Sula, MT - Day 3
Monday, September 26, 2022
We’re at a rental cabin in Sula, MT this week. Our morning began with both Janie and Jim reading peacefully by the fireplace in the house, me exercising in the basement, and Andi worked from the table in our RV parked in the driveway. Tory and Aden slept in longer this morning, then joined Janie and Jim in the kitchen for breakfast once they woke up.
Mondays are a school day, so Tory, Aden and I worked on lessons at the kitchen table while Janie went for a walk and Jim read a book upstairs. Around 10:00am, we’d all finished what we were working on and were ready to adventure.
Today, we planned to visit Big Hole National Battlefield in southwestern Montana. One of the most infamous battles in US history happened here when US Troops surprise-attacked the Nez Perce tribe in an effort to claim rights to the Indian territory and a visit to learn more has been on Andi and I’s Montana bucket list. Nearly 100 Native Americans died during the ambush, and dozens of US soldiers.
Whenever we visit a historic park, Andi and I always like to start with the video presentation because it gives us all a good overview of the site. Afterwards, we helped Tory and Aden complete Big Hole Battlefield Junior Ranger packets so they could earn badges for their collection. We are big fans of the National Park Service Junior Ranger programs as it’s a great way for both kids and adults to reinforce the information presented through various park exhibits.
After visiting the interpretive center, the six of us piled into the RV and drove to a picnic spot at the Big Hole Battlefield trailhead. I pre-made sloppy joe meat to eat over steamed sweet potatoes with broccoli and spaghetti noodles for the kids. There was a nice, shaded picnic area available and we made ourselves comfortable there.
Half-way through our meal, Tory spotted two big dogs near the outhouses nearby. She’s afraid of dogs, so she got up from the table during lunch and started to make her way to the RV, but Andi stopped her. “Don’t worry, he said.” The dogs are getting into their owner’s vehicle.” Not more than two minutes later, five BIG dogs charged our picnic table causing pure chaos to occur. Tory jumped on top of the table so fast it wasn’t funny, and stuck her foot right into a bowl of spaghetti. Meanwhile, five dogs scrambled up onto the table and tried to eat all the food on our plates. I did my best to gather up all the food and bring it into the RV while Aden threw Tory over his shoulders and carried her into the RV for safety. Aden and Janie did their to shoo the dogs away from us. Luckily, the dogs were very friendly but they were smelly, wet and filthy dirty. We think they belonged to a neighboring ranch because they all had tags around their necks but there were no owners in sight.
The six of us hung out in the RV for a while until the dogs lost interest and moved on. There was no way we were going to get Tory to walk to the battlefield site now, so Jim agreed to stay in the RV with her while Janie, Andi, Aden and I went to check it out. Unfortunately, as soon as we got on the trail the dogs came right back to us. We realized there was no way we were going to shake them, so we started off on the hike and did our best to ignore them as they trotted along beside us.
The site of the battlefield was beautiful and peaceful. We took time to imagine what the massacre might’ve looked like, and talked with Aden about why it’s important to show respect to all people.
From there, we returned to the RV and drove back to our rental cabin. I pre-made a bunch of freezer meals before we left Wisconsin, so dinner was all ready when we returned. Thai chicken in the Instant Pot with roasted butternut squash and rice were ready to go. The six of us ate dinner together on the front patio of the rental cabin, and then played card games into the evening. Another great day in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana!
