a way to make sure everyone's paying attention to what you're saying...? And third, it seems to provide emphasis to pretty much anything else. (ex: She had really put on a lot of weight. Hey.") Most converssations are dominated by "hey". I suppose I should view this experience as a solid reminder to me of how colorful and diverse the US population really is, and how isolated my circle can be. There is definitely a biased range of students at Hopkins, but this is also unusual by less-academic standards. My roommate from middle-of-nowhere-Ohio even mentioned that this does not resemble real civilization. Her town has 1400 people.

Today, Carole, a real Montana woman born and bred, and I had a little chat. She's the head property gardener who grew up just down the road - 62 years ago. She doesn't look a day under 75. Carole is the epitome of a mountain woman - the swagger, the denim, the muddy boots. She's always cheery and ready to share her life story (which I've now heard), smiling with her one tooth and waving at everyone. I have to mention this little story because our chat took place at the grocery store while I was ringing up her goods - including a tiny tube of toothpaste. (Gotta keep that last tooth healthy!) I'd hate to tell her it's too late.

A few notes on the character of MT: At the store yesterday, we tried to find a radio station to help pass the time. All three of the stations reachable from here were varieties of extra-twangy country music, so instead we popped in a twangy Kentucky bluegrass CD. Fortunately, one of the managers brought us a few mixed CDs to play - mixes of different country artists, that is. Yay.... The only two newspapers available here are the Great Falls Tribune of Great Falls, MT and the Glacier Review...no New York Times or Washington Post, nor any demand for them. Pickup trucks are the clear majority, sedans dating back to pre-1995 the large minority, and cars from the most recent decade are extremely rare, at least until tourist season really starts. The only place with internet is by the bar, which nobody seems to find strange, and one particularly popular type of locally brewed beer is called "Moose Drool"...appetizing... Being "vegetarian" just means you'll have lettuce and tomatoes (vegetables) on your cheeseburger. Tabasco tastes good on everything.

That's it for now, but more to come...

welcome to montana

So, I made it. I'm in Montana.

My first day, I met with the H.R. lady and found out that I am actually working in the grocery store, at least for the first week or so. From there, I had a brief - very brief - training as I began my eight hour shift.

I ended up walking back to the cabins (ha!) after dark and the path was lit purely by moonlight. It was amazing how well I could see - not only the road in front of me but also both the big and little dippers. It's about 3/4 of a mile up the hill to the Employee Village (EV from here on out), but so far I've enjoyed the walk.

This morning, my roommate and I went for a short hike in the park where I bought my pass. We walked right along the lakeside and couldn't have happened upon better weather. The sky was completely cloudless, and the lakes held a clear reflection of the surrounding snow-capped mountains. It was truly breathtaking.

As for now, I'm exhausted and off to bed. More later...