Prairie Dogs, Up!

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Prairie Dogs, Up!

Okay, I’ve never been a prairie dog but I learned to be one on our trip to Glacier National Park earlier in August. Among many other surprises.

At the quite ancient Lodge where we stayed in Montana, we first met Steven who introduced himself to all of us on his bus/truck that held 15 passengers, as a “nice guy.” Then he, fairly sternly, poured out some things he didn’t want us to do (in order to stay safe on our 8-hour expedition around Glacier Park). Our climax would be driving to the “Going to the Sun Road.”

As we took off, he told us a little about himself and where he grew up (in the Montana area, near the large Blackfeet Tribe reservation, where he associated with friends and even family members of the tribe). He shared his love for nature, wild animals, the beauty of the area, the magnificent trees, rivers, lakes and oh yes, MOUNTAINS that did seem to reach to the sun or even heaven. Do you catch the drift that Steven was a great guide, full of fun and knowledge and the geology of the area?

He also added there would be opportunities to get out, walk around, examine things closer up in short stops. He mentioned he would also stop occasionally to let us stand up with our heads out the roof so we could take photos (of course), with a line he called “Prairie Dogs, Up!” – a phase that would allow us to stand up. And we would stop and have lunch at a choice of several delicious mountainy cabin type restaurants.

Our transportation was in an old Ford red truck first made in the 1930s. The trucks were later refurbished for relatively modern day transportation around huge Glacier National Park (which reaches close to Canada.) The bus in itself was a pretty cool thing to be in, in terms of its noteworthy history.

My husband often dozes off during the day while watching TV or YouTube, but, unlike some of the other men (and women, I might add) who took some snoozes in the 8 hours we traveled together, Stuart did not doze off once. This guide was that good! My only regret on that score is that we didn’t have a recording that could help us remember some of what we heard and learned. He responded well to our questions, comments and things we pointed out on the journey, like the little brown bear we spotted on a distant cliff.

And no, I don’t think we saw any for real prairie dogs.

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Your thoughts? Trips? Memories?

Next time, I share the “downs” of this trip. 😦