Choose your companions well.

Nights 68-75.

September 10-15, 2010 Many Glacier Valley, Glacier National Park

 

Griz

 

I recently had the chance to spend some quality time with rotarians from Montana, Alberta, and British Columbia. Exchange students from all over the world accompanied the rotarians. Waterton Lakes and Glacier were designated as our nation’s first International Peace Park in 1932. This year, in conjunction with Glacier’s centennial, we honored the 78th year of an influential tradition called Hands Across the Border.

On Saturday, we walked to Grinnell Lake. We were hit by a wall of wind at the foot of Grinnell, forcing us to cut lunch short. Corners are everywhere on this trail. Blind spots, cliffs, boulders – boardwalks. Making noise is a priority (especially in high winds). Keeping your head up while walking is also imperative. We were slight of the hotel (and the rotary meeting) by 30 minutes, when a sow with two cubs joined us on the trail. I was impressed that everyone listened to me, even in the midst of the excitement. We backed up past the cliffs, rounded the corner – and briskly walked  to the last meadow where 60 of us sat high above the trail as they strolled past us. Bears use the same trails as humans.

September 19, 2010 Hey Moon – my friends just got hitched!

 

True Companions: Laura and Chad

 

Friends abound, I had the honor to be a part of a beautiful wedding this past September. Two colleagues (Laura Whildin and Chad Segars) were hitched in the park at Apgar Ampitheater. The sky cleared up, the sun came out – and Sally swooned us with her fiddle. Smiles, tears – and words of love were sweetly shared.

These two companions suit one another better than most. Not only do they complement one another in their personalities, but they both radiate an appreciation of wilderness, solitude, and respect.

September 25-26, 2010 Hole in the Wall

 

Boulder Pass Companions

 

 

Some of my most favorite people are more inspiring than any words that I could share: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=544040027539&ref=mf

October 2, 2010 Blackfoot Trib in the Lolo

Sally, Rachel, and I danced up a dust storm as the Mission Mountain Wood Band strummed their instruments on a farm in Missoula. Sal and I didn’t know the words, but our feet moved like they did.  The dust drove us to choose a new dance floor out from under the tent -where we could feel the crisp October air that is Montana on our bodies. From this vantage point we watched our fellow dancers smiling, lifting their faces ever so often toward the music men.

It was a night of dancing called the Best River Fest. We danced for the band, for the coming autumn, and for the preservation of the Clark Fork.

With rivers on our mind, we planned to camp near a confluence of the Blackfoot and one of its many tributaries. We opted for a BLM campground, rather than splitting from an unknown Forest Service road in the dark. The creek was a fisherman’s paradise.