I left off when we were in Bozeman, post-horseback ride. We rode into town, which is a condenced 4-5 blocks full of shops, bars, etc. It's a real TOWN. We got to some bar that was half college-aged kids, and half parent-aged kids. Um, kinda cool, I guess. Reminded me of Ireland. Anyway, Troy and I got beers, and I told him to get lost so I could talk to some locals ("Hey, Troy, you have to go to the bathroom, right?" - it didn't come off that mean in delivery, honest). I started talking to some tall boys. One was named Ramsey. Ha. Anyway, he told me he wasn't into nature and stuff so he couldn't really give me any advice on where to go and see. But he was nice. Everyone I've been meeting mentions how scared they would be if they ever went to NYC. They basically all tell me that they'd walk around with their mouths wide open and ask for their mommies.
In the meantime, Troy met some ladies, who suggested we go to this other bar that was more laid back and had a pool table. It was called Colonel Black's. Here's the cool part: we walk in, and we see....Elliott Smith! Ok, well not the actual dead musician, but a guy who looked almost exactly like him, all the way down to the pock-marked face and the hair! For those of you who don't know, this is Elliott Smith:
I sat down at the table he was at with his friend, and I told him as much. And would you believe it, he didn't know who Elliott Smith was! He was even a little offended after I told him that Smith had stabbed himself in the heart. But he (Brandon was his real name), and his friend Matt were really cool and friendly. They told me they were going to the river (the Gallatin) the next day to fish and invited me and Troy to come. Turned out that Matt did call the next day, but I was on a hike and didn't get service. He didn't leave a number in the voicemail. Oh well, I would have loved to fish was some Montanans! The night in Bozeman ranked number 2 so far on the highlights of this trip (number 1 being the horseback ride).The hike we took was in the Gallatin Nation Forest. It was the Indian Ridge Trail. We didn't know where it would take us or how long it would be. I was sooo up for it, but Saeurkrouse was very grumpy from the previous day's exertions. We hiked for 2 hours, up and up. The elevation is very high in the Rockies, and we could hardly breathe most of the time. Finally, Troy decided to give up. I wanted to be awesome, so I pressed on. Shorty after our parting, I encountered a man jogging down the mountain. I asked him how much longer to the top. He looked at his watch and said, "Hmm, well I've been jogging downhill now for about 50 minutes." "15 minutes?" "No, 50." I turned around and started back for the car. What the fuck!
We headed for Missoula. I'd been waiting for this part of the trip forever! Missoula is the most liberal city in Montana. It's supposed to be a really cool college town. It was. It was more spread out than Bozeman and not as pretty, but the people were A+. It was Troy's night to drink, so I had to sadly remain sober. He started talking to this guy named Warren who was really nice and bought us a shot (Southern Comfort) and said "Welcome to Montana!!!" He invited us to join him and his friends at their table in the corner. Another guy, (another) Matt, was also really nice. He was originally from Chicago. When I asked him why he'd moved to Montana, he said "just walk outside." Point taken.
So the point is, Missoula IS an awesome town that is inhabited by many out-of-staters who love the beauty and liberal politics of the city. If I go to graduate school, it's going to be in Montana no question.
Yesterday was the turn-around point. It had been 8 days and we needed to start back in an Eastwardly direction. We went down through Idaho (no houses for miles and miles, but beautiful), and got to Jackson Hole, WY by 7pm or so. We camped out in the Nati
onal Park's Campground, surrounded by the Grand Tetons! They were stunning and so magisterial. Since I can't upload my own photos, here is a picture.Now for the bear attack. In the campground there were signs all over the place about being careful to not leave anything out that would attract a bear. I was slowly getting worked up about it, thinking back to those Discovery Channel shows ("When Animals Attack") I'd seen one when a Boy Scout was rudely awoken by a great big Grizzly, who just came into his tents and began to maul him! Can you believe that! A Boy Scout! Of America!
Anyway, I tried to not think of it as I laid down to sleep. Then, I heard a rustling. Troy's head we off his pillow, and I knew he'd heard it, too. At first, it was on his side of the tent. Then we heard it walk around, BRUSH UP against the tent, and walk VERY CLOSE to my side. You don't even know how much I was shaking. I was ready for a great big paw to come at me at any second. We laid there in utter terror, not knowing what the hell we should do. After a little bit, Troy got the balls to open the window a little and look out. Nothing was there. We decided to make a run for the car. At least glass and metal is a better defense than nylon. So we did it - slept in the car. It was very uncomfortable, but better uncomfortable than dead, right?
