Adventures on the Prairie

My 4th of July was perhaps the most interesting Fourth I've ever had. As volunteers for Landmark with ASC (Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation) which is partnered with APR (American Prairie Reserve), our crew of 6 was asked to be in the 4th of July parade in Zortman, Montana.

A little background on Zortman:

- It's an hour and a half west of our camp on the prairie backed up against the Little Rockies (providing some awesome rocks and hikes)

- Population: 69

- There are more ATVs than houses - it's a right of passage for a child to have their own ATV. Also infants often ride in the front with no helmet or protection

- There was a gold mine there back in its prime, making it a historic mining town

- You can find cool fossils at the dump

- There are two buildings that will have your every need: the bar (The Miner's Club) and the convinience store.

- They love fireworks (ages 6-86 light them off beginning at 11am until 3am)

- They throw a baller 4th of July.

So we arrived in Zortman around 10:30am for the 11am parade. The parade went about 200 yards down the only (dirt) road and turned around to go back to the start. Our 'float' was the back of a truck bed with magnets representing APR and ASC on the side of the truck. That was maybe the most exciting float considering the parade was solely ATVs decked out in American pride gear. Oh, also Smokey the Bear was there, which I was obviously excited about!! AND THE CANDY. Candy was raining from the sky.

After the 13-minute parade with about 130 people watching, the yard activities began: water balloon toss, wheel barrel races, three-legged races, etc. Then came the potluck, including delicious foods: fried chicken, Kraft Mac and Cheese, 18 different potato salad dishes, 30 different pasta salad dishes, watermelon, and a variety of desserts.

Since we had 8 hours until darkness/fireworks, we went to a fresh water spring for a swim and Malta for beer and fries to kill time. Back in Zortman at 9pm was when the real party got started.

Upon entering the bar, I was greeted by an extraordinarily drunk Native American couple named Judes and Bowser. They were very impressed by our efforts on the prairie and graciously bought me a beer. After chatting (loudly) with them, we went outside to enjoy the firework show. Now, most towns display their fireworks in an organized show. Zortman folks, however, individually purchase hundreds of dollars worth of fireworks from the Reserve across the hills and lights their fireworks off randomly in the middle of the street. I've never seen so many large fireworks coming from so many directions! It was wild. AND THE AGE RANGE. Hank Riehl, you belong in Zortman for the Fourth. Children were throwing fireworks under cars and at people for their personal entertainment. AND we were hanging out with the Zortman fire department, who did not seem concerned whatsoever. No problem.

Then as we were leaving, I saw my drunk bar friend Judes with a taser (whattttt?!), and another group of rowdy, angry men arguing as one of them whipped out his knife.

We quickly booked it out of Zortman quickly after we saw the knife.

Needless to say, Zortman had the best firework show I've ever seen (sorry Union College) due to its fantastic community and American enthusiasm. If anyone ever finds themselves in-the-middle-of-nowhere-Montana on the 4th of July, hit up Zortman and you'll be in for an adventure for sure!

The beginning of the parade (at the turn around point)

The ASC ladies throwing fruit snacks off of our 'float'

Behind our 'float'

ATVs > horses > cars

Briana (ASC's intern), Shannon, Alex, Smokey, myself, and Leah in front of the 'Zortman Jail'. (Photo:Leah Mabee; Caleb not pictured)

Large enthusiasm for the balloon toss (photo: Leah Mabee)

Not the best photo, but note the proximity of the car to the fireworks.

Sparklers with the Zortman fire department (photo: Leah Mabee)

One week on the prairie completed! And boy has it been a wild ride.

I left Boston last Saturday to travel to Malta, Montana by train. That's 2,260 miles on a train. I overnighted on the train from Boston and arrived in Chicago 7 hours behind schedule, causing me to miss my train to Malta. Amtrak put me up in the Hyatt in Chicago for a night, which gave me one more night of comfortable sleep and one more hot shower - I wasn't complaining.
The next train journey was delayed and ultimately ended up arriving in Malta 6 hours late. So my 2,260 mile train journey to Malta took me 3.8 days. A message to all travelers out there: if you plan on traveling across the country by train, give yourself 4 extra days. The freight trains cause ridiculous delays...

I was the only passenger to get off the train in Malta, and the conductors were making fun of me, asking why on earth I'd be going to Malta, MT. In fact, many people asked me that question, and when I responded with 'to do a conservation project on the American Prairie Reserve 40 miles south of Malta' I'd get a wide-eyed response of 'Wow, that's ambitious...'. This didn't phase me. But when I arrived on the prairie, I understood why they responded in that way.

The prairie is a land of extremes. Our first hike almost killed me. We were out on a 95 degree day, with no shade or breeze hiking during the peak hours of the day for 8 miles. And coming off a 4-day train trip with little food, sleep, and water did not help me any. I suffered greatly from heat exhaustion and found myself rather ill for the rest of the day. And when I went to sleep that night, I vomited in my tent. ..What a great first day.

The first couple of days on the prairie were very hard on me. Blisters, heat exhaustion, dehydration, homesickness. I wanted to jump back on the train and head back to New Hampshire. What have I gotten myself in to?! Two months in the middle of no where...? Oy

Since then, however, I've started to change my frame of mind.
The reason I'm here is to help gain a better understanding of this vast landscape in the name of science and conservation, and it is certainly an incredible place. 10-mile hikes on specific transects in groups of two everyday allow us to see animals in their natural habit. Bison, mule deer, sage grouse, jack rabbits, owls(!), prairie dogs, elk, white tailed deer! We record what we see on a GPS and document them. At first I thought this place was boring and flat, but now I'm realizing the diversity and beauty of the landscape. Nonetheless, it still scares the crap out of me.