Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, Montana, Swiftcurrent

 The next day, 5/22/21, began with breakfast at Cracker Barrel with the Indiana fam. We shared in conversation and learned about what we would all be doing for the summer. I even gave them a tour of the van before heading out for my first big leg of the trip.

I arrived in Iowa to stay with family, just in time to see my cousin before he left for his post in the marines. A check-up on the pregnant cow was a fun outing and 9 deer were spotted as I entered the property. I gained some pointers on places to see and dreamed up what it would look like to have a camper of my own some day.

The following day, 5/23/21, I took off for North Dakota after sharing breakfast with my aunt. I made it into Bismarck, the capitol of ND, and went to the capitol building for a few photos. I even facetimed dad for a few minutes and gave him a view of the capitol.

I then went on to my campsite at Sweet Briar Lake, about 30 minutes outside of Bismarck. On my way there I saw a hill and did a little trespassing to climb to the top and see all around me. Once at Sweet Briar Lake, I found a spot to park and started dinner just in time before the huge rain storm hit for the night. I will say, having a vehicle to sleep in rather than a tent was very nice.

The next day, 5/24/21, the original plan was to make it all the way to Glacier National Park, however, I made a detour into Theodor Roosevelt National Park on the west side of North Dakota. On my way I witnessed some horses trying to start a family on one of the farm pastures. Once I got to the park I decided that I wanted to go for a run and asked the service center workers what trails they recommended. I then went to the head of a trail and watched the prairie dogs who were quite loud for their small stature and then took off on my run through the muddy trail. After about half a mile I decided to leave the muddy trail and climb on top of a ridge that was nearby, I had been told to keep an eye out for bison and rattlesnakes. Once I climbed to the top of the ridge, I spotted a bison on the opposite ridge.

I then wanted to run to another ridge that was about a mile away when I heard some horses neighing and spotted them near the bottom of the valley and wanted to get close enough to get a somewhat decent photo. To get closer I had to cross the small stream that was covered in mud so I had to take my shoes and socks off and walk across following a trail that bison had made. I then snuck close enough to see the horses and remained still so that they would not see me although the closest one looked up and walked towards me slightly and so I froze until it decided that it was safe and went about its business.

After all of that I went back to the car and made myself lunch. On my way out of the park there were two bison standing right next to the road so I was able to roll down my window and take a video and watch them from 10 feet away. I then drove into Montana until I stopped in the town of Butte and grabbed dinner. Finally, I traveled to my campsite which was way off the beaten path where I had some muddy driving. The campsite had some sketchy bathrooms and multiple warnings about bears and food so I came up with a game plan in case a bear started trying to get into my car.

The following morning, 5/25/21, I realized that I was low on gas but was able to get back out into town, through lots of coasting, the next day and fill up for my final leg of the journey. I made it into West Glacier and had some time to kill so I found a trail to hike that would be somewhat challenging and met a ranger who lent me his bear spray for the hike and gave me some pointers for the trail. However, I was stopped after a mile or so due to the snow on the trail. I returned to the van then arrived at the home of the couple that I was staying with and met the Park Life Ministry Team that I would be working with for the summer and we ate dinner then went exploring at Bowman Lake. It was a lot of fun getting to meet everyone but also a little overwhelming having just finished traveling for 2 days by myself. It is still shocking that I am here and am going to be living here for the next 3 and a half months.

5/26/21

The morning started with my ministry partner and I grabbing coffee and tea then meeting some other friends for lunch. After lunch we went to Lake McDonald where we hammocked and enjoyed the weather for a few hours. Once we had each taken a nap we met up with two other friends and began our hike at Apgar Mountain. The peak was at 5,000 feet and had a stunning view. We took a lot of photos at the top and walked around the Fire Tower at the summit. We then headed back down to find some dinner but before we got back to the car we were stopped by a black bear on the trail about 20 feet from us. The bear came from behind a tree and one of the guys we were hiking with pulled out his bear spray and we started making noise to try and scare it off. The bear chuffed at us so we backed up quite a bit and kept yelling and shouting until it ran off into the woods. We waited for a few minutes and then slowly went down the trail. We finally made it back to the car then met up with more friends to play some card games for the evening.

5/27/21

The day started with my ministry partner and I going to orientation in Columbia Falls then driving to Swiftcurrent on the other side of the park. The drive took around 3 hours and once we arrived we were greeted by the location manager. We were given a tour and shown to our cabins, where I will be staying in my own cabin due to COVID, and unpacked. We finished the day with getting to know the other employees and finishing up paper work. It is an amazing location and I am feeling excited for the summer to get under way.

P.S. - The mountains are beyond amazing.

P.S.S -For some reason the photos wouldn't upload so I have a link for the photo album on google photos.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mjeYttWHDcraLpydA

"There is much to explore, many people to meet, and great adventures to be sought." - The Mountains