the Crown of the Continent

The Crown of the Continent
Waterton-Glacier National Park, International Peace Park World Heritage Site
“Far away in Northwestern Montana hidden from view by clustering mountain peaks, lies an unmapped corner, the Crown of the Continent” George Grinnell, 1901

“In a world beset by conflict and division, peace is one of the cornerstones of the future. Peace parks are a building block in this process not only in our region, but the potentiality in the entire world” Nelson Mandela

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe” John Muir 1890

“Few places in the world are more dangerous than home. Fear not, therefore, to try the mountains passes. They kill care, save you from clearly apathy, and call for the every faculty into vigorous, enthusiastic action” John Muir


Heading west out of Shelby, out on Rt.2W into Glacier County, the landscape of oil and gas refineries, fresh cut wheat, now time to plant winter wheat after a dry summer here, into Cut Bank, the sign says millions of barrels of oil, billions barrels of gas, looking into the horizon, the mountains loom, I can see them in the distance drawing me in, pass Camp Disappointment, Lewis & Clark stayed here, says “Lewis: "…adieu to this place which I now call camp disappointment…"
History: On July 22, 1806, Lewis halted his northward exploration of the Marias River here. It was not the natural boundary for the Louisiana Purchase he had hoped for. He had also hoped to find an easy portage route between the Marias and Saskatchewan rivers. Such a route would have allowed America to divert Canadian fur trade into American territory at the Missouri River. It was not to be. Dreary weather and gloomy prospects gave this camp its name.
Lewis and three companions, George Drouillard and the Field brothers, Joseph and Reubin camped here for three days before beginning their return to the Missouri. It was a risky stay as they were deep in the land of the Blackfeet. In fact, the next day, they encountered eight Blackfeet warriors and shared a camp with them. Unfortunately, Lewis also shared the fact that Americans would trade with all the tribes in coming years, including enemies of the Blackfeet. The Blackfoot Confederacy was the most powerful coalition in Montana at the time. The prospect of American rifles in the hands of their enemies threatened their dominance of the area and their existence.
Early the next morning, Lewis woke to the sounds of struggle. The warriors and expedition members fought for possession of the Corps' rifles and horses. Two of the warriors were killed in the only fatal encounter of the expedition.
Lewis compounded the gravity of the situation:
"While the men were preparing the horses I put four shields and two bows and quivers of arrows…on the fire, with sundry other articles…I also retook the flag but left the medal about the neck of the dead man, that they might be informed who we were."
The other Blackfeet survived to return to their tribe, and it is thought that this encounter had lasting consequences. George Drouillard, present at this fight, was one of three expedition members to return west after the expedition only to die in later conflicts with the Blackfeet.
After leaving Cut Bank you are in the Blackfeet Reservation, wondering what they think about all the Lewis & Clark hoopla, into Browning to the Museum of the Plains Indian, displays of richly varied arts of the Northern Plains tribal peoples including the Blackfeet, Crow, northern Cheyenne, Sioux, Assinboine, Arapaho, Shoshone, Nez Pierce, Flathead, Chippewa and Cree, their historic clothing. horse gear, weapons, household goods highlight the exhibits, founded in 1941, it’s an excellent look at the lives of this nation of survivors, there are appoximattly 106,000 descendents on 16 reservations of Plains Indians.
I meet a Native artist, not thinking about spending money, his art work was so symbolic of the my experience in the Museum, that I purchased one of his paintings, Ernest Marceau Jr. a big man, gentle, lively and encaging, he reminded me of the Gary Farmer from Pow Wow Highway, an excellent movie of Native experience, a must see, Gary Farmer was the founder and Publisher of Aboriginal Voices Magazine, a magazine which was devoted to Native Canadian issues.
On to the park, wild fires, started in late July, speculation the Boy Scout started it, 30% of the timber resources for the Blackfeet were lost. The fire is still burning, and in other areas of the West. The haze gives a blue tint to the landscape.
Into the park taking Rt.49 on the southeastern corner working upward, witnessing the wildfire first hand, chars of tall trees, the smell of a day old campfire that has gotten wet, yet still along the roadside, white butterflies, thousands working their magic, then up the road, the views are shock and awe, magnificent land here, on to the St. Mary entrance on the East side, they have exhibits of Native artist works, all work about the Lewis and Clark experience, none too flattering, great to see, some artists to follow-up on: Corwin Clairmont, Damian Charette, Janeese Hilton and Ramon Murillo, one piece had these words, “When you had such a good guide, why is it that all I wanted is for you to get lost, get lost, get lost” by Gail Tremblay. As moving as the mountain these people once roamed, and have different names for then now.
Up to Many Glaciers, a great place to camp if you can get in, this fantastic valley with views 360, some they stay at the Hotel here, I am leaving to get a site at Rising Sun,
I stop at Two Sisters Café for a good Pulled Pork Sandwich, and great pies, Huckleberry, brave and bold.
Back to camp, where I meet Joe from Portland, a bus driver, Ralph Kramden would be proud, here, the most Oregon tags I have seen in a long time, I am in the West again, we talked about how to stay centered in this world today, he is going to Burning Man, I could make it, not this year, Oregonman Must Go Next Year, my pledge to the Cosmos. He owed me a book "This is Burning Man", I have started to read it, I have heard about this event, I shy away when things when they get popular, kinda like tattoos and piercing. Another great roadside conversation, have fun at Burning Man Joe!
Up over Logan Pass to camp at Sprague Lake, tents only, full, than back to Avalanche Creek, under a grand old cedar tree I be, I be. Skate is a mountaineer, up and down, holding his own with anyone, especially now there he is using Premium, he’s a monster.
I will not say much of the views the pictures should speak for themselves.
The Glaciers are shrinking, in 1850 there where 150, now 27, in 25 years, None will exist, also the Alpine habitat is changing. Dick you could have had your energy summit here, great views.
Another great place to eat on the Eastside is The Park Café, here since 1981, where pies are king, they have shakes too. On the Westside its Eddies, where I meet Eddie the Grizzly Bear, nice fellow, likes beer like me. At Eddies I read that Charlie Russell, the great Western painter and humorist worked and lived here.
Russell said” Two guides went out one morning to round up their horses and in crossing a strip of woodland, they meet a belligerent moose who made it necessary for them to seek cover with no delay. One of the guides slid into a convenient hole and the other climbed a tree while the moose just waited around. After a time, the man in the hole stuck out his head and asked “has he gone yet?”, and the man in the tree said “No”, after a few minutes, he raised up and asked again” hasn’t he gone yet?’. The man in the tree replied, in not too refined language, “No!! and he never go if you keep popping out of that hole”
“Well”, said the other fellow, “There is a bear in this hole”.

