Take the Low Road

With the end of my internship in sight, I was still denied a sighting, even a glimpse of a bear or wolf. I was starting to feel a little desperate. Researching and learning about these amazing creatures gave me nothing more than wanting to see them in the flesh, even if that meant just getting a glimpse without a photo as proof.  Wildlife sightings usually call for a road trip and some hiking, so yet again I hopped into the car and went on my merry way.

One of my favorite things to do is go on a road trip, and for me, the U.S. has been the ultimate when it comes to cruising the road. Pick a direction, take a map (if you want), set your time frame and have enough supplies to hold you over if you get a little side tracked. Oh, and don't forget your camera!

The U.S is a rather massive country and the easiest way to get around on the roads is by using the interstates. The U.S has a whopping 46,876 miles of Interstate highway. The downside is that by saving travel time, your drive will be rather tedious, stale and usually uneventful. 99% of the time, you'll pass many amazing sights.  By taking the low road now and again, you can happen upon amazing sights and unique places. There are so many great locations, small town and possible adventures waiting to be discovered. So really it's ok to get a little side tracked...now and again.

Sights we miss while driving on the highway.

For this road trip, I headed North in search of my predator sighting and anything else that  came along. So far whilst driving in Montana, something has usually caught my eye and I'll  never second guess to just pull off on the off ramp; you never know what fun things you might happen upon. This time a sign with "Prickley Pear" caught my eye and I knew I had to go and see what that was about. Patagonia had a color called Prickly Pear a few seasons ago. It was a shade of pear green and being Irish, I love green! It turns out that this time Prickley Pear was a creek and a very pretty one at that.

No prickley fruit here, just some good ol' fishing.

The creek is home to a variety of fish species including brook, brown, rainbow and west-slope cutthroat trout. Sadly, however, decades of timber harvest, mining, and water withdrawal have taken a heavy toll on Prickly Pear and many other creeks. Due to all of the stress from mining and timber harvest, many areas such as creeks, rivers and watersheds have been left contaminated. This contamination is so intense that people can't eat fish that they catch from many of these areas. A quick 'Google search' about these issues gave me a greater insight into other issues that Montana is faced with. Issues with Bear and Wolf numbers are one thing but if a great source like water is effected this can cause a dominoes effect with wildlife's main life source.  The government has taken the initiative  to help over the years by creating a Superfund, which is a federal law designated to help with the clean up of areas that have been left contaminated with toxins.  In such, it's a trust fund to aid locations that causes a possible public health threat and fund with the clean up process.

Wearing my Prickly Pear colored jacket at Prickley Pear Creek.

Many organizations are focused in helping to restoring and protecting river basins. One in particular that I found interesting is the Clark Fork Coalition.  They have worked with landowners, the public, scientists and business to help initiative the removal of dams, cleaning of derelict mines that have contaminated the waters and soil. Much of this can't be changed over night but with a strong strategy and dedicated determination through community-building, many of the effected rivers and basins will someday be renewed to their original state. Rivers hold such an incredible variety of wildlife, from vegetation to birds, insects, mammals and different species of fish. Wolves and bears love fish, with more of an abundant and rich food source at our rivers, predators could use this as another food source.  Hence less conflict with livestock.  Unfortunately no bear or wolf encounter for me at Prickley Pear this trip. Never the less, a clean river source equals biological and economical richness. So many great things to see in one spot. How boring would it be to come to river with nothing surrounding the banks, no life, nothing to embrace or remember.

For those of us who are fortunate enough to experience the great outdoors though camping, hiking, fishing or the good ol' fashioned road trip, lets not forget the minimal impact rule; 'Leave no trace'. In other words don't leave your rubbish laying around in a place that is not your home! Seems logic, tried and tested for generations but in today's society it seems that the generations are degenerative. The girl scouts follow this rule and so we all should.