father's day postcard

spent last night in billings, montana with my cousin and his family. got to see him perform in a community theater production of "chicago." amazing how much talent is in a town the population of 100,000. really great show. this morning i went to services as his wife, susan, is the minister of one of the methodist churches here and it really was a lovely service and i met some wonderful new people. there are wonderful people everywhere. i also got to spend a little time with two of their daughters who i hadn't seen since the youngest was 4. they are very very cool young women - who hike, run, backpack, climb, etc. and had a lot of first-hand knowledge of some of the areas i wanted to visit.

now i'm outside of billings trying to decide in which direction to head. i know there is so much beauty to be found southwest of here toward jackson hole and the tetons, etc. but every report i've checked this morning has all kinds of weather-related reports for all the places i had marked - some even by their very name. i don't know if "avalanche" falls in the weather-related category but it's also been mentioned with respect to two of the passes that were on my "list." the roads are open but travelers are to be advised that there is a high potential for avalanche and be aware of the risk associated with said conditions. i'm just not going to risk it. besides, there's beauty everywhere and, no matter where i go, it will be a new experience - new places, new people all kinds of things to learn. and, thus far, whenever plan a has turned into plan b, c, d or "not even considered in the plans", it's turned out to be just what i needed.

so, i think i'm just going to get on the interstate for a change and head west and look at things again once i get to livingston or maybe butte and, depending on what's happening there, may head out of montana and into idaho for wallace. much of glacier is still closed - you can head in from the east for 13 miles but then have to turn around or you can head in from the west and go 15 miles and turn around. cj said glacier was incredible . . . i just don't know if it's worth going that many miles and only getting to experience a small portion of it and not even get to camp. he's supposed to be calling me today so i'll ask him.

also, i've had several folks scare the bejesus out of me with regard to grizzly bears. it seems that besides their becoming more aggressive in general given our encroaching upon their areas more and more, the late thaw of this "summer" is causing them to have to look further away than usual for food - their usual spring habitats are still thickly snowed in. i'm willing to take my chances with snakes as much as i dislike them. i'm not willing to take my chances with grizzly bears and especially not alone. i know i could be hit by a bus walking across the street but the bear thing has me unnerved. i have an industrial size can of bear spray with all kinds of warnings (make sure that, if it's windy, you spray the bear downwind) - seriously? i'll be doing good to a) not die of a heart attack or b) not to spray myself in the face.

the other day when i hiked the cloud peak wilderness area the ranger had told me i might see elk or black bear but i didn't have to worry about either - just not to mess with them and they wouldn't mess with me. well, since then i have done even more homework and there have been two instances of black bears being aggressive. i just don't know what to think as i'm being given so much information - some conflicting - with people who know what they're talking about. people who actually camp and hike in some of the areas to which i wanted to go and the national park and forest folks. i don't want to sit in a plastic bubble like i've done much of my life - i am really enjoying this adventure - but i'd like to follow the same advice i'd give my kiddos or friends. not that they would follow my advice but you know what i mean.

i'm kind of thinking i'll push on to wallace and then to see my friend lisa in washington state. i guess this time tomorrow i'll know where i am - if i don't, someone will. besides, if i do head back to wyoming, i may never get anywhere else. it was so unbelievably beautiful i was stopping every 5 minutes or so - at that rate, it would take me 4 weeks just to get halfway through the state.