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| Bison Creek Ranch restaurant |
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| Bison Creek Ranch - my cabin is the one on the right. |
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| Keith and his daughter, Molly - part of my ranch family |
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| My fetch buddy - Ponder |
We arrived in the town of East Glacier Park, Montana at the
beginning of July. Here is my
experience during my first week as a temporary Montanan: We turned down the gravel road beneath the
sign for Bison Creek Ranch and caught the first glimpse of my home for the next
month. Bison Creek Ranch has been owned by the Schauf family since the 1950s. Jake and I
walked into the restaurant on the property and were greeted by Aaron – a member
of the awesome Schauf family. Aaron and the other family members (mom –
Nancy, dad – Keith, and sister – Molly) live and work on the ranch. This wonderful family also includes furry
friends – Ponder (a spaniel) and Arlo and Gertie (2 pugs). Jake and I are missing Tillie like crazy so
we were so very happy to be greeted by the pups. After a long day of traveling Jake and I were
excited to have the restaurant just steps from our door. We enjoyed one of the best dinners of our
trip. Aaron just finished his degree in
culinary arts and he’s super passionate and excited about cooking. For a great price dinner includes homemade
soup, salad, meat, potato (baked, mashed, fries, or homefries), veggies, bread,
and a scoop of homemade ice cream.
During dinner we got to know Molly and several of the ranch guests
including Shawna and Stacy from Phoenix, Arizona. We slept well after a long day of
traveling. The ranch is a bed and
breakfast, so I get to start every day with a home-cooked hot breakfast. I LOVE breakfast! Jake had to drive to Browning, Montana (about
13 miles from East Glacier Park) to check in at the hospital for his pharmacy
rotation. Browning is in the middle of
the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. While
he was away, I went to eat breakfast.
Shawna and Stacy would not let me eat on my own and insisted that I sit
at their table. 2 hours later we had
full bellies and enjoyed a great morning chat.
Shawna is a 3rd grade teacher and she and Stacy have done a
lot of traveling so we had lots to talk about.
When Jake returned from Browning we headed into Glacier National Park to
explore. We had to purchase some bear
spray as this park is home to many black and grizzly bears. No one hikes without it, including the
rangers. When used properly, it ensures
that both humans and bears stay safe. We
traveled through the park via the Going-to-the-Sun Road that hugs the mountain
side up and over the continental divide offering spectacular views of the
snow-capped mountains and glacier-carved valleys. After exploring for a bit I drove Jake home
to Browning. The drive from East Glacier
Park to Browning is beautiful. The
landscape changes from jagged mountains to rolling plains open as far as you
can see and dotted with herds of bison, cows, and horses. I got my first glimpse of Browning as we
crested a small hill. The first 2
buildings in town are the Museum of the Plains Indians and the Casino. There is a lot of poverty in Browning. Jake is living in a 6 bedroom trailer within
walking distance of the hospital. He has
4 roommates – Mark (an optometry student from UConn), Melanie (a pharmacy
student from Drake University), and Tiffany and Laura (pharmacy students from
Sanford College). They are all very nice and
seem excited to be here. There are 2
permanent fixtures on Jake’s trailer porch – Chewy and Blondie – “res” dogs
they call them. I am already in love
with Chewy and Blondie and told Jake we need to make some extra room in the car
to bring them both home with us. There are hundreds
of "res" dogs roaming the streets. Some belong
to members of the tribe, but most are strays.
I want to take each and every one of them home.
I spent the next 2 days on the ranch while Jake started his rotation at the hospital in Browning. I walked around the town of East Glacier Park to meet some of the local business owners and chat with them. I promised my mom I would not hike alone, so I spent some time researching the ranger led programs in the park and there are tons of them. I met up with a ranger in an area of the park called Two Medicine for a nature hike where I learned a lot about the plant life in this area. I enjoyed eating my packed lunches each day at Two Medicine Lake – a beautifully crystal clear glacial lake backed by Rising Wolf and Sinopah Mountains. I also spent some time in the evenings at nearby East Glacier Lodge where I met some rangers and learned lots of good stuff at their nightly fireside chats and enjoyed free cowboy music in front of the huge fireplace. One of the fireside chats was with a 26 year veteran park ranger named Pat Hagan. He started his chat with the quote in the title of my blog - "Glacier National Park is so beautiful that it will mess you up for the rest of your life." I am beginning to understand what he was talking about. Back at the ranch, I enjoyed eating and chatting with Shawna and Stacy and another sweet retired couple from Rapid City, South Dakota – Greg and Sharlyn. It was like being at adult summer camp and I loved every second of it. Jake had a good first 2 days of work at the pharmacy filled with orientation, culture training, and a LOT of paperwork. I went to pick him up on Tuesday night because he had July 4th off. He got to spend the night on the ranch and enjoy the home cooked breakfast with me the next morning. We took a drive up to the northeastern side of the park called Many Glacier – named because it has many glaciers. There are only 26 glaciers left in the park. We set out on a hike to Ptarmigan Falls. On our way we met a nice couple who stopped in Glacier on their move from Chicago to Southern California. Turns out the girl, Mo, went to the University of