Campfire under the cedar trees, sky full of starts, no moon, hooting of an owl in a distant tree, the still night air, releasing the smell of the forest, sipping whiskey, finishing The Appalachians, a great book, about its people, culture, stories, songs and life, a place changed and unchanged, exploited and hidden, with knowledge of the forest path and its treasures, a story of greed and damage done, a story of hope, a story of history, its roots to our tribe, over water in a distant land, our voices the same.
At camp I meet an Australian man Ian, bought a motorbike to see the West and is riding this 650cc motorbike out of Seattle heading out into the mountains, then heading south to Utah, another great conversation around the fire, talks of our homes, politics, he says that their government wants to be a player in the big picture, yet is behind few years, tell George they are Willin’, Most folks want to smae thing, his people is like ours, they just want to have a Roasted Lamb on Sundays with family, and they Don’t drink Fosters, good, I never liked it anyway, people all around the world want the same thing, logical and responsible governments, of the people, for the people.
Drinking Sky Diver Blonde out of Marion, Montana, and Bayern St. Wilbur Weizen out of Missoula and some Knob Creek, wanted a sip for awhile, been looking at a bottle since I have been in the North Country
Next morning cool, said goodbye to Ian, broke camp. Westward!
Reading Rumi, “What color cloth you want, let the boy Jesus pull it out of the big dark dyeing vat”, Coleman Bark’s asking his son, “What is all this longing”?
His son left his Dad a note the next morning, “Maybe it’s because nobody has any brakes, We can’t stop. Whoooooooeeee”!
Shelby to Rising Sun
62.5 mpg/ 166.7 miles traveled
Rising Sun to Avalanche, and over Logan Pass
68.1 mpg/ 112.7 miles traveled
Avalanche to Logan’s Pass and back
63.9 mpg/ 81.6 miles traveled

