Last Week in Montana

As I sit here at the KOA campground, the sound of children splashing in the pool mixes with the mountain breeze blowing through the aspens tastefully planted as part of the landscaping. My mind drifts back several days to the huge groves of aspen, numbering in the hundreds. The faint whispering of their leaves in the wind doesn't come close to the symphony of St. Mary river, which I lay on her banks only 72 hours ago, lulled to sleep by the sound of rushing water and warm sunlight as the sun slowly slid across the western sky. I woke up from my afternoon nap as the sun disappeared behind the peaks decorated with glaciers and snowfields. The reality I was facing slowly sank in: this was my last week in Montana. How could the summer slide by like the afternoon sun- so quickly? I am still pondering over it...




St. Mary River, a turbulent stream dotted with rapids and cascading falls looked perfect for harlequin ducks. Yet, the "whitewater queen" as we have dubbed the female harlequin- continued to evade us. We were graced with a cow moose sighting- nearly too close for comfort.



Last night, we car-camped at the Two-Medicine campground. I enjoyed watching the moon set over the mountains. I listened to a Blackfeet Indian Ernie-Heavy-Runner tell stories around the campfire. These stories, most about the creator Napi, described the creation and purpose of many significant local animals- bison, elk, wolves, dogs, and horses. The stories were captivating- many integrated with his own experiences growing up as a Canadian-American indian at boarding school.



I will survey McDonald Creek again tomorrow (a Friday tradition) and then work Saturday so I can leave for Colorado on Monday. I'll try to give another update on Sunday! Thanks for all who have stuck with me so far on this adventure that has presented so many new experiences, challenges, and decisions that have influenced me. I look forward to the next stage of my summer, and where my adventures will take me next!

All In a Day's Work...

First off, I enjoyed sharing Montana with my dad, who visited this past week, for a day. He flew out from Seattle on Wednesday night, and he and I explored some fun places in the park on Thursday. We were able to get sweet views of Bighorn Sheep, Mountain Goats, and other wildlife, and spend some great time together visiting and talking about my summer. It's hard to believe I'm only here for another week! It's off to Colorado next...


This past Friday took me back to McDonald Creek, to survey for Harlequin Duck broods (females with young) Last Friday, we found one female with three young, etc. (I believe it's in one of my past blogs) Anywho, it was an early morning of wading in cold water, and Lisa (a park researcher) and myself surveyed the upper portion of McDonald, beginning at Avalanche campground and ending at Logan creek. In my mid-morning daze, I forgot the measuring equipment in the truck, and returned the next morning to take the valued data at each point we had seen Harlequins at. A brief summary: 3 broods, a total of 12 babies. A big improvement for the future of Harlequins since last week! Here's a couple of "harlie" pictures:

Can you find the young harlequins in this shot?

Hint: there's no rocks in the water- they're all ducks!

This one's a bit easier:



Overall, it was a great day, and I scouted some neat pools along the rapids to jump into on my day off. The following day, after completing my data points, I went back to the biggest and deepest of the pools, where the turquoise water foamed with a white froth begged a plunge from the highest spot I could find. I succeed in diving into the creek upstream from the jump site, so the current carried me to a suitable area to climb out, then up- onto the rocks. I made sure the area was deep enough by eyeing it from several different angles, and I figured since I couldn't see the bottom, it'd be safe. After my first jump, a guy offered to take my picture, so I opted to jump again. I spent a few minutes showing him how to use my camera, while I was warming up. The next jump, he failed to take any pictures, SO... I jumped again. And again, and again. By this tima, a crowd had gathered and another guy asked me how I did it, and jumped with me. I have only a few pictures to show for it, but mainly it was nice to relax and enjoy some "off" time in McDonald creek. Soon, I was too cold and went home.