Kindred Spirits

John and I never cease to be amazed at the wonderful surprises that pop up during our travels.  We found this in a teeny-tiny town at a sort-of rest stop.  I thought it was beautiful, and I thought it spoke volumes about women of all times.

KINDRED SPIRITS

Their lives made kindred spirits of these women of the west.

They shared the pain and joy of America's conquest.

They prove their strength and courage with raw intensity;

Raised a family in the wild through great adversity.

I'm proud of every ounce of blood that comes from them to me,

The example of America as it was and is to be.

We found this beautiful piece of artwork and verse on US Highway 287 in Colorado just a few miles from where the Sand Creek Massacre occurred in 1864.  U.S. troops killed over 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho men, women and children at Sand Creek.  Movies have been made about it.

You know, there were a lot of people who were wronged back then --- and there are a lot of people right now that are being wronged.  I think that's why my faith is so important to me.  When all is said and done, "Is that all there is?"  With my faith in Christ and the salvation for eternity that He gives if we just believe in Him and His sacrifice, no, that is NOT all there is.

Man's inhumanity to man will continue for all time, but I have Christ in every fiber of my being - and will for all time.  You can, too.  All you have to do is Admit, Believe, and Confess your sins.  Ask Jesus to forgive you and to come into your heart.  From that day forward you will continue to struggle with right and wrong, but you will fight with the strength of God Almighty.

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Things You Didn't Know About Montana

Trivia for a day:

The largest snowflake ever observed was 38 cm wide and was recorded in Montana on January 28, 1887.  That's just darn near 15 inches!

Montana holds the world record for the greatest temperature change in a 24-hour period.  On January 14-15, 1972, the temperature went from -54 F to +49 F in Loma, Montana.  That's a whopping 103 degrees!

(This is a good one:)  It is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone. (eeww!  ickky!!)

In Montana, it is illegal for married women to go fishing alone on Sundays, and illegal for unmarried women to fish alone at all.

The Montana Yogo Sapphire is the only North American gem to be included in the Crown Jewels of England.

It is a misdemeanor to show movies in Montana that depict acts of a felonious crime.  (Now why do I think that one's not enforced??)

No state in the U.S. has as many different species of mammals as Montana.

The average square mile of land in Montana contains 1.4 elk, 1.4 pronghorn antelope, and 3.3 deer (minus one deer that I know of!)

 Montana is the fourth largest state in the U.S. but is 44th in (human) population.  The elk, deer and antelope populations outnumber the humans.

In Helena, Montana the law states that a woman cannot dance on a saloon table unless her clothing weighs more the 3 lbs 2 oz. (???)

In Fort Benton, Montana a cowboy once insisted on riding his horse to his room in the Grand Union Hotel.  When the manager objected, they exchanged gunfire.  The horseman was killed before reaching the top of the stairs.  Fourteen .44 caliber slugs were later dug out of his body.

Well, I can't say that I knew all of that, either!

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Montana Gold

We're certainly not going to let a lil' ol' deer strike dampen our enthusiasm for history though!  I'm beginning to believe there is gold in EVERY state!!  Who knew... 

"About 1 1/2 miles downstream from this point a creek flows into the Clark Fork River from the southwest.  In 1852, a French half-breed, Francois Finlay, commonly known as "Benetsee," prospected the creek for placer gold.  Finlay had had some experience in the California gold fields but was inadequately equipped with tools.  However, he found colors, and in 1858 James and Granville Stuart, Reece Anderson and Thomas Adams, having heard of Benetsee's discovery, prospected the creek.  The showing obtained convinced them that there were rich placer mines in Montana.   The creek was first called "Benetsee Creek" and afterwards became known as Gold Creek.

The rumors of the strike reached disappointed "Pikes Peakers" as well as the backwash of prospectors from California and resulted in an era of prospecting that uncovered the famous placer deposits of Montana."

(Placer is Spanish meaning shoal or alluvial/sand deposit.  This gold can be found in the gravel and sand deposits from glacial ice flows that created and filled streams and rivers.)

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Deer Crossing Next 56 Miles

Caution.  Some images may be graphic.

