We woke up yesterday morning along the banks of the Missouri River just a little ways downstream from the Great Falls. I guess it would be more accurate to say from where the Great Falls used to be, as these days there are no real falls due to the dam that was built decades ago. At any rate the river ranch is a beautiful place. My cousin owns both sides of the river in that section, so it is quiet and unpopulated except for deer, coyotes, hawks, kestrels, owls, pelicans, geese, and a lot of different birds. Then, of course there are the cows, but they are mostly in a pasture away from the house, so we couldn’t hear them as we slept with our windows open.

Our day’s journey took us into Great Falls and from there northwest to Browning, in the heart of the Blackfoot Nation. From there we went through Glacier Park from East Glacier to West Glacier, then over to Whitefish and up to Eureka on the border with British Columbia. We are camped a few miles south of the border in a beautiful National Park site along the shore of Koocanusa reservoir, formed by the Libby Dam. As we walked through the campground last evening, cars with Canadian license plates outnumbered USA plates about two to one. But there is one car with Hawaii plates camped with us.

Captain Meriwether Lewis could have camped near the River Ranch on his way downstream. Not far from there, the expedition entered the white bluffs region and then took a side trip up a tributary of the Missouri looking to see if it might connect to a lake or other sizeable body of water. It was on that little trip that they encountered two rather threatening events. One was an encounter with a grizzly bear that could have easily cost the Captain his life. The other was a near miss with members of the Blackfeet. I don’t know how Lewis assessed his knowledge and abilities in dealing with the indigenous people of the American West, but he was lest than tactful in almost all of his encounters. He left a bad taste in the mouths of the Dakota people that remains to this day. In essence, he condescended to them, treating them like infants and proclaiming that they now had a new “father” back East who would care for him. He offered worthless trinkets to them in exchange for food and other essential items. Along the way there were encounters with other tribes, probably softened by the skill of Sacajawea as a translator. Mistaking superior firepower for superior technology and superior knowledge, they nearly starved crossing the Rockies and were ill –prepared for both of the winters that the expedition spent in camp. They would have survived neither if it weren’t for the knowledge and compassion of their native hosts.

Whatever the reason, their luck ran out when they encountered the Blackfeet. The Blackfeet were used to defending their territory and buffalo from fierce attacks from the Crow and Sioux. They weren’t about to allow interlopers in their territory. It was only by a bit of luck that Lewis’ half of the Corps of Discovery weren’t wiped out.

We found the hospitality of the Blackfeet Nation to be much warmer than Captain Lewis. They appreciate the business that tourists bring. There is even an espresso bar set up in a tipi in Browning. Espresso is not, I think, a traditional Blackfeet product. Then again, the tipi wasn’t exactly what I’d call traditional, either. Nonetheless we were made to feel welcome as we crossed Blackfoot land.

Glacier National Park is one a place that reminds me that I continue to be a child of Montana. I love living in the Black Hills and I am grateful for our home in the woods with the deer and turkeys and other animal neighbors. But the hills are not Mountains. All it takes is a visit to the northwest corner of Montana to be reminded that there is something spectacular and special about the granite peaks that rise high above the treeline. It renews my spirit to visit this place.

Perhaps one needs to have a few special places that are not home. As natural wanderers, we are hungry for destinations that are not home. We sometimes complain about the fact that our family is spread out with our children living in distant states, but there is some wonderfully beautiful country between us and our children, and we are fortunate to be able to visit it from time to time.

Our plan for today is to take our time. We’ll drift down to Libby and cross Idaho on US 2 then head back up north following Washington 20 across the state. That is a winding and scenic road that keeps us close to the border. We hope to camp in the Cascades tonight so that we can arrive at our kids’ home early in the day. Our planned route will take us across the Cascades at the most northern crossing we’ve ever taken in the US. We’ve crossed them in British Columbia, but today’s road will include some new territory for us. Vacation gives us the ability to slow our pace and wander a bit.

Students of the Lewis and Clark expedition know that the story ends with success for the Corps of Discovery. They made it back to St. Louis before the third winter. They brought back with them detailed maps and journals and loads of scientific specimens. It was less successful personally for Captain Lewis. He struggled with what these days would be diagnosed as a mental illness and failed to gain the happiness he sought. It is, in some ways, a tragic story.

As we re-visit some of the places of their momentous expedition, we are discovering more joy and more beauty than they were able to describe in the journals. Perhaps we see with different eyes knowing that we do not have to fear the unknown.

This vacation is just one part of a much bigger journey, just as our lives are a part of a much bigger adventure. How delightful that we are able to enjoy some of the moments along the way as we continue to seek paths of service to other people and to God.

Copyright © 2012 by Ted Huffman. I wrote this. If you want to copy it, please ask for permission. There is a contact me button at the bottom of this page. If you want to share my blog a friend, please direct your friend to my web site.