Montana! State #43! I have long been excited for Montana, not because it’s so close to being home, but because at one point, it was home! I lived in a super small town called Eureka for 4 years growing up. The population was (and still is) anywhere between 1,000-1,100 people. There are no stoplights; the only fast food place is a Subway inside of a gas station, of which there are only three, one grocery store, and one market. This is the town I grew up in. There is one elementary school and the playground is smaller than most public parks, one middle school, and one high school that is smaller than any elementary school in California. The movie theater has only one screen that rotates movies every weekend, so if you don’t see what you wanted, you’ll have to wait until it comes out on video, or drive an hour to the next nearest one. The public library would fit inside of the Starbucks that I am sitting in, writing this blog. We’re 7 miles from the Canadian border and surrounded by several lakes. Sports are a big event, especially football, and the whole town comes out to watch. The men fish and hunt and when their women aren’t joining them, they’re quilting or canning. It’s pretty much small town America at its best. The winters are harsh, the summers are beautiful and the sky is BIG. I’ve been excited for Marc to see my hometown for years now, and I hope you can see why.
We left Fargo, North Dakota on a Monday afternoon and began our 1,000 mile trek to Montana. Because my town was SO small, we decided to spend a few days in the bigger city about 65 miles south, Kalispell. On our first day of driving we didn’t even make it out of North Dakota. We got about 30 minutes away from the border, but had to stop because there was a Walmart there and not one anywhere else remotely close. So we stopped, ate dinner, slept, and woke up to drive after a quick workout, and drive we did! We drove from about 8:30 am and didn’t get to Kalispell until about 8 at night. It was a long day but a beautiful drive, and we were finally in Montana, so who can complain?! The next day, we explored the city. It didn’t have a whole lot to offer, but we farted around anyways. We walked up and down the main strip and looked in some shops, but it wasn’t very happening and we found ourselves chilling at a park. We did stop and talk to these 3 young guys who were very respectful and attentive to everything Marc was saying. Whether or not he got through to them I’m not sure, but they seemed very genuine so I wouldn’t be surprised. At the park, we ate some lunch, walked around, read for a bit, and played on the merry-go-round. The park, also, didn’t provide a ton of opportunity so eventually we took off. The next day was much of the same. I didn’t keep great notes of our conversations this time so by now I unfortunately don’t remember too many details. I do know that we did basically the same thing both days-explored the shops downtown and then ended up at the park looking for opportunity but being disappointed by the lack.
We had planned on being in Kalispell for about a week, but on Friday we couldn’t think of anywhere to go so we took off for Eureka to spend time with my brother and his family. Our ministry in Montana was mostly based around him, as he doesn’t walk with the Lord. We spent every day with him just trying to open a line of conversation about the Lord and be a light.
We spent the week experiencing Montana! We explored the lakes, went shooting and hunting, snagged salmon (it’s kind of like fishing) and smoked them, went to a free concert on the golf course, and drove around the Amish community. It was so much fun! We also got to spend a little while with my Uncle Danny and Aunt Rosalie, who I haven’t seen in 10 years.
Canadian border
an awesome, free bbq that we stumbled upon
shooting
day 1 of snagging season. I caught one, Marc caught 3.
eek!
there was water!
visiting with Uncle Danny & Aunt Rosalie
Just over a week after we got to Dino’s, our awesome friends from back home road tripped it up to see us! Robert, Jonny, and Mindy drove a straight 20 hours to make it up to hang out with us! And we had a great time! On their first day there, we went to church and after we were done, went out snagging. The salmon had pretty much finished their run so we only saw about 4 of them and had no luck catching them, although the boys sure did try. But it started raining and we got over it, so we piled in the car and drove around Glen lake to show them some of the sweet houses overlooking the lake. After the lake, we were just about to leave when Jonny spotted a deer very close to where we were. Spotting deer isn’t uncommon in the least, but approaching one before it gets spooked and takes off-completely unheard of. I don’t know anyone who’s been able to pet a wild deer (while it was still alive), but we got to! We even fed it grass out of our hand! After it got spooked and wouldn’t hang out with us anymore, we headed back to Dino’s for what became a nightly ritual-the bonfire. At the end of the night, we played some games, prayed together and went to bed.
snagging under the bridge-they were all after one fish!