Richmond and swam with a girl Jake knows from high school – small world. She and her husband, Matt, were great company. The hike to the falls was spectacular. Most of the hikes on our trip have been tree covered with occasional views. This hike was on the edge of a mountain with unobstructed views of the Glacier Rockies. There was almost too much to see at once! When we arrived at the falls, we stopped to enjoy the sights, sounds, and clean air. Mo and Matt continued on. On our hike back we met Jason and Gretchen from the twin cities area in Minnesota. They were so much fun and made the hike back enjoyable. We grabbed a quick tailgate lunch and headed out for another hike at the Swiftcurrent trailhead to Red Rock Falls. There were fewer people on this trail, so Jake and I chatted loudly and I made up a few songs with rhyming lyrics to make sure we didn’t surprise any bears. Songs make the hikes go by faster for me (I don't know about Jake because he has to listen to my awful voice). We soon arrived at Red Rock Falls. Waterfalls never get old to us. We are in awe every time we stand at the base or top of a waterfall and hear the roaring, feel the mist, and see the power of water. It is just awesome every time. After a long day of hiking we spent the evening enjoying dinner and music at the East Glacier Lodge. I have spent the last 12 July 4th’s in the Outer Banks watching fireworks over the water. So, I was a little bummed to hear there were no scheduled firework shows near the park. However, Jake and I returned to Browning and were greeted by a sky lit up for miles by fireworks. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful day spent outside enjoying Glacier National Park. We are looking forward to so many more days of exploring this awesome place. We hope all is well where you are!
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| Chef Aaron - always cooks with a smile |
I spent the next 2 days on the ranch while Jake started his rotation at the hospital in Browning. I walked around the town of East Glacier Park to meet some of the local business owners and chat with them. I promised my mom I would not hike alone, so I spent some time researching the ranger led programs in the park and there are tons of them. I met up with a ranger in an area of the park called Two Medicine for a nature hike where I learned a lot about the plant life in this area. I enjoyed eating my packed lunches each day at Two Medicine Lake – a beautifully crystal clear glacial lake backed by Rising Wolf and Sinopah Mountains. I also spent some time in the evenings at nearby East Glacier Lodge where I met some rangers and learned lots of good stuff at their nightly fireside chats and enjoyed free cowboy music in front of the huge fireplace. One of the fireside chats was with a 26 year veteran park ranger named Pat Hagan. He started his chat with the quote in the title of my blog - "Glacier National Park is so beautiful that it will mess you up for the rest of your life." I am beginning to understand what he was talking about. Back at the ranch, I enjoyed eating and chatting with Shawna and Stacy and another sweet retired couple from Rapid City, South Dakota – Greg and Sharlyn. It was like being at adult summer camp and I loved every second of it. Jake had a good first 2 days of work at the pharmacy filled with orientation, culture training, and a LOT of paperwork. I went to pick him up on Tuesday night because he had July 4th off. He got to spend the night on the ranch and enjoy the home cooked breakfast with me the next morning. We took a drive up to the northeastern side of the park called Many Glacier – named because it has many glaciers. There are only 26 glaciers left in the park. We set out on a hike to Ptarmigan Falls. On our way we met a nice couple who stopped in Glacier on their move from Chicago to Southern California. Turns out the girl, Mo, went to the University of Richmond and swam with a girl Jake knows from high school – small world. She and her husband, Matt, were great company. The hike to the falls was spectacular. Most of the hikes on our trip have been tree covered with occasional views. This hike was on the edge of a mountain with unobstructed views of the Glacier Rockies. There was almost too much to see at once! When we arrived at the falls, we stopped to enjoy the sights, sounds, and clean air. Mo and Matt continued on. On our hike back we met Jason and Gretchen from the twin cities area in Minnesota. They were so much fun and made the hike back enjoyable. We grabbed a quick tailgate lunch and headed out for another hike at the Swiftcurrent trailhead to Red Rock Falls. There were fewer people on this trail, so Jake and I chatted loudly and I made up a few songs with rhyming lyrics to make sure we didn’t surprise any bears. Songs make the hikes go by faster for me (I don't know about Jake because he has to listen to my awful voice). We soon arrived at Red Rock Falls. Waterfalls never get old to us. We are in awe every time we stand at the base or top of a waterfall and hear the roaring, feel the mist, and see the power of water. It is just awesome every time. After a long day of hiking we spent the evening enjoying dinner and music at the East Glacier Lodge. I have spent the last 12 July 4th’s in the Outer Banks watching fireworks over the water. So, I was a little bummed to hear there were no scheduled firework shows near the park. However, Jake and I returned to Browning and were greeted by a sky lit up for miles by fireworks. It was the perfect ending to a beautiful day spent outside enjoying Glacier National Park. We are looking forward to so many more days of exploring this awesome place. We hope all is well where you are!
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| Driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road |
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| Beargrass - misnamed by Lewis and Clark as bears do not eat it |
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