the High Line Rt.2, Montana

The High Line Rt.2, Montana
Route 2 starts in Houghton, Maine and goes to Everett, Washington, only cut in half by the Great Lakes, I have been on and off this road since July 24th

Leaving Williston, gaining an hour due to a time change, it’s an overcast Oregon gray day, cool too, only 5 miles till the cell phone will drop my call, this road is straight, it propels Skate to go faster & faster, at 58-60mph mileage Skate runs best, we go 65-68mph, slow down my little bronco, I swear the mile post entering Montana said 666, a gray sky ahead, needed rain for this country, drought across much of the Midwest and the Plains, as well as the SW and Texas, too much rain in the East & NW, go figure, into Culbertson, down Rt. 16S to look at the Missouri Breaks, spectacular views from the bridge, a Schwan’s’ truck passes, first one in months, delivery to your door, then back on Rt. 2, James Brown and coffee to start this day, more lighting ahead as the storm moves though, its eastward bound, we cross paths, Brockton, Home of the Warriors, what’s with the name, thought they were changing that, I wonder if being on Fort Peck Reservation has anything to do with that, Native peoples lived on a reservation named after the victors, like Iraq in a couple hundred years living on land called Camp Freedom.
I meet Lenny today in Poplar, he has a Blue Insight, we chat, he is from Wisconsin following the Lewis & Clark Trail, years earlier in his life, he traveled all lower 48 states on one trip, wander we must. We talked mileage, performance, he has more stuff in his car then me, we compared notes of people, their views, we are both concerned about our country and were these rightness ones are taking us.
Lenny travel well and be safe, my brother.
Pass Wolf Point, elevation 2000 feet, slowly climbing into the western mountains, cutting into a storm from the west, on the radio, Canadian Talk Radio, I forget at times where I am, most look on the map, out of Regina, sounds like another word, too surreal, a bicycle rider heading East, just pass Hinsdale I spy a bicycle with a kayak, gal fixing a flat, I wheel back, Renata Chlumska from Sweden, her website is AroundAmericaAdventures.com, she is trying to fix a flat, another old timer there too, he sees my shirt Luckenbach, he says” population 3”, yes, he leaves, she wants to move on, small talk, she has been on the road for over three years, heading back to Seattle.
Renata travel well and be safe, my sister.
Up ahead Sleeping Buffalo, two rocks that look like the name, someone has left 5 cigarettes as a gift, not sure, I want to remove them, but I need all the help I can get.
Then there’s Natural Hot Springs, $5 for a half hour soak & sweat in this rustic, kind of old place, it’s indoors, an older fellow soaking, then some tourist look and run, hope Renata stops here.
I look back down the road willing to spot a $5 gift for a fellow traveler, no sight of her. Take care.
Pass Frazer, home of the Bear Cubs, what kind of name for a football team is that? Road Construction for miles, dirt and mud, Skate loves to baja, lots of fun, feel bad for the bikers and Renata coming down this road, over the Milk River, pass Malta, lots of great history up here, lots of Western Outlaw stories, though Dobson, three folks sitting outside the Hi-way Bar, the Cowboy Bar closed and boarded up like the rest of the town, in the Fort Belknap reservation, The Belknap Reservation is home for both the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes, which have different historical backgrounds. The Assiniboine were the northern most group of the seven divisions of Yanktonai Sioux that resided in the region between the Mississippi River and Lake Superior.

