Montana Part Seven: Final Days

After Carolyn and Ayano left on Wednesday (July 5th), I spent the next four days with my parents in Billings and Red Lodge. As a child growing up there, I loved and appreciated the natural beauty of the state, though as I grew older during high school, I yearned for a more cosmopolitan lifestyle and had dreams of moving to a real city -- Montana felt so remote and disconnected from the rest of the world. Now, after having moved away many years ago and lived in Boston and San Francisco, I have a greater appreciation for the life and history of my home state. I love spending time with my parents, who are both very interesting and engaging people. They're great historians of Montana and have become my best resources. I also love hearing their personal stories of life there over so many years.

From my mom: the time that a horse galloped into her backyard and ended up sticking its head through the backdoor screen; the time that she found a baby deer in the back yard; the bat she found in the bathroom sink that she believed was plastic and had been planted there by my brothers as a joke -- and learned it was real when she went to pick it up and it squealed; the woodpecker that got stuck in the fireplace; and the time she went out in the backyard at dusk to find seven little owls lined up on the tree limb with their heads all rotating in sync.

From my dad: the time he woke up to find a baby moose on his deck; the bear he had to shoot several years ago because it repeatedly destroyed his deck during the night -- of course, he then had to call the authorities and turn himself in, which resulted in a hefty fine; and the woman who was stomped to death by a moose near his home. She was a tourist, and this happens all the time -- not the stomping part, but tourists who come out to visit and treat the wild animals as though they're like dogs or cats, trying to get close to them to get a good photo or pet them(?!). Not a good idea! A couple of years ago I got trapped for over an hour when I went for hike with one of the dogs (a border collie, who was as nervous as I was) and we came across two moose, a bull (male) and a cow (female) and had to wait for them to move on before we could hike back to the cabin.

dinner with dad and mom in Red Lodge

Red Lodge

The infamous Snow Creek Saloon. My dad told Carolyn, Ayano, and I that we were not to even step foot in the place because of its dangerous atmosphere; he told us that the majority of the cases he prosecuted stemmed from some association with the Snow Creek.