Thursday 30 July
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| Flathead Lake |
last night's stop, Whitefish, appeared mostly a tourist way-station 2 street town,
pop 6500, top left corner of Montana, 70 miles south of Canadian border.
Fair bit of industrial going on leaving town heading south-east, ag machinery, boat yards
on past Flathead Lake, a lot like Wanaka
but ski runs carved through the bush in view of the road
so must get snow here in the winter.
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| Ski trails, no snow |
the surroundings you pass through are just that much more tangible
sight, smell, and sound
ride till your bum needs a rest, legs a stretch, maybe hunger twinge to appease, and a swig of water.
2600 miles came up on my trip meter today.
Brunch stop was at Glen's Cafe, just south of Missoula, 'famous for our pies', the sign said
I had coconut pie, a proper melt-in-the-mouther, pastry included
cooked by the lady running the counter
3 young lads walked in, emptied their communal coin cache on the counter, and had a soda each.
Still yet to see groups of idle youth, maybe they're not on the track we're beating
or is it just that over here they dont get paid for being idle.
Read the community rag over coffee
health's the big issue
apparently the compulsory health insurance all are required to have, has got beyond most people
one retired couple now on premiums of $600/month, according to the letters to the editor
and worry about the continual rise
some jobs come with health benefits paid, but they're getting scarce with the downturn
seems like you can opt for the govt system once you pass a certain age
a kiwi we spoke to in the pub last night said he chose to domicile in Canada,
which has higher taxes, but a public health system
and he had property in USA, incl a lakeside bach and associated toys
because US dosent have estate taxes the same way Canada has.
I think there's a stronger sense of community here in America
the place is huge, but it looks to me a factor in forcing people together
the immigrant enclaves having survived and morphed into todays shape
and for all the progress and greatness we assume of america
its history isnt much older than our own.
The road from Whitefish to Missoula and a little south was festooned with casinos
largely First Nation reservation country
my need to stop came on a little earlier than the one mentioned above
so I chose a casino/restaurant combo in the hope of a brunch
frankly I felt a bit of resentment from the First Nation manager, got informed breakfast was over and that was it
uppity maori......
remember getting the same sort of look from the armed guard at New Delhi airport
something like the tribal underlings shouldnt be able to indulge in the freedoms the chiefs get/have
I cant think of a more broken down ethic for tribal investment either, a casino.....
After Flathead Lake the countryside turned dry hill, like central Otago
with green flats in the valleys
heading into Missoula, got a fright on the freeway with a loud Woody bark in my helmet phone
Woody, the junior huntaway back home, has his bark as my message alarm
had forgotten i'd set my phone on-line in Whitefish to see if it would pick up the global roam
some of the others had got a Telecom link.
My helmet bluetooth headphone gear works great
have been running my part in Peter's next production off the mp3 couple of times a day
and after that can push a button for FM radio for any stations in range
if the phone goes, it jumps in over the top
the message was from Vodafone to say AT&T was back in range
yeah right...,
3rd day out of 12 in North America that its worked, then for only 15 mins as I left town.
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| You get a lot of Continental Divides on Ken's rides! |
then duck over the Bitterroot Scenic Drive to the central divide at Chief Joseph Pass, 7200'
following the Lolo Trail of the Nez Perce as they sought to reach their Crow allies in Montana buffalo country
and just a few miles on, the Big Hole Battlefield memorial site
being the 4th battle in the tribe's march to escape confinement to the newly defined reservation area.
In the mid 1850's a treaty was signed confining the Nez Perce to about 80% of their customary area
which they more or less happily agreed to
but gold was discovered on the reservation and a new treaty drawn up in 1863 confining them to about 10% of the original area
only the bands in the prescribed area signed, the rest gaining the title of 'non-treaty Nez Perce'.
They set up camp at Big Hole about 28th July 1877, 200 warriors, 600 women, children and old folk, and 2000 horses
it was nice to visit close to this date
the battle took place on 9th august
140 troopers surrounded the camp in the early morning, and fired volley after volley into the sleeping tipis
odd the indians hadnt posted sentries
90 indians killed, army casualties, 29, 40 wounded
the indians got the upper hand, kept the sodiers pinned down while the people made their escape
one of the officers, who was previously sent in to clean up after Custer's last stand, wrote of his fear of what might happen next.
So that'll do you for now
in the museum, I saw Chief Joseph's elkhorn-handled horse quirt.
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| Montana skies |
across magnificent Montana plains, under big blue sky
like Alberta, clothed in knee-high timothy, dogstail, and a fescue, I think.
The place is so huge, and people so relatively scarce you just have to wonder how come it couldnt have been better shared
but for the avarice of a non-descript, disparate, totally scungy bunch of gold-seekers,
who, in the greater scheme of things deserve nothing more than to be beaten with sticks.
Today the indians have some casinos on their reservations
while others like our faded denim, inconspicuous, Canadian red band shod mate in Alberta, has 54,000ac to himself
makes you feel a bit sick.
It must have been a magnificent life being a plains Indian pre-european
although horses arent indigenous to NA, they bred up from what got away from the Spanish in 1680.
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| Montana geegees |
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