And he went out not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11:8
I’m keeping up with Bible reading using the great YouVersion Bible app on my phone. Strangely, this verse was included in my reading this morning.
At our campsite at Prewett Creek, we told a neighbor that we were headed to Glacier. They mentioned the fires. A woman nearby overhead the conversation and walked over to Jane and said, “I don’t know how much you know about it, but Glacier is on fire. I don’t think you can go there.”
Our itinerary for that day included visiting the buffalo jump 28 miles from Prewett Creek before continuing to Glacier. We were not able to use the internet at the campsite, so we hit the road literally not knowing where we would go after the Buffalo Jump. We were pretty sure we weren’t going to make it to Glacier, but we wanted to call the campground when we got a cell signal.
When we arrived at the First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park near Ulm, there were only two cars in the parking lot and some huge RV parking spots. We parked on the outer edge looking out at miles of expansive landscape (though the visibility was reduced by smoke).
There was a good cell signal here. We called the campsite at Glacier and concluded that, even though the campground (outside the park) was open, some roads in the park were closed and the smoke was bad and getting worse. Our carefully planned itinerary had worked well for us. Until this moment.
We went to work on Plan B. We studied the road map and fire reports and smoke maps. It seemed the only option was to head to Missoula. The most direct route, Highway 200, was closed because of fire. We had to backtrack to Helena on I-15, then take Highway 12 through the steep MacDonald Pass before connecting to I-90 into Missoula. With a new route mapped, we used the truck to visit the top of the buffalo jump before beginning the 200 mile drive to Missoula.
First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park contains the Ulm Pishkun, a buffalo jump used by Native American tribes in this area. Pis’kun is a Blackfeet word meaning “deep kettle of blood.” The Indians would herd hundreds of buffalo over the cliff. After the slaughter, in addition to harvesting hides and meat, blood would be boiled in deep bowls in the ground to be used in other food. Ulm Pishkun is the largest buffalo jump in North America. There are over 300 buffalo kill sites in Montana. Archaeologists have found that the remains of bones extend the entire mile of the jump for a depth of 13 feet.
As you can tell, I love the openness here. I’d like to see it when the air returns to its typical Montana freshness. But I want to share several more photos to try to reflect how wide the landscape is. As someone said out here, “It’s the kind of place where you can watch your dog run away for three days.”
My mother graduated from the University of Montana in Missoula about 1938.
Wow. I had no idea.
What do people do to their dogs over there that they run away for three days?!
Looks like you’re in the kind of place where you can see for three days. That’s how far you can travel in 3 days. Looks like you’re having a great trip. Too bad about the wildfires.
Rob and Jane,
Thanks for plugging me in a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been reading and ‘stalking’ I think it’s called – just observing and reading from the sidelines. I hope you two know how enjoyable it is reading – and seeing – your adventure. Someone(s) must have taken a photography course sometime because your pictures are really, really good. (Yep, I know about the wonder of what I call free film. I once read that for every picture that makes it into National Geographic, 1,000 exposures were shot (back in the film days).
You are reminding me of what a wonderful, vast, and amazing country we really have. Some of us tend to forget this sometimes. I am now feeling guilty for not having seen some of these places you are taking us. Will you make it to Custer National Battlefield?
And someone(s) has an upcoming career as a writer for outdoor, travel, and RV’ing magazines. You two have the touch – with your observations and your picture-taking. I just love the “one of us …” remarks! LOL
Since I came into the party late, what are your plans? Where all are you intending – smoke, snow, wild animals, etc. permitting – to go before you eventually point back toward home?
At the end, I’d be interested to read your ‘after-action’ report telling what you will do differently next time, lining out what all changes you would like to see in your equipment, etc.
Godspeed and travel safely. Waiting for your next report, Terry Dempsey
p.s. I completely agree about Garmin – I’ve been misdirected more than once. Caveat emptor, I guess!
Terry, thank you for these comments. No photography course yet, but we do take many photos and have a lot to sort out. To catch you up on how the trip was initiated, our daughter, Emily, and son-in-law, Stuart, moved to the Vancouver area in February. I’ve wanted to drive across this great country since I was a teenager, so 50 years later, here we go! Custer — when you drive all the way across the country, there are so many, many interesting things you have to pass by. That disturbs me, but we are having a hard enough time now making some forward progress. We always say, “we’ll be back.” Maybe.