CPT has periodically explored purchasing a large tract of land in Montana to construct and operate a service dog facility that would educate animals for domestic clients residing throughout the USA and Canada. Since the Western USA in the Mountain time zone contains more economical land purchase opportunities than in the Eastern time zone or along the Pacific shore, CPT wishes to investigate specific locations that may meet CPT’s business objectives.
Amongst those potential locations are the Hi-Line and mountains of Western Montana. Unfortunately, Covid put a delay in previous travel plans- or should we say rules regarding Covid- as CPT’s Mark Spivak refused to fly while mask rules remained in effect. However, with mask rules expired, relaxed regulations facilitated fruition of the excursion. During the journey, Mark evaluated the potential of a service dog kennel in Montana and engaged in multiple rigorous outdoor activities. Below is a travelogue/blog of Mark’s journey to the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of Western Montana.
Atlanta is known for its horrific traffic. Multiple articles rank Atlanta amongst the 10 U.S. cities with the worst traffic.[1][2][3] Fortunately, the trip started with excellent karma. Traffic was a breeze! Other than for 2 minor jams downtown travel was above the speed limit for the entirety of the car ride from Johns Creek, a northern Atlanta suburb, to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
To avoid walking a long distance with heavy luggage, as I had a large, checked bag and one carry-on, I parked at Park’n Ticket, an off-airport parking facility I have used for many years. The Park’n Ticket bus picked me up promptly from the lot and rapidly transported me to the Delta check-in at the South Terminal. More karma. No line at the skycap! Bam! Faster than I could say “23-skidoo” my bag was checked to Great Falls.
The return of skycaps is fantastic. For a long period, Delta had no skycaps while the main airport terminal was undergoing renovations. Consequently, lines were often 20 – 45 minutes to check a bag inside. Some people can live from a carry-on for 2 weeks. However, with workout activities I have many changes of clothes. Therefore, my limit is only 4 days before checking a bag. Plus, for this trip I had running shoes, trail running shoes, and hiking boots that take up a lot of room, even before considering a variety of clothing options to accommodate diverse activities and weather conditions.
Karma continued at security. Zero wait at TSA Precheck. The only inconvenience was a lack of small trays for my phone, credit cards, and money. Thus, I stuffed the items in the top flap of my carry-on, which wasn’t much of a nuisance.
Since my travel day was long- a 50-minute drive to the airport, 2 flights, and then a 1.75-hour car ride to the hotel- I took the opportunity to get some exercise by walking to the terminal gate. Unless I’m in a rush I never take the tram.
While at the gate I got a relaxing end seat. The period awaiting boarding provided an excellent opportunity to complete CPT emails, whereby I felt productive. I dislike travel days that are all travel without any productivity.
Once completing the emails, I grabbed an $11.39 ham sandwich at one of the airport concessions. 2 years ago, $11 for a ham sandwich would have seemed rapacious. However, with an annual inflation rate of 8.5 – 9.1% the price seems semi-reasonable for a medium size sandwich. On a good note, the sandwich was surprisingly tasty.
My flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City was a Delta Comfort+ aisle seat. I like the slightly greater room of Comfort+ compared to coach and find it rational to pay the higher fees, especially for a 5-hour flight. Regardless, I insist on an aisle seat.
Despite the recent epidemic of cancelled and delayed flights my flight took off on-time and arrived a few minutes early. I then walked to Terminal B to await my flight to Great Falls. The interval between flights was only about 90 minutes. Therefore, I was concerned about my checked bag making the flight. Again, karma was in my favor.
While waiting, I ate at Pick Up Stix within Concourse B of the SLC Terminal. I ordered Firecracker Chicken, which was supposedly spicy. The food was edible, but nothing more. The chicken was fried and the sauce bland, although the white rice had a nice sticky consistency. If White House cooks served this to the Chinese ambassador, the Chinese government would get angrier than after Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
The flight to Great Falls was on a smaller plane, with no first class and only 4 Comfort+ seats. I, of course, had an aisle seat. Due to the diminutive size of the plane my roller bag carry-on would not fit in the overhead. Thus, it needed to be checked at the gate. I remained chilled, even though my bag has a lot of electronics. Still, I exercised precautions by taking out my primary laptop.
Man, this plane is hot! Apparently no AC! Little did I know the plane ride was conditioning me for an uncommonly hot week in Montana, where every day was in the 90s. On a positive perspective, other than the in-cabin temperature the flight was pleasant.
Upon arrival my roller bag was quickly provided to me at the jetway- with all electronics intact, including my second laptop. I then walked to the in-terminal Enterprise counter. Again, no line! Maddie at the Enterprise counter was terrific in completing the admin process and getting me to my car, which was only a quick walk outside the terminal door.
