Exploring Eastward - Part 2
After finishing up my dinner at Eugene's in Glasgow, I take a few moments to relax, stretch out in my chair, and unwind for a little bit. After spending just over 6 hours behind the wheel today already, it's good to take a moment to stay in one place for a few minutes. At this point, I was glad to have that growler from Triple Dog waiting for me back at my hotel. It would still be a long while before I could crack into it though. Because as fate would have it, and it specifically being the reason why I even drove this whole way, my evening of driving wasn't quite over yet.
So I load back up into my trusty Subaru and set off for Fort Peck Lake. The sun is setting fast here, out in the East. There's no mountains for the waning sunlight to tease me with before turning to the darkness of night. And before I even realize, it's already pitch black, with only my headlights illuminating the way onward. Shortly after dodging a few migrating deer, I turn off of the pavement and onto a dirt road. I bump and bounce around as the road slowly begins to deteriorate more and more, jostling my car as my butt lifts off the seat a few times.
This is not a drive for the faint of heart, and one I certainly wouldn't be recommended for most vehicles. I'm not even sure I'd recommend it for my Subaru. But alas, here I am, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, on the most unforgiveable road in Montana. I slow my pace significantly as some of the ruts in the washed-out road make me feel like I'm climbing the Hell's Revenge off-roading trail in Moab. Regardless, I continue my way down the road and eventually manage to find a convenient spot to pull off and park. Leaving my Suby behind, I set off the rest of the way on foot.
With my headlamp alight, and with my camera gear strapped to my back, I follow what's left of the worn out road until we come upon a small hillcrest. The remainder of this hike towards the lake had taken me about 45 minutes to complete, clocking that in at just over a mile and a half on foot with my usual pace. It's now just past midnight and my timing felt perfect, but only time would tell once I could get settled in, and get a lay of the land and stars. I set up the tripod and camera, and I extinguish my headlamp, now allowing for my eyes to adjust to the blackness properly.
It only took a few moments for my vision to fully adjust to the night sky. And soon, sure enough, I could see the lake spawling out before me. A perfect distance between us, and the foreground I had envisioned in the weeks leading up to this moment. The city lights of Fort Peck could be seen glowing faintly to the east. I could hear the lapping waves of the lake as the water meets shorline. Occasionally I can hear some coyotes cackling not too far off, and probably a little closer than I would prefer.
It all just seemed so peaceful here. There was no moon hanging above due to the new lunar cycle. Only a clear night sky, sprawling around and over me like if I were standing inside of a dark snowglobe that was lit by the twinkle of the billions of tiny stars above. But something else had grabbed my attention the most. And wasn't the peacefulness, the far-off city lights, or the quiet serenity. It was the impressive glow and aura that ascended skyward before me. It was the core of the Milky Way Galaxy. Never have I ever seen the Milky Way so vivid, as I can usually just make out it's tail in the average night sky. But this time, its nebula of luminous oranges and purples glowed like an eye on the southwest horizon, wrapping upwards, gently fading, and eventually descending beyond the northeastern fields behind me.
I share a laugh with myself because, for whatever reason, I think back to my golden retriever, Sunny, and when she had chased a squirrel into a tree. I though of how she had sat there for hours with her neck bent upwards. I always thought that had to hurt, doing that for so long and staring straight up. But yet here I am, without a care in the world, bent-necked and staring upwards into the stars above like it was seeing them for the first time. For many of those bright specs in the sky, it was very likely this was in fact the first time our had ever eyes met.
I start my evening of astrophotography by taking my time to line up my camera and adjust my settings. It was now close to midnight, and the sky had started bursting into sparks of flame. Dozens of meteors were breaking into Earth's atmosphere as their light illuminated the ground around me for only brief moments at a time. It was unmistakenly bright, but very sudden and shortly lived. These bursts of light would be instantly snuffed out within less than a second after announcing their arrival. I find myself now straining to blink less. The Perseids Meteor Shower was in full effect, at the peak of its season, and it was downward from the northern sky and Perseus Constellation. It was a perfectly clear and cloudless late-summer night. And a moment I won't ever soon forget.
Coming down from the high of the meteor shower from the night before, I set off the following morning to continue my journey. Southward now, and down Montana Highway 13. If might have ever wondered where Circle, MT is located, I can tell you that it's at the end of this road. I could've turned back at this point and head straight home to Helena, considering I accomplished my mission the previous night, but I figured I was already all the way out here anyways. So why not try to make the most of the trip and do full a loop around the rest of the state?
I make a stop to fill up on gas in Circle, and it must have been so instantly clear that I wasn't a local, because the pleasant gal from behind the counter at the local Cenex had wasted no time in asking me how trip was. A local farmer who also was visiting in the Cenex started chiming in about my route, and before I even knew, it was like have two new friends. Of course they asked if I had stopped for pizza at Eugene's while in Glasgow. It seemed I had passed the test. We continued chatting for a few minutes, and I browsed around the small store to fill up on water and snacks for the rest of the day-worth of travel.
I picked out some handmade earings for my mom. Her birthday was coming up soon, and I thought that a handmade gift from Circle, MT would be one of the most unique things she could ever receive. And with that, I hopped back onto the road and towards Glendive.
As I make my way down Montana Highway 200 South, I think a little more to myself. That there's something to be tremendously appreciated about the friendliness of rural Montana. It's something that I think gets overlooked a little too often when you find yourself sucked into the daily grind of our normal lives. Places like Eastern Montana serve as great reminders to be kind and thoughtful towards our neighbors, and to pick your head up and look around every once and a while.