Montana. It is a beautiful state. Flat grassy land turns in to rolling hills and cascading Rocky Mountains covered in towering pine trees and bordered by rushing waterfalls, rippling rivers, and placid lakes. It is difficult to take pictures because it seems everywhere you look is a frame-worthy view, so it is hard to decide where to focus.
For our first night in Montana, we found a gorgeous and isolated camp site near the Gibson Dam. The Gibson Dam is basically a "mini"-version of the Hoover Dam. It holds back 90,000 acre feet of water and was the first dam to use arch and cantilever design.
We drove through winding mountains to get to our spot, and the view of the Rocky Mountains from our site was worth every minute of the drive. After eating shish-ka-bob and roasted cauliflower, we played fetch with the dogs in the open field alongside our camp and then settled in to a campfire and some s'mores. That evening a rainstorm rolled in over the mountains. You could see the fog creep over the peaks and hear the rolling thunder in the distance. Kevin took advantage of the downpour and decided to shower in the rain. I couldn't bring myself to do the same. It was tooooooo cold for me!!!
The next morning we headed toward Glacier National Park--a park we won't soon forget. Once again, the scenery along the drive was breathtaking. Montana is known as "Big Sky Country," and when driving along the roads here, you can't help but feel small. Friends of ours have been here before, and they recommended we stay at a campsite on the western side of the park just beyond a tiny town called Polebridge.
To get to our campsite we had to drive along a winding, pot-hole filled, dirt road with the Scamp in tow. It took us more than a half an hour to drive the six miles in to camp. We knew it had to be worth it though, because otherwise why would anyone ever make that drive?
The camp did not disappoint. Bowman Lake is majestic, and the rainy weather we've had for the past two days has kept many away, so it is even more serene. It is so calm, in fact, that several deer have just wandered through our campsite. Vegas is bewildered by them, and I definitely prefer them to the buffalo we had in our camp in North Dakota!
When we arrived at camp, we discovered that our bottle of teriyaki sauce had jostled open on our bumpy ride to camp, and the entire inside of the Scamp was coated in sauce. This was unsettling for me primarily because I had read all the signs on the way into the park saying "Be Bear Aware" and we had basically just created a yummy sauce coated camper to entice the Grizzly and Black Bears that live here alongside Mountain Lions. I spent some time wiping down the inside of the Scamp and hand washing the curtains before I felt calm again. The Park Ranger and Campground Host stopped by to introduce themselves and to laugh about the teriyaki sauce catastrophe, so that made me feel a little safer even though we were reminded to keep our coolers, food, and any scented items in our truck except for during meal time.
Once we set up camp we took the dogs down to the Lake. The ranger told us that Vegas could swim in the lake as long as he was playing fetch, so we couldn't wait to get him down to the water. It was amazing to see Kevin standing alongside a lake in Montana playing fetch with his dog. Anyone who knows Kevin knows he was in heaven.
Here is a video of Vegas swimming in the lake: http://youtu.be/yDH1JH07xzk
After dinner, (hot dogs), Kevin headed back down to the lake to fish. You do not need a fishing license to fish in the park, so he packed up his gear and headed to the water. Before long, Kevin returned with a smile and a picture of a trout that he caught and released back into the lake. One of Kevin's favorite movies is "A River Runs Through It," and he finally got to experience the thrill of fishing in Montana like the characters in the movie.
While Kevin was gone, a group of three campers (a boyfriend, his girlfriend, and another male in their early twenties) arrived two campsites down from us. As I sat by the fire, I enjoyed watching them set up camp. They were clearly new to camping, and every aspect of setting up was an event. When Kevin returned, I remarked that the scene was like something out of a horror movie. The trio was like every group of unsuspecting young campers you see in a Friday the 13th film...and I couldn't help but note that it was Friday the 13th. Kevin laughed it off when I said it was like every boyfriend, girlfriend, and idiot side-kick character typecast and that their set-up would have made the great start to a movie or book. And that--ladies and gentleman--would be a great example of foreshadowing now that I know how the events of the night would unfold.
We went to bed around eleven only to be awoken by piercing screams for help around 1:30 am. I was already on edge from the wildlife warnings, so I immediately thought a bear or mountain lion was in the area. Kevin and I scrambled to get on our glasses and I frantically opened the window to assess the situation. The screams were coming from the girl two sites down from us, and we had a clear view of the chaos. We still couldn't figure out what had happened, but then she screamed "Someone please help! My friend shot my boyfriend!" It was at this point that Kevin began getting ready to run to the campsite, and another camper rushed to the scene to help. It was raining and dark, and my heart raced as Kevin grabbed medical supplies and headed out. I stayed with the dogs to keep them calm and quiet since they were upset by the shrill screams and the barks of the two dogs they had with them.
I could only watch as Kevin helped move the victim to sit beside the fire to warm up while everyone waited for help to arrive. He was shot through both legs at the knee-cap, and the bullet was lodged in one of his legs. Both males were drunk, and confusion still surrounds what happened, but the story seems to be that the boyfriend was helping his drunk friend to his sleeping bag when the loaded rifle went off accidentally. Firearms are legal in the park because of the wildlife, but unfortunately in this case the humans were more dangerous than the animals.
After what felt like an eternity but was actually more like an hour, the victim was loaded into a vehicle and transported down the bumpy dirt road and to a hospital. The victim was alert the entire time which we took to be a good sign. Kevin returned to the Scamp and we tried to settle down and eventually fell asleep.
In the morning, two park rangers came by to get a witness statement from Kevin. They told us that the victim was doing well, and they thanked Kevin for helping out. The "idiot sidekick" was still at the campsite in the morning. They interviewed him, took photos of the scene, and eventually allowed him to break camp and leave. The rangers took contact information from us in case legal action is taken. According to the rangers this is the only shooting--accidental or otherwise--at Lake Bowman that they know of, and of course it had to happen while we were here.
I'm just happy that everyone is going to be ok. It could have turned out a lot worse. That bullet could have gone anywhere. I will not soon forget waking up to shrill screams for help. They were in such contrast to the peace of the surroundings, and that only magnified the terror.
The next morning, Kevin decided to head back down to the lake to fish again even though it was raining. We both needed to clear our heads after the night before, and Kevin caught an even bigger trout! When he came back from the lake he made steak and eggs for breakfast out in the rain, and we decided to make the journey down the winding road into town so that I could take a shower and we could explore the park. There is a cute general store/restaurant nearby that offers hot showers for a small fee. I enjoyed scrubbing clean and we enjoyed lunch and then we decided to ditch our plans to explore the scenic but white-knuckle drive on the Going to the Sun Road because of the rain and because we were tired from the night before. We opted instead to explore the small town of Apgar. We had some huckleberry yogurt and wandered through several gift shops before heading back to camp. We decided to take a nap once we got back, but we never really got out of bed for the rest of the day. We slept through dinner time and woke at 10 pm to put our gear away and to feed the dogs before heading back to bed. The rain on the roof of the Scamp is soothing, and as I lay here snuggled into bed with Kev and the dogs, it is the only sound I can hear. I am hoping for a restful night. We plan to pack up camp early in the morning. I'm nervous about getting the Scamp back down that dirt road now that it has been raining for two days. We are heading to see Flathead Lake tomorrow and from there we aren't quite sure.
We have headed as far West as we plan to, so for awhile we will be heading south. I am hopeful that tonight is more peaceful than last night, although I'm not sure that will be difficult. Everything is going to need a good washing tomorrow. The truck and Scamp are covered in mud and Kevin's hat and jacket are covered in blood. We wanted an adventure...I think we've got one!