More gray skies and rain, a Bob Dylan festival in the car, watching rain slowly move across the windshield, farm reports of the radio, trains of four engines and a hundred plus cars, many of these, moving down the tracks, east and west, sign says contact the US Border Patrol if you see suspicious behavior, well Dick Cheney is up at Whitefish, telling folks, its no accident that 9-11 as not happened again, not sleeping or vacationing these time, there badge, Fear, using the latest propaganda of the British arrest, let’s see how bad we can make the world seem to be. I do feel that Muslins should do a better job, if you wish to go back to the Golden times, then go back and live in the desert and quit using modern device to hurt people, the same here in this country, if you wish for the World to end, sit on the porch naked, have a cold one and wait.
Though Havre,first stoplight in 321 miles , casinos, bars and Christian radio, over the Big Sandy River, pass Blackie’s Tavern, all fishing holes need a bar close by, more liquids, please, over Sage Creek, Rudyard, into Liberty County, Sweet Grass Hills, Spud’s Café, Bootlegger road,
Joplin with a great welcome sign, a local woman stops while I take a picture, we agree, great sign, I ask the population, she says”300 or so”.
On into Shelby, crossroads town Interstate 15 runs North and South, going to Alaska, turn right!
On the roadside are small crosses, I keep a running tab, on the whole trip, some states allow them, I am going to add-up when I get home, but today, 78, some groups of 7 twice, groups of 3 also, I ask if this is for roadside deaths, I am told yes, I try to acknowledge all passing of life to the spirit world, I am concerned, what does this mean for this state and the road, it has very little shoulder to it, I can see why, going off the road would be dangerous, not driving at night out here, my other concern is if one does not believe, or is Jewish, Buddhists or Muslin, no signs for those folks?
The local paper has an article along side the article of Cheney’s visit, Mr. Anti-Christ, saying that a Federal Judge rules against the government’s warrantless wire taps, Unconstitutional, the President is not above the law, and the court has done its duty!
Time for George to go sit on the porch naked.
While in Shelby, check out he O'Haire Monor, great rates, hot tub,too!
Williston, North Dakota to Shelby, Montana
60.1 mpg/ 428.0 miles traveled


News from the Bill of Rights Defense Committee
You’ve probably seen the headlines – Warrantless Wiretapping Unconstitutional. It actually gets better than that. US District Court Judge Anna Diggs Taylor also ruled that the NSA program must stop immediately. Though, later in the day, government lawyers were able to negotiate a stay of the injunction until the appeal, set for September 7.
Judge Anna Diggs Taylor has given us a clear interpretation of the Constitution and the limits of executive power:
“We must first note that the Office of the Chief Executive has itself been created, with its powers, by the Constitution. There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. So all ‘inherent powers’ must derive from that Constitution.”
Upholding the importance of the Bill of Rights:
“It was never the intent of the Framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights.”
Making clear the importance of a Separation of Powers:
"Our constitution was drafted by founders and ratified by a people who still held in vivid memory the image of King George III and his General Warrants. The concept that each form of governmental power should be separated was a well-developed one. James Madison wrote that: 'The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.'"
Rejecting the interpretation that the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) grants the President power to wiretap at will:
"The AUMF resolution, if indeed it is construed as replacing FISA, gives no support to Defendants here. Even if that Resolution superseded all other statutory law, Defendants have violated the Constitutional rights of their citizens including the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment and the Separation of Powers doctrine."
Judge Diggs Taylor makes it clear that the President has violated FISA:
"In this case, the President has acted, undisputedly, as FISA forbids. FISA is the expressed statutory policy of our Congress. The presidential power, therefore, was exercised at its lowest ebb and cannot be sustained."
She states that the President violated the First and Fourth Amendments:
"The President of the United States, a creature of the same Constitution which gave us these Amendments, has undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders as required by FISA, and accordingly has violated the First Amendment Rights of these Plaintiffs as well."
Here are some of the most complete articles I’ve seen on the Internet so far:
Judge orders stop to warrantless phone wiretapping
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/17/MNGCLKKD2A4.DTL
Federal Judge Rules Domestic Spying Program Unconstitutional
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/08/breaking-news-federal-judge-rules.php
White House Vows Fight for Wiretaps
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/news_theswamp/2006/08/white_house_vow.html
Here is the White House Statement:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060817-2.html
Attorney General Gonzales News Conference Transcript:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20060817/pl_usnw/remarks_of_attorney_general_gonzales_at_press_briefing_on_the_terrorist_surveillance_program_ruling311_xml
Judge Anna Diggs Taylor’s Ruling:
http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/nytimes/docs/nsa/aclunsa81706opn.pdf
The Injunction:
http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/eGov/taylorpdf/06-10204Injunction.pdf
Government lawyers argued that Judge Diggs Taylor should not have heard the case at all, because national security would be at risk should they present a defense. But the judge denied that argument. It appears the reason she found that state secrets could not be invoked by the government is that the government already admitted to warrantless surveillance, so there was no state secret to protect. Similarly, she ruled that because Bush has not yet revealed the extent of the data-mining aspect of the program, that the government was able to use state secrets to stop that part of the case.

