16^th July……….Custer, South Dakota.

I have my glass of wine poured, my fingers are flexed and here we go…….so we were last hanging out in Glacier National Park, MT…..and yes, it is just as spectacular as they say. Hiking with Walker was limited due to the frequency of visits from bears and a mountain lion in the camp ground……so we relied on the safety of numbers and everyone walked their dogs on leash within the camp ground. What a shame, for my feet were fairly itching to explore those mountain trails. Although we spent a day driving around the national park itself, it did not do it justice, so we scrambled into a 6 seater helicopter and took a bird’s eye view ride over the entire area……oh what a sight that was and I was the lucky one to have front seat opposite the pilot. The whole thing was as surreal as it could be for the pilot gave each of us a headphone through which he played appropriate classical music as we swept along ridges and over their tops down through passes. The 50ty odd glaciers that once embraced this park are now reduced to an extraordinarily low number which is affecting/changing the entire ecosystem within the park….change is an inevitable part of life, but no one seems to have a grip just how the changes will play themselves out long term for the park and its residents.

Timing is everything, for my friend Trish and family had been awaiting our arrival (at some point in time) at their home in Missoula MT. When we finally negotiated Mandy up their long and oh so narrow, yet scenic driveway, we were treated to two enjoyable days with she, her son (Ian) and their 3 great dogs. Unfortunately for us, hubby and daughter were away in Spain that week and Trish and Ian were to head out for the Hawaiian Islands two days later. After the two days we said our farewells and moved over to a local National Park for a few days of dry camping. The park had fabulous horse trails and, for the first time, I really missed not having a horse. Well, I have to admit, we have fallen in love Montana. I have decided the United States should be renamed to The United States of Ever Changing Wonders.

We could have quite easily remained in that park for sometime, but other places were calling, so on we went, heading south east. An overnight stop at the tiny, very western town of Three Forks turned into a 2 day stay, for we discovered this was the headwaters of the great Missouri River. We stood on the very spot where Lewis and Clark camped and mapped this coming together of the Madison, the Jefferson and the Gallatin Rivers to form the Missouri. It was also the place where Sacajawea (the Indian gal who accompanied Lewis and Clark’s great adventure) was kidnapped into child slavery by an apposing band of Indians at the ripe age of 12 years. Again I found my image of the noble Native American Indian, somewhat tainted. Then there were the Lewis and Clark caves, just south of Three Forks. Oh no I thought, not another cave for I have crawled and clamored my way through quite a number of caves in various parts of the world, BUT, although it was late into the afternoon and raining, we journeyed forward and did indeed take the guided 2hr tour. What a treat! The cave extended some ½ mile across and descended steeply, some 570ft, through multiple chambers. At times the narrow pathway had us doubled over, waddling duck like, or sliding on our bums to access a new chamber, with each cavern being different to the last. Later we dined in the local pub at Three Forks and yes I do confess, it was a fascinating thing to eavesdrop on the conversations of the locals and marvel at their different lifestyle and perspectives. We city slickers are so entrenched in our way of thinking.

The General Custer fiasco beckoned us, so on we moved to Garryowen, MT and the site of the great battle of Little Big Horn between Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and their 1,700 odd Sioux warriors against the 7^th Cavalry. Many stories are scorched into history as to the events of that battle, but no one seems to REALLY have a handle on the facts, reasons, motives and blind faith experienced that day. The surviving warriors were not talking while the poor sods under Custer’s command, who saw the worst of it, had nothing to offer, for after 2 hours of fighting, they were all dead. Seemed to me a case of so many people being in the wrong place at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. Ultimately everyone paid the price, including the victors, for they suffered subsequently….such a human tragedy. I have expressed my disillusionment of the somewhat ignorant picture I had held of the noble yet downtrodden American Indian, but equally, after investigating this battle and subsequent battles a little further I have equal disappointment with the whites. It would seem that the American Government and her honorable cavalry paid lip surface to their foundling father’s words of freedom and justice for all, when it suited them. The American Indian paid dearly in the many cases where the Government failed to uphold their side of the bargain with the Indians. Guess politics and politicians never change. The only bit of light I could find hanging over the entire battleground was the fact that of the 210 Cavalry men (under Custer’s command) and their horses, there was only one survivor, a horse named Comanche (how fitting), who was rescued. He was taken home, nursed through his wounds and ultimately became the mascot of the 7^th Cavalry. He lived to the ripe old age of 28 years. I found the area to be indeed a very dark place and I was glad when we took our leave.

Next stop, Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. You may recall this was the site for the filming of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Not really believing we were going to be overly impressed, but pleased to be able to dry camp in another lovely National Park located at its base, we were pleasantly surprised. It is quite a piece of rock. We hiked around its base taking way too many pictures, for I could not help myself. I can certainly understand the many tribes of Indians who had spent time in its shadow over the millenia, for it does reek of sacred ground. We sat for some time, watching, fascinated by the daring of two rock climbers (crack climbing) inching their way up the 900ft +/- face of the rock, which seemed from my perspective, to be a sheer wall. That is one sport that sends chills down my spine…..rather them than me.

South Dakota and the Black Hills were calling however, so we packed up camp and headed for Custer, just south of Mt. Rushmore. Could not believe such fabulous country existed in the mid west, the Black Hills deserve their popularity. Although the pine beetle has decimated the Ponderosa Pine Forests, I was overjoyed to see how we humans are fighting back to save the trees. Signs of us winning the battle are quite evident but it is no doubt an on going project involving hard work over a long period of time.