Enterprise provided a Volkswagen Tiguan SUV. The car was clean and as I was driving I learned the car was surprisingly fast. I prefer a car with some room and some power- and this car had both. In the future I may request a Tiguan. What an excellent rental!
The drive to Havre was 1-hour 45 minutes north on US-87, a predominantly 1-lane road amidst the ruralness of the Great Plains. The speed limit was 70, which seemed way too slow. Slow vehicles could cause temporary traffic. However, they were easy to pass, since there were rarely vehicles in the southbound lane. The scenery was barren, but beautiful, especially since this was my first time immersed within the Plains. The highway passes through 3 very small towns where the speed limit precipitously drops to 60, then 45, then 25, and then returns upward in the same progression. Yet, the brief speed reduction provided a change of scenery that added character to the drive.
I typically don’t like long drives. However, this drive was surprisingly relaxing, because unlike typical Atlanta drives, there wasn’t traffic, there weren’t traffic lights, it wasn’t stop and go, and there was a plentiful natural landscape.
Once arriving in Havre, I stayed at the Best Western Plus Havre Inn & Suites. I have stayed in fancy, very expensive hotels. Yet, the room I had at the Best Western rivaled any of them. The room was huge, with a capacious bathroom. I had a couch, chair, and tables. Moreover, the room was clean, the service friendly, and there was ample free parking and a decent free breakfast. The only thing missing was a room safe and an extra roll of toilet paper, the latter of which I corrected quickly after speaking to the amiable front desk staff.
Yet, since there wasn’t a safe and the hotel had me sign a document at check-in absolving them of responsibility for missing items, to minimize risk I declined room service each day via using the “Do Not Disturb” sign. Nevertheless, I HIGHLY recommend the Best Western to anyone visiting Havre.
Since Montana is on Mountain Time, I still had time for dinner. Per the suggestion of the front desk staff I walked .4 miles to the Bow & Marrow on Highway 2, the main road in downtown Havre and the main east-west road/highway throughout the Northern Montana Hi-Line.
The Bow & Marrow specializes in beef. Grade A steaks can cost as much as $85 for the 32 oz. “Tomahawk Chop” or $58 for a 16 oz. ribeye. I went with the $18 “Yellow Jacket Burger,” comprised of a ½ lb. burger, bacon, hash browns, pepper jack cheese, and an egg. I also had a side of broccoli. The burger was very good, although I would have preferred it more medium and juicy. The broccoli was delectable, cooked perfectly. In addition, Samantha (Sam), my waitress, provided outstanding service to this out-of-towner dining alone.
After returning to the hotel, I read for about an hour and then crashed for the night so I could be rested for a rigorous physical day on Tuesday.
Breakfast at the hotel was functional, albeit certainly not fancy. I had scrambled eggs, a bagel, yogurt, and a banana.
Upon returning to my hotel room and preparing for a trail run I noticed my American Express card was missing. I figured I probably left it at the Bow & Marrow, where I was one of the last diners. Thus, I sent the Bow & Marrow an email from their website. I also looked up the restaurant’s number and gave them a call, figuring nobody would answer, since they don’t open until 4 pm. What do you know? An answering service picked up and politely took a message.
Within 10 minutes I had a call and a text from Bow & Marrow owner Shaina Hofeldt. Shaina offered to promptly drive to the restaurant to look for the card. I thanked her, but said, “No rush, I have other cards… I can meet you when you are going to be there within your normal schedule.” She told me 1 pm. Therefore, we agreed she would look for the card at 1 pm and then give me a call and text.
After completing some CPT emails I headed out to Bill Baltrusch Nature Trail. The Trail and adjacent parkland is named for Bill Baltrusch (1929 – 2017), the founder of Bill Baltrusch Construction, a builder of roads, homes, and commercial buildings in Hill County and the surrounding area. Once entering the Trail and walking about a ¼ mile there are 2 options: 1) turn left to take a .7 mile paved trail or 2) turn right to take a 2.6 mile unpaved loop. My decision was expedited by 2 nice locals who were eager to assist me. Upon their guidance, I ran the 2.6-mile loop and then ran around the adjoining neighborhoods for a total of 4.5 miles.
The run was pleasant, except for the grasshoppers. Northern Montana is known for plentiful numbers of Northern Grasshoppers.[4][5][6] At the beginning of the run it was like a horror movie. Everywhere I stepped a horde of grasshoppers attacked me. It was like Alfred Hitchcock returned to film “The Grasshoppers,” in lieu of directing “The Birds-2.” Fortunately, the insect swarm didn’t bite. Rather, they jumped at high speed then bounced off, which stung and itched. As the run progressed, I was glad to move away from the brush, whereupon there were fewer grasshoppers.