The Perfect Blue Highway Rt.200

Rt.200, a Perfect Blue Highway
An evening in Fargo, no place like a motel to get in all the local fittings…......no, on to the next day, going out a ways on Rt. 10W to Casselton, north on Rt.18, farms, small towns, they all have banks, even the smallest of towns, farmers get paychecks from the government not to plant things here, John Deere is king in these parts, I spy in the distance, a 2063 foot straight line in the sky, the worlds’ tallest structure, the KVLY-TV Tower, beaming across the Plains, no cable needed here, just those old fashion rabbit ears, Mom you got any aluminum, and guide wires, not sure how those crop dusters get to spray around them, I would stay away.
Left on Rt. 200W, traveled it starting at the headwaters of the Mississippi, it starts off of Rt.2 around Floodwood, Minnesota, and goes to Missoula, Montana, I stop in Mayville for lunch, the best $5.99 special ever, Roast Beef, Mash Potatoes, Stuffing and Gravy, Watery Carrots with Soup, and for dessert Warm Bread Pudding with Pecan-Caramel Sauce, Yummy, full for the day, a great local haven, Paula’s Steakhouse, counter top with swivel stools, as a kid, I would spin and spin, and go around and around of these, and booths, too, there’s a regular dining room for others, my Waitress, a local gal Hilma Hovde, we talk local stuff, the other locals pay me no mind, and she says about Medora, ND there a restaurant the Pitchfork, they do fondue there, to these folks fondue is dipping large steaks in oil as well as other foods, and we talk about the Patriot Musical at the National Park, I am polite, not sure about the Musical, a mile away is Portland, population 100, no boats, yet the Goose River runs though here, while there check out the Rainbow Gardens, and the Delchar Movie House, there’s lots of community here.
Out of Portland, small farms, small lakes, migrating birds, a lonely pelican, this road straight and narrow, I feel like closing my eyes to see how far a can go.
My old joke was that if North Dakota was like South Dakota I have been there, its not as barren, the wind does not seem to blow as hard. On though Carrington, locals on riding mowers, like the farm, doing something, no idle hands, lots of large equipment on the road, and in the fields, sunflowers full with black seeds leaning over from the weight, a few more trees, small hills, big hay country, Texas over my left shoulder, Goodrich, seagulls?, Mercer, famous for Turtle Races, then Turtle Lake, I see now, then right on Rt. 83 for a few miles to Rt.1806, into Pick city, fishing, lures, bait, boats, here is the Lake Sakakawea Lake, an artificial lake on the Missouri River, on the Lewis & Clark Trail, I am sure they would not recognize the river now. Lewis and Clark met Sakakawea who led them to the West and on to the Pacific, along the Knife River were the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians lived, she was Shoshone, she was believed to have been captured at Three folks in Montana, she idenfied landmarks that led Lewis and Clark to the headwaters of the Missouri river, without her they may not have reached their goal, she also carried her baby son Jean Baptishe Charbonneau on the journey, there is little record of her life after 1806.
After setting up camp in the primitive campsite along the lake, by the dam, I am the only one here, no RV’s, just me, then out for an evening walk and drive to The Audubon Wildlife Refuge at Coleharbor, lots of birds, Hawks, Canadian Geese, small song birds, I spot a mommy deer and fawn, too. On the way back, the fields are being worked, a storm is coming, better get as much wheat in as possible.
Stopping to pee at the Honey Hole gas station/store, I asked the store owner where, he says “Westside”, I have a George Bush moment and pause, he says “W-E-S-T”, I have meet this man before, my Dad, instead of saying anything, I hold my need to pee, walk out, he is going my way outside, I am sure he knows what I was thinking, silently “A-S-S-H-O-L-E”.
62.9mpg/ 325.9 miles traveled

