Montana
is a vortex. It’s not easy to get there, not easy to live
there, but so easy to be there. That’s why people
stay. Maybe you have to drive a lot, perhaps you have to work three
jobs, sometimes you have to battle the hordes of tourists, but it
is all worth it. For us non-locals, we will just have to be satisfied
with an occasional visit. There are a lot of things you have to
leave at home when entering the Montana vortex; materialism, attitude,
your watch, ADD, aversion to cheap beer, and fear of strangers to
name a few.
Upon
arrival at Glacier International Airport in Kalispell, I was quickly
schooled on the ways of Montana. Things run a little differently
there. Despite my three-hour layover in Salt Lake City, only one
of my two bags made it to Kalispell. When inquiring about my missing
luggage at the Delta counter (only three airlines fly to Kalispell),
the Delta employee responded with such casualness I could not help
but mood match. “Sure, my bag will arrive eventually, no problem.
They will deliver it when it turns up.” He also mentioned
that there was a 50% chance it might be on the next flight if I
wanted to hang out. So I did, and out came my bag an hour later.
All my friend could say was “Welcome to Montana.”
The
next morning when I stepped outside for the first time to evaluate
my surroundings I nearly fainted. I knew Montana would be beautiful,
but I had no idea that it would leave me speechless. The friend
I was staying with lives in a town called Columbia Falls. Her quant
little house is surrounded by mountains in all directions. Not the
jagged, rocky peaks like those in Glacier National Park, but more
subtle hills.
Heading north from Columbia Falls
we made our way to Glacier National Park on Route 2. We went through
the interesting little town of Hungry Horse. One of the strange
things about tourist towns is the outlandish attractions that pop
up. Since you cannot actually build these attractions in the parks,
they tend to land in the outlying towns.
On
our way to Glacier we passed several go-kart racetracks, a giant
wooden maze, the House of Mystery, and a live bear attraction where
the sign read, “Your car is your cage.” Yes, you can
drive through a fenced-in forest where old circus bears roam free.
Being a tourist means that you can visit these attractions with
little shame. While I passed on the bear attraction, I did visit
the House of Mystery.
Although I think the entire state
is a vortex, the operators of the House of Mystery claim the vortex
is centered in that specific spot. They have several examples of
how the vortex works, and they are working on scientific research
to prove that the vortex does exist.
I highly recommend a visit to the
House of Mystery. While I still go back and forth on whether it
was a real vortex or simply an optical allusion, it made me laugh
and wonder. It was definitely worth the $6 and I got a cool beer
koozie from the gift shop. www.montanavortex.com
Glacier National Park
We
entered Glacier National Park through the west entrance and past
the Apgar Visitor center. Heading up the Going-to-the-sun Road I
nearly lost my shit. Was I dreaming? Can this be real? I have never
been to a more awe-inspiring place in my life. I must have said
“Wow!” about three hundred times. Only 24 hours prior
I had been staring at skyscrapers and traffic lights, now I was
looking at the most majestic mountains and abundant forests in the
lower 48 states.
Glacier National Park has more than
1 million acres of forests, alpine meadows, and lakes. To the northwest
is the Livingston Range, to the southeast is the Lewis Range and
the Flathead Range sits to the south. Glacier is completely surrounded
by mountains. In addition to the 1 million acres of national park
land, on the park’s border is also the Flathead National Forest,
Great Bear Wilderness and Lewis and Clark National Forest. Basically,
nature in all directions. This amazing land is home to over 70 species
of mammals and 260 species of birds.
During
my 11 days in Montana a few creatures decided to make an appearance
in my presence. I was lucky enough to see a black bear cub, wolf,
osprey, owl and deer. As a finale a moose wandered into my campsite.
Standing 50 feet from a beautiful
young moose, my body trembling, I was amazed at the grace and composure
of the giant animal. I did not do such a good job at mood matching
the moose. He was so silent we almost did not see him. It took our
two dogs a few minutes to even take notice.
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