After completing my run I drove to the North Central Senior Citizens Center on 2nd Street in Havre, where the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks communicated a presentation entitled, “Bears on the Hi-Line.” Bear management and education specialist Wesley Sarmento discussed how to differentiate a grizzly bear from a black bear (muzzle, hump, claws, ears), behavioral differences between the bear species, dietary differences, their range within Montana, where they tend to spend their time (within forests and along waterways), how to prevent bear encounters, how to keep bears away from residences, what to do when/if encountering a bear, how to use bear spray, and why bear spray is superior to a firearm. Wesley and his assistants were excellent presenters and brought beneficial visual aids, including PowerPoint slides, bear hides, bear skulls, and bear spray canisters- the latter 3 of which we could touch at the conclusion of the presentation.
The only surprising part of the presentation was Wesley’s opinion that Montana should allow a grizzly bear hunting season to prevent ursine expansion. Grizzlies are currently a protected species. In Wesley’s opinion the success of the grizzly population endangers humans as the bears encroach upon human populated land.
However, as an animal lover I take the opposite view. I believe humans have inequitably encroached upon land that historically belonged to wildlife. Humans either need to learn to live together with bears or we should move away from wilderness areas.
At one time there were more than 50,000 grizzly bears in the lower 48 states. Human expansion and associated habitat depletion, livestock depredation, hunting, and trapping reduced the population to less than 1,000 and eliminated the grizzly in California, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, and New Mexico. Yellowstone National Park and, since 1921, the State of Montana have been at the forefront of grizzly bear recovery.[7]
The Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem in Montana, which comprises Glacier National Park and adjoining lands, now contains an estimated 1,000 grizzly bears. The total resurgence collectively in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and northeastern Washington is an estimated 1,800 bears, most of which reside within 5.7 million acres of designated recovery zones. However, since grizzly bears became federally protected in 1975 via the Endangered Species Act, the State of Montana has increased its populations of humans by 250,000. Moreover, as the bear population continues to expand, more bears are migrating outside the recovery areas. Consequently, bear-human encounters have increased, whereby hunters, ranchers, and some politicians propose controlled hunting, whereas environmentalists support nonviolent means of bear control.[8][9][10][11][12]
At the conclusion of the presentation, I spent about 20 minutes talking with one of Wesley’s FWP assistants. We talked about Montana, hiking, bears, and bear spray. Of note, I asked him if it was OK to transport bear spray home on an airplane. He showed me a special container they use to transport bear spray canisters. However, he was uncertain whether one could transport bear spray within checked luggage, although he believed it was allowed. This conversation will become relevant during Day 7.
After the bear presentation I headed to The Lunch Box. As the name implies, The Lunch Box serves an outstanding lunch. I had a large and delicious roast beef, turkey, and provolone sandwich, with some chips. For dessert I had blueberry pie. Without a doubt, the Lunch Box’s blueberry pie was the best I’ve ever partaken. I had an incredible lunch and dessert for less than $17- and every dollar was well spent. I HIGHLY recommend The Lunch Box.
Furthermore, I was extremely impressed with the server. The place was packed. She was the only server. Whereas many workers would whine and complain, with a smile she motored at high-speed the entire time I was there. You could hear the floor pound from the energy of her movement, as if she was a much heavier person, which belied her lean physique. There was definitely purpose in her gait.
By the end of my lunch the crowd reduced a bit, whereupon she spent a few minutes to inform me about places to see and things to do in Havre. She also told me a bit about the culture. I appreciated her hard work and the conversation. I hope she kicked butt with tips. She deserved it. I know she got a nice tip from me.
At 1 pm, Shaina arrived at the Bow & Marrow, instantly found my Amex card, and then texted me. Apparently, the previous night, upon paying the bill I forgot to pull the card out of the black folder. I speedily drove to the restaurant to retrieve the card.
Shaina is awesome! We conversed for about an hour about her life journey from Havre to Long Beach, CA; to owning a restaurant in Salt Lake City; and then returning to her family roots in Havre, marrying, raising a family, and purchasing and remodeling the Bow & Marrow. She misses aspects of Long Beach and Salt Lake City, but prefers the slower pace of Havre for her marriage, children, and restaurant. We had a great conversation! And I am usually quiet with strangers!
Everyone I have met thus far in Havre is very nice, very approachable, and very real, without pretentiousness. Havre residents appear very different from city people- or country people in the South. I couldn’t imagine a Havre resident telling me, “Bless your heart!”
