 So with a slightly abrupt change in plans, I needed to hitch a ride up to Missoula at 6 AM so I could then catch another ride up to Glacier National Park with a new friend I hadn't met yet, Brian. I wasn't quite sure what I was in for. A 4 day trip up to Glacier to meet up with some Bozeman friends? Backpacking in the park? Waterskiing? Bah. Who knows, I just knew I had a ride up North. WHAT?! Oh geez oh geez oh geez. All the tradition. All the history. All the people. All the significance that I knew NOTHING about. What if I did something that offended them? I was sure I was going to look like that one white kid that tried to dance at a deep south soul dance party or gospel throw down. I got myself so worked up with trying not to disrespect any of the people there. I didn't want to just look like an outside spectator. He had never gone to a sun dance either, so we had no idea what to expect and at least could be nervous together.
 But how do I even begin to explain what happened here or what effect it had on me? The fact that I've been sitting here erasing my past 5 attempts of putting it into words, I think it's telling me that there is no way I CAN put it into words. I feel like I am cheating you as a reader as leaving you out of an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.
I was giving the honor of taking a peak into the history and tradition of the Blackfoot. They welcomed me into the crew. Put me to work. Included me in ceremonies and gatherings. Treated me as a friend and not as an outsider white kid. 
I guess this experience is just one that stays with me. My gift for putting myself in these 'anything can happen' situations.
I don't think there's any smooth transition into the rest of my stories, so I'll just make a sharp cut to my time in the park and the rest of my Missoula stay. Glacier National Park..Is it real? Take these photos, look at them, and then accept that their beauty and magnificence (yes I said magnificence) is only 1/100th of what it is like in real life. If you are alive and don't make an effort to go see this place, I will come snatch the eyeballs out of your head and throw them into Saint Mary Lake. Please go. Please please go.
 After the breathtaking and super memorable adventure up to Glacier and the reservation, we were headed back down to Missoula.I decided I was going to stay in Missoula for a week or so to get a feel for the town. I had heard good things about it, and being the location of University of Montana, I figured there was lots to do. I was right. The headquarters of Adventure Cycling Association. Home of 3 craft breweries. Bicycle co-ops and house shows. Old theaters and rivers to float on. Coffee shops and karaoke bars. Scoring a place to stay with 2 other touring cyclist and their fine lady friend, I wandered around with them and their shenanigans until it was my time to leave. It was a very interesting week or so, but something from the West was starting to pull at me hard. Onward! To the coast!
|
|
|
|
Journal >
'Going-to-the-sun': Missoula, Montana & Glacier National Parkposted Nov 18, 2011 3:08 PM by Seth Buller |