Did the mandatory trip to Mt. Rushmore and marveled at the carvings of the four Presidents and the ingenuity of their sculptor. Quite a feat. As we were wending our way back to camp through the Custer State Park we came across an unbelievable scene (see photo)……some 200 odd wild bison had wandered into a State Park campsite and had elected to rest there during the heat of the day (it was hot). Needless to say the campers were held hostage in their RV’s until the herd elected to move on, hopefully sometime later in the day. Signs abound throughout the park saying DANGER - DO NOT APPROACH BISON….well obviously the bison did not reciprocate the sentiment and no one was arguing with them on the subject. We drove past VERY slowly and VERY quietly. I am sure some of the RV’s suffered a little damage from the odd bull scratching himself against them and a few of the calves made new found toys of the outdoor chairs and carpets neatly laid out in front of some of the RVs. Quite a funny scene.

Headed south into Wyoming to Buffalo Bill’s town of Cody which boasts an extensive museum covering the life of the man himself along with other extensive exhibits of interest to the area. Richard was totally in awe of an entire section devoted to guns which displayed every possible gun that ever existed and their story. I now know all about Calamity Jane and Annie Oakley, who also lived in this area. They are names I recognized from my childhood viewing of cowboy shows on TV and the movies. Ms. Oakley was quite the eye candy, which took me by surprise…. and put a certain smile on Richard’s face.

On recommendation, we took a day trip along the Chief Joseph Highway and onto the Bear Tooth Highway. In a word, spectacular. These two roads run along the ridges of the ranges between 9,000 and 11,000ft and offer the most amazing views we have witnessed yet. The camera could not do the panorama justice. Then for something completely different, the next evening we set off over the 103,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management lands in search of the wild mustangs (horses). The road was a one car wide dirt track which we belatedly realized should be negotiated in a four wheel drive vehicle….our truck does not aspire to this level. At one point we were down to 5 miles an hour, wheels spinning desperately trying to secure some sort of hold on what seemed like an almost vertical climb up a cliff face. I must say my heart was in my mouth, but with Richard at the wheel, the truck doggedly hung in there. The view on top over the badlands however offered some redeeming features to the climb and this being made even more impressive by the light of the setting sun. We spent two hours searching for those dang horses on that dang road on that vast treeless landscape and all we got to see were three Prong Horned (whose nearest relative is the giraffe, so we are told).

Next day we completed the full circle to bring us back to Montana to catch up with friends in Bozeman who had just arrived from Florida. They have built themselves a drop dead gorgeous log cabin in the mountains and we delighted in their company for several days. During this time we received an enquiring phone call from another Florida friend who just happened to have flown into Bozeman (a relatively small town) with her daughter for a couple of days. She thought we might be somewhere in the area and called on the off chance……she has to be psychic! So we had a lovely gathering. Explored the famous, although now almost deserted yet well preserved, western cowboy/gold rush town of Virginia City plus some of the natural vistas of the area.

Reluctantly we took our leave and traveled south to Yellowstone National Park. We ended up spending a total of 4 days here, with 5 separate visits into the Park. We have come to the conclusion that the park has carefully positioned animatronic elk and bison along the roadside to please the tourists (not really), or perhaps those handful of elk and bison were on tourist duty that day, complete with their battery power packs hung around their neck (actually for tracking their movements). As for the rest of the animals of Yellowstone, well they must be mythical, for we saw none. The hot spots, however, including Old Faithful and the surrounding scarred lands were quite fascinating. We did manage an afternoon of kayaking on the Yellowstone Lake which has its own geysers and a 2 ½ hr trail ride on horseback, which my bum and legs told the story of the next day……but nare an animal showed its face.

Not knowing what to expect we decided to visit the Grand Tetons. We drove southward out of Yellowstone, and as we came over a rise WHAM….there right in our faces were these snow covered peaks rising some 13,000ft out of the plains. They seemed totally out of place, almost like they had got lost from their fellow mountains. I felt I could reach out and touch them as they filled the entire windscreen of the truck. Well another 2 days slipped past as we dry camped in the Teton National Park. It was here we encountered our first Grizzly since Yosemite. He gave us a wonderful viewing as this adolescent fella picked his way among the trees, just near the road, searching for berries. As luck would have it, our big voiced hound, who is quick to alert us to any strange sights or sounds, remained sound asleep on the back seat throughout the bear encounter. …that may otherwise have been tricky. Elk, Prong Horns, Deer, Mountain Goats, Badgers, Bison, Black Bear and Grizzlies we can now claim to have spotted in the wild during the course of our wanderings (but not in Yellowstone). Alas wild moose, which apparently do frequent our camp site at the Tetons, remain unsighted.

Next stop, dry camping next to Bear Lake on the border of Utah and Idaho…..just lovely, then onto Antelope Island, a small barren island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake, just north of Salt Lake City. We shared this somewhat lonely island with a few hikers and a large variety of animals, including bison, a wealth of birds. It was oh so quiet out there.

As I wind this rambling down, we find ourselves back in civilization (yuk!) amid the hustle of Salt Lake City. Y’know you meet so many interesting people on these trips, like the woman on her evening walk thru the campground with her dog, cat and pigeon. I had to ask? The dog was the only one on leash as he turned out to be blind and deaf. He was most happy sitting in my lap as the woman and I talked, while the cat snubbed its nose at me and strolled off on cat business and the pigeon flew to its refuge spot on the woman’s head (she had a baseball cap on). She had rescued the pigeon 3 years earlier and it had chosen to stay, becoming in her words "my guardian angel" as she battled cancer. She sure had a way with animals and I felt honored to have met the strongly bonded foursome.

Cheers,