After picking up some Gatorade from the town Walmart and answering CPT emails- “all play and no work leads to an unproductive day”- I prepared for my first real Montana hiking excursion.
The hike was in the Bear Paw Mountains within Beaver Creek Park. The northern tip of Beaver Creek Park starts 10 miles south of Havre on Highway 234 and extends another 17 miles southward. The Park encompasses a total of over 10,000 acres, which makes Beaver Creek Park the largest county park in the United States. Recreational activities available within the Park include hiking, fishing, berry picking, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, sledding, picnicking, and camping.[13] The park terrain includes mountains, grasslands, Bear Paw Lake, Lower Beaver Creek Lake, and Beaver Creek.[14]
Although Beaver Creek Park is maintained by the Hill County Park Board, maintenance is not funded by tax dollars, but by usage fees, such as daily or annual park permits, campground reservation fees, cabin rental fees, haying fees, and cattle grazing fees.[15] Day permits cost $10. Annual permits cost $55.[16]
The Bear Paw Mountains cover approximately 800 square miles, 20 miles north-south and 40 east-west.[17] Bear Paws, as the locals call it, is a prairie island range, which means the mountain geography occurs apart from associated larger ranges or sub-ranges.[18] The tallest mountain within the range is Baldy Mountain, with a height of 6,916 feet at the summit. The mountains are surrounded by grassy range, man-made lakes/reservoirs, and a creek.[19]
Since I couldn’t obtain a permit to hike Baldy Mountain, due to Native-American restrictions, I hiked Mount Otis. The Mount Otis hike consisted of a 1.9-mile non-looped trail, with 705 feet of elevation gain. The trail is predominantly rocky, with some wildflowers and vegetation at the bottom, and a beautiful 360° view at the 4,741-foot summit.[20][21] The temperature was in the 90s, as temps were about 10° higher than normal for this time of year. Given the heat and the need for altitude acclimation, Mount Otis was a semi-challenging opportunity to complete a “warm-up hike” for the more challenging treks in Glacier Park during the end of the week.
Walking around Havre I could clearly see the presence of the Native American population. Arising from interest in the Native American culture, during dinner I researched the integration and insularity of the nearby Native-American community.
Montana is home to a total of 8 Native-American reservations- Flathead, Blackfeet, Little Shell Chippewa, Rocky Boy’s, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, Crow, and Northern Cheyenne. 2 of the reservations, Rocky Boy’s and Fort Belknap, are proximal to Havre. Rocky Boy’s Reservation, situated 28 miles south of Havre contains members of the Chippewa and Cree tribes. Fort Belknap, situated 79 miles east of Havre, contains the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes.[22]
The 122,000-acre Rocky Boy’s Reservation houses about 2,500 members from amongst the total of 6,177 enrolled members of the Chippewa-Cree tribes. The local reservation economy includes wheat farming, post and pole production, operation of the Bear Paw Ski Bowl, schools, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Services, tribal government, operation of the Northern Winz Casino in Box Elder, and Plain Green Loans,[23] a subprime consumer lending company. In addition, the Reservation contains a 2-year community college, Stone Child College.[24][25]
The 652,000-acre Fort Belknap Reservation houses 3,429 members from amongst the total of 6,693 enroll members of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes. The primary industry is agriculture, particularly cattle ranches and alfalfa hay. Other employers and industries include the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the tribe, the tribal-owned Little Rockies Meat Packing Company, buffalo ranching, and tribal licensed and guided hunting. The Reservation contains a 2-year community college, Aaniih Nakoda College.[26]
The prominent presence of the Native American people and culture is a sharp contrast to Georgia, which is one of 14 states without federally designated reservation land.[27][28][29] 6.6% of Montana’s population is Native American.[30] The concentration is higher in Havre, where 12.1% of the population is Native American.[31] In comparison, only 0.3% of Georgia’s population is Native American.[32]
After a breakfast of eggs and potatoes, I took the Tour of Underground Havre- “Havre Beneath the Streets.”
In a Google search, “cities with an underground,” I accessed a Wikipedia article entitled, “Underground City.” The Wikipedia article by country lists cities with “subterranean spaces” for refuge, living, employment, commerce, transit, pedestrian tunnels, cellars, or cisterns. The article lists 28 underground cities within the USA. Most are large cities, such as New York City, Houston, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Kansas City, and Oklahoma City.[33] Who would have thought that 1 of the 28 would be Havre, Montana?