Mindy was the first to encounter the deer
Monday we were up bright and early for what is sure to be one of our best days of the trip. We were up and out the day by 8:30 am, off to hunt turkey and grouse. The order of shooting was Marc, Jonny, Mindy, then Robert, so Marc sat in the front. We were driving around for about 30 minutes before Marc saw a grouse. He jumped out, ran over, took aim, and like a pro, shot. “Did you get it?!” We all wanted to know. “Yes!” he replied, but then dropped his head, turned around and informed us of what he killed-it was a rock. Hysterically, he passed the shotgun to Jonny, who prepared for his turn. As we drove the backroads through the mountains, the ground got progressively worse, thanks in part to the rain from the day before. We whomped through puddles and over potholes and rocks, scraping the bottom of Dino’s van the whole while. At times it seemed as though he was going out of his way to hit them! A couple of times we went through puddles so big we thought there was no way we were getting through unscathed, but we did….until we didn’t. We got stuck. By this time we had been driving for maybe an hour to an hour and a half, so we were in the boonies with no cell reception and no idea how we would get out if we were stuck. Fortunately, the 5 of us piled out of the van and Dino got us unstuck pretty quickly. We piled back in the mini-van and continued down the muddy road through the mud and potholes. Then we got stuck again. Once again, we got out of the car. This time Veronica, Dino’s wife, got out also. The boys pushed while we stood off to the side. Drive, reverse, drive, reverse, the mud was not letting up. Finally, it looked like he was going to gain ground, and he did! He gained a lot of ground very quickly, which kicked up a lot of mud! All over Jonny and Veronica! Mindy and Marc got a bit of it, but poor Jonny and Veronica got the brunt end of the mud.
the aftermath!
the garden
Laughing our heads off, we continued down the road, still grouse and turkey-less. Dino decided to try a different area. This road led us to Veronica’s aunt and uncle’s house, who live in the backwoods of Montana. Like many people, they heat their house and cook with a wood stove, they have a couple large gardens, and they hunt and can and take care of themselves on next to nothing, but they have love and weren’t stingy with it. They gave us a tour of their property and we walked around in what was left of their garden after harvest and basically had lunch. I don’t know if Mindy had ever been in a garden before because she was extra amazed at everything, especially that you could just pick a tomato off of the vine and eat it. Everything that we tried was the best of that item that we’d ever had. The carrots had more flavor than I knew was possible from a carrot. The snap peas were delicious, and I don’t even usually like them, but the crunch they have straight off of the plant was unbeatable. Nothing that we tried disappointed.
As the day wore on, we started back to town, still grouse and turkey-less, but with such great times we almost forgot we were looking for them….until we found a pack of wild turkeys! Robert was next to the door so he grabbed the gun, jumped out, took aim, but then nothing happened! The safety was on! He took it off, shot, pumped, and shot again! The boys ran up the hill to examine the results. He had gotten two turkeys! One of them wasn’t quite dead, but it rolled down the hill, flapping its wings but getting nowhere. Dino grabbed it and finished it off in a way that I won’t describe because it’s nasty (unless you’re a boy, who for some reason, always enjoy it). They threw the turkeys in the back of the van and then we took off. We’re all laughing about the whole scene when all of a sudden, the turkey comes back to life and starts flapping around in the back! Mindy screamed and jumped up to try and get out of the back, not that I blame her. If I had been in the back row, I would have been screaming right along with her. Finally we made it home. Dino cleaned the first turkey and Jonny did the second. The smell was overpowering and putrid, but they didn’t seem to mind. Must be a boy thing.
The next morning we were up early again, this time to go fishing. Actual fishing this time, not snagging. What’s the difference? With snagging, you are catching salmon who are making their way up the river to die in the place that they spawned. They aren’t interested in eating, so baiting a hook will do you no good. You literally drop your lure, try to position it correctly and then yank your line up, hoping that you snagged one. Fishing isn’t quite as nasty, so I think anyways. Once again, we had no luck and it started to rain, so we went back home and showed everyone the town. We looked around the thrift store for anything good. Jonny found a suitcase and a pair of shoes that he got, and a suit that I wish he would have gotten, but it was way too expensive, even for a thrift store.
on our way out, at Libby Dam
The next day we woke up, took care of business, and in the afternoon, headed out for Seattle with the gang! Sorry for the lack of detail, something about being in Montana makes everyone more relaxed, so I didn’t take very many notes. Having our friends there was so great. We had a devo together at the end of every night and were able to share a lot with my brother. Please just pray for him and his family that they would know the Lord and love Him and follow Him.
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