We get a nice comfy place in Missoula, Montana for the night and grab the road atlas to see how we want to proceed in the morning.  Option #1:  Straight shot north on US 93 past Flathead Lake (as in Flathead Indians), through Kalispell, to the town of West Glacier.  Option #2: Jog to the right and take Montana 83 through Evergreen and Hungry Horse to West Glacier.  If you get to the campgrounds too early most campers will still be packing up to leave and we'll just have to sit around waiting.  We opt for the longer route through Hungry Horse.

It's really a beautiful drive.  Good road, even if it is a State Highway rather than a U.S. Highway.  We pass a couple of critters by the side of the road.

Then we come to a sign that says, "Deer Crossing Next 56 Miles."  Well, now.  We see these kinds of signs all the time - but FIFTY-SIX MILES!?!  Yeah, sure.

So, Granpa is rolling along about 60 mph, and in the space of less than two seconds I see a deer streaking toward the edge of the highway like lightening.  I barely can say, "We're gonna hit..." before WHAM!  and I do mean WHAM!!







Yes, folks, that's exactly what it looks like all over the side of our car - blood, guts, and gore...
and a little poo just for good measure.

Bada-boom, bada-bing!  Busted our wheel cover, blew up the headlight, mangled the front bumper, fender, door and hood.  $4,000 + just like that.  In the blink of an eye.  Bummer.

Granpa took a pocket knife and cut the mutilated front bumper off - it was just plastic.  Then he took some twine and put a sling around what was left and looped it to the radiator.  Then some passing locals pitched in and changed the tire while I scurried around and played insurance adjuster (The more pictures the happier the insurance company is.)

I'd say that's proof positive...

I call 9-1-1 and TEXAS Highway Patrol answers.  ????  I call again.  Same thing.  Must be linked to my iPhone area code.  I go to the little diner across the road and find a local number.  "Mmm-hmmm.  Yes.  Mmmm.  Okay.  Go into Kallispell, find the police station, get a 'white form,' fill it in and send it to us.  No, no need to wait for us.  Happens all the time on this stretch of the highway.  If YOU aren't injured, just mail it in."

We make it to Kalispell, find the Toyota dealership, they sign us up, loan us a car to go get some brunch (breakfast/lunch scrunched together like a car accident = brunch), and to find the local police department.  What's kinda funny is that no one at the restaurant knows where the police station is.  It's a small town for goodness sake!  We have to get iPhone GPS to find it for us!!

Our plan is to get a new tire and the front end aligned and then head for Texas to have the body work done by folks we can follow up with more easily.  Guess where we end up spending the night?  Right back in Missoula!  Bummer.  Bummer.  Bummer.  But Granpa and I were not hurt in the slightest and the car will be fine.  Very sorry about the deer, though.  Bummer.


 

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Gotta Go!

Well, our time in Washington state is drawing to a close.  We have a possible contract in Maryland, but are still waiting for confirmation.  Rather than hot-footing it back to Texas we think we will head just a tad north to Glacier International Peace Park.  It's one of our favorite National Parks, and we haven't been there in awhile.  We'll camp there a few days and see if we are in fact headed for Maryland or back to Texas.

John gets off at 4:30.  We're not sure we can make it all the way to a campsite in Glacier before dark, so we might have to find a hotel.

We head up US 12 toward Lewiston, Idaho.  That's how we came into Walla Walla, and it is a beautiful drive.  It's getting dark.  The road is full of curves and highs and lows.  Our headlights are excellent on this vehicle.  We both are alert for night critters and whatever else might be lurking in the road or on the side.  

Oh!  My goodness!  Is that... ?  It IS!!!  Oh!  My!  Goodness!!  It's a mountain lion!  We've never seen a mountain lion - much less in the wild!  It's just standing there on the side of the road.  His tale seems twice as long as he is!  He's taller than our son's Great Dane.  Oooo!  He's magnificent!  Golly!

There was zero time to get an iPhone or camera for a picture, though the image is forever in our minds.  He was there, and then he was gone.  Golly gracious goodness!  How absolutely cool is that!

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