M is for Montana

Montana is all that and then some, as my kids say on occasion. Having gone to school there and lived there for a few years, there's a few parts I remember that aren't seen in most descriptions.

The first memory is of the people. Montana natives hunt. That is their excuse for getting outside. Many of them, a decent majority grew up in rural settings (not all), so they were outside as part of work and daily life. They never went camping or skiing or hiking. They did some, if not all of that in the course of their "work life". Students, on the other hand, were of course all over the outdoor rec opps. This made for an interesting clash. The School of Forestry attracted some Montana natives and as you might expect their goals were more resource extraction than conservation. The Forestry School also attracted a fair amount of tree huggers, especially from New Jersey for some reason. They, were more passionate about resource conservation than extraction. This double humped camel of student interests made things interesting at times. I was on campus at the height of the spotted owl controversy. Lots of passionate discussions.

The Rattlesnake Wilderness Area was adjacent to the Missoula City Limits. Back then and likely still now, it was the only wilderness area in the USA with bus service to the main trailhead. Rattlesnake Creek poured down into the Clark Fork, wild and unkempt. There was city park up and down both sides of it. Running paths all over. One of my favorite places.

There were bighorn sheep on Mount Sentinel as well as mountain lions. Every once in awhile you could hike to the M and spot bighorns off in the distance. Every once in awhile, there would be a picture in the city paper of a mountain lion on a patio eating the cat food out of a bowl someone had left outside. What a thrill that must have been, open the drapes as the sun comes up and there's a mountain lion three feet away......