Day Six

Dear Friends,

Today I learned a little something about Montana manliness... shooting guns, big trucks, pizza, swearing, and Canadian whiskey. I have arrived at the Westermann cabin on Swan Lake and am hanging out with Robby and his med school buddies John, David, and Kevin who are on summer break looking for some fresh air. Today we went shooting up in the mountains with Robby's buddy who is a CHP officer in Northern California. He naively brought his personal arsenal and gave free range to a bunch of city slickers, who probably had more fun taking ridiculous gangsta photos after the ammo ran out. Below you see a photo of one of your possible future health care professionals. Don't let the photo fool you, he has a terrible shot. Who says surgeons need steady hands anyway?

Day Five

Today was a successful day in Big Fork, MT. I read about 100 pages of Kerouak, ate too much, met up with my buddy Robby for a brewery tour at the Flathead Lake Brewery, failed at kayak fishing, and finished my evening at a podunk bar where cowboys swung cowgirls. Remarkably the highlight of the day was fishing and not catching a single thing. The saving grace was a family of beavers I met on Swan Lake who were as curious as I was. There were two that I followed a ways as I watched them fish and gather wood from a paddle length away. I wished that I had my camera but I am not 100% confident in my kayaking skills, especially after Tuesday's close brushes with almost being upside down in a very cold lake upon poorly judging the strength of the waves in a lake 30 miles long.

I am growing anxious to press onto lone time in unknown territory but I balance with the understanding that I am with friends who I may not see again for some time. So these days are privileged as the next journey will arrive in short time, and I must be content and thankful for today. Tomorrow I will move all my gear 10 miles down the road from Big Fork to Swan Lake where I will stay a few days with Robby Westermann and three of his UW med school buddies. Saturday morning I leave for Wyoming where I will camp for four days in Yellowstone National Park.