Havre is Montana’s 10th largest city, with a population of 9,362 in the 2020 census.[34][35] Havre was founded as a railroad town in 1893.[36] Railroad magnate and owner of the Great Northern Railway James J. Hill envisioned Havre as an opportune midpoint between the railroad’s route from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Seattle. Havre remains the county seat of Hill County, named after James J. Hill, who also has a statue in his honor at the town’s Amtrak station. Moreover, until the latter part of the 20th century Great Northern Railway (now Burlington Northern Santa Fe) was Havre’s largest employer.
Demographically, Havre is 82% white, 12% Native American, 5% mixed race, and 1% other races. The median value of homes is $163,300. 28.7% of adults have a college degree. The median household income is $50,635. The poverty rate is 15.2%. The temperature is semi-arid, with winter average highs in the high-20s to low-30s and summer temps in the mid 80s,[37] although the week of my visit we were in the 90s.
Underground Havre, known as “Havre Beneath the Streets,” originated in January 1904 after a large fire destroyed much of downtown Havre.[38] While the city was being rebuilt, above ground businesses operated underground.[39] The underground museum preserves artifacts from many of the old businesses, including a saloon (of which there were many in Havre, which was a rugged railroad and cattle town), opium den (of which at least 3 existed in the city), laundry, brothel, hotel, restaurant, pharmacy, doctor’s office, bakery, law office, and accountant’s office.
One can reserve tickets online or purchase them at the Frank DeRosa Railroad Museum on 3rd Avenue in downtown Havre.[40] The Railroad Museum is free, but the Havre Beneath the Streets Tour costs $17. The tour meets at the Museum and then traverses the underground passageways that housed the post-fire businesses. For those into history I recommend first traversing the railroad museum, which has an excellent exhibit on James J. Hill, then taking the underground tour. The underground exhibits were excellent and well-maintained, plus the tour guide provided an outstanding presentation that enhanced the experience. Although $17 is more than I would expect to pay for a 90-minute tour, I’m sure it’s expensive to prepare and maintain the exhibits.
Lunch was again at The Lunch Box, which is across the street from the Railroad Museum. Lunch included an apple pie, which was exceptional. Yet, no pie I’ve ever tasted matched the blueberry pie I had at The Lunch Box the day before.
I then traveled to Bear Paws to hike Eagle Rock. Eagle Rock is listed on the Beaver Creek Park map, but isn’t listed on All Trails. The hike had 2 steep ascents, was longer than the Mount Otis hike, and was practical in conditioning me for longer, steeper, and higher hikes later in the week.
Once returning to Havre, I worked on an article I’m writing regarding biodetection and law enforcement canines. The article covers research studies regarding the abilities of biodetection dogs, considerations for the optimal training of scent discrimination dogs, the biology of scent detection, how local law enforcement purposefully or inadvertently cues dogs to produce an alert behavior, and types of alert behaviors. In addition to providing valuable referenceable information to the general public, the article will be helpful in educating CPT’s trainers when preparing seizure alert and diabetic alert service dogs and in my role as an expert witness during motions to suppress.
Breakfast at the hotel for some reason tasted better than on Monday and Tuesday. After breakfast and some emails it was time to head to the Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump.
The Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump is situated off Highway 2 West, just 2 minutes from the hotel, behind the Holiday Village mall. The cost is $15 for adults. There are reduced prices for seniors and children. The Wahkpa Chu’gn Buffalo Jump is an archaeological site that claims to host the most extensive and best preserved Native American buffalo jump in the USA.
Prior to viewing a placard outside the hotel and visiting the site I was unaware of buffalo jumps. Basically, before Indians acquired rifles, they would frighten a herd of buffalo or a segregated group within the herd to run away from the Indian hunters. Using the placement of rocks, natural landmarks, and people they would direct the herd to run off a cliff. Resultantly, a majority of buffalo would die or become unconscious, stunned, or orthopedically immobile. Then, hunters awaiting at the bottom of the cliff would use bow and arrows, atlatls (spears), tomahawks, or clubs to en masse kill the injured or deceased buffalo. Females within the tribe would then butcher and process the dead buffalo for meat, hides, fat, and other uses.[41]
A local archaeologist, John Brumley, found the Wahkpa Chu’gn site by observing knives, stoneware, and buffalo bones along the banks of the Milk River, which runs in an east-west direction north of downtown Havre and parallel to the railroad tracks. Over 3 years the local Archaeological Society then excavated the site. The current exposition includes weapons, arrowheads, buffalo bones, cooking tools, paintings, plaques, and actual archaeological excavations. A tour guide explains the process of the buffalo jump, which enabled Indians to kill more buffalo in a short time than with other hunting strategies.[42]