That night lighting and thunder, three hours in the car, too small to sleep in, back in the tent then more lighting, waking tired and exhausted, breaking camp. Did I mention the Black Helicoper Overhead,Hello!
Back onto Rt. 200W to Hazen for breakfast, not bad, chicken fried steak, eggs and hash browns, no chicken-fried steak like Texas, Sue’s Café, a nice waitress, a German-Russian Community here, in September it’s the Hazen Harvest Fest, soup & sandwich at the Lutheran Church, Brats, Quilt show, Chili & Bingo, an Ugly Pick-up Contest and Hazen’s Famous Turkey BBQ, and don’t forget Community Worship Service on Sunday, back on the road pass Beulah, then Zap, while taken pictures of a John Deere Hay Tractor, an old fellow, unshaven, local boy in an old dusty Chrysler turns left on this lonely road followed closely by a van, he stops, he's pissed, stops and tells me, "those bastards!!!", “I had my blinker on for a couple hundred feet”, “normally I have my 357, today I don’t, I would have blown out his back tires”, I listen, and tell him” hang in there, don’t let an asshole ruin your day”. Don't know who was luckier that day?
Called my brother George in Texas, not my biological brother, my real brother, he had been in Amsterdam, he had has coffee cup filled there, long delays to get home, they tock his toothpaste, eight hours of delays, Lets all fly naked. And the drum beats on!
Old Dutch Kettle Chips , been making them for 70 years here, and I made the first Kettle Chip in 1982, it’s all been done before, it’s the way you package and story today. Marketing, even if your story is not accurate, as long has they believe, it must be the true. Politics, Food, Life.
Into Mountain time, the Killdeer Battlefield, turn left on Rt.85, pass oil rigs, and Halliburton, I honk in protest, turn right on Interstate 94 to Medora, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit, great views, barren landscape, and prairie dogs, Teddy was an unknown public figure when he first came it the Little Missouri region in 1883, he became a rancher here, his conservation efforts are seen all around this nation today.
While viewing the museum, I spy a man dressed like revolutionary figure, I say” you look like you came out of a time machine”, he says “you do too”, after the film we talk, John Douglas Hall, is living James Madison’s life, the man that wrote the Bill of Rights, one of a kind, both of this men, in August of 1978, John began entertaining “as an 18th century Gentleman” at Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria, Virginia, he started to weave his life around a gentleman living back then, today he lives as James Madison in dress and voice, this is great man in American history, I was elated with his vision and passion to continue and educate folks of our early times and thoughts. For further inquiries contact him at jamesmadison@erols.com
This was a highlight for me on this day and of my journey, to meet this man with his conviction, his words and deeds.
Leaving with new found energy, back on Interstate 94 E to Rt.85 north, hoping to get to a place to stay, again bad weather approaching, up pass Grassy Butte, wanting to go to the North Unit of the Park, need rest, none found in Watford City, why, the oil business is booming, no luck securing a room here, tired and exhausted on Rt. 23W to Alexander, where the Ten Commandment greet you at the town’s entrance, no rooms here either, up to rt. 2E to Williston, the same story, I find a room, one of only two left in town, most motels are full, damn oil business. Back in Central Time Zone.
The good news, Jack & Jewels Bar-B-Que for some Beef Brisket, great Pinto Beans and moist Cornbread, back to the room to do nothing, 2 beers and bed.
59.9mpg/ 326.7 mile traveled today