Eleven States in Four Days...

Post by Clemson Prairie Ecology Fellow Marilyn Jackson

As I sit in my bunk in Roundup, MT, the idea that I am thousands of miles from home is just now hitting me. During the last four days, I have travelled from Clemson University, where I attend school, to a functioning cattle ranch in the mid-Montana area. Now that’s a VERY long way, let me tell you. And saying that the western lifestyle is slightly different would be an understatement.

DAY 1

Bright and early Monday morning, I met up with my team: three undergraduate students who also attend Clemson University in South Carolina and a recently appraised graduate student. Together, we were to take on the 2000 mile trek across the continent. Seeing as the first segment of the drive was the same route I took regularly to visit my home in middle Tennessee, I led the way through Georgia and Tennessee to my house, where we stopped for lunch and a quick chat with my mom. From there, the countryside was all new.

Heading through Kentucky and into Illinois, we started to see the grasses change and the terrain become slightly rougher. As we entered Missouri, the sight of cities were more industrial and less welcoming. Taking a quick drive through St. Louis in order to christen our ascent into the west, we nodded in the way of the grand arch and took a leap of faith into an unknown land. This day ended in Kansas City, Missouri-right on the cusp of the West.

DAY 2

Day 2 started out early and with news of a snow storm hitting the Badlands, where we were to camp on day 3. However, we crossed our fingers and hoped for some sunshine. Annie and I were having dangerous caffeine withdrawals so, in honor of leaving the South, we hit up the closest Starbucks we could find-which also happened to be the last we would see on the trip. With blended drinks in hand, we set off across the state. The views in Missouri were similar to those in Illinois- full of national parks, lots of hiking locations, and vast green spans of grassland. Little did we know this would change soon.

We took a quick dip through Iowa-which Annie slept through entirely-and hurried into Nebraska, where the terrain was sandy and the wind was constant and harsh. Throughout the drive we witnessed dramatic changes in elevation; there were several areas that resembled rolling hills, but were very close together and formed gorges as opposed to valleys. However, the cows did not seem to mind the steep slopes. We arrived at our hotel in Valentine with time to go eat at a restaurant downtown-and get plenty of curious glances from the townsfolk. No one seemed unfriendly but it was evident that exhausted college students were not typically seen wandering into bars. After dinner, we set off to find a blind on the Wildlife Refuge where we planned to watch sage grouse lekking, or performing a mating dance, the next morning. Although we ran into some trouble-and some seed ticks- on our way out, we caught a gorgeous orange sunset that burned deep into our Clemson hearts.

DAY 3

The guys returned from the blind around 9 AM, as I was finishing breakfast and informing my dad on all of our adventures. After packing the car, we drove back out to the Wildlife refuge to look at some animals. The first area we came across was a prairie dog colony, where several dogs were busy scurrying from mound to mound. When we first pulled up, we could hear the warning chatter from the rodents echoing across the road. However if you sat long enough, the alpha dog would give an all-clear chirp and signal-usually called the “Praise Jesus” call. The prairie dog will throw his front legs up in the air towards the sky and chirp loudly, almost resembling a sigh of relief. Quickly after, the other dogs of the colony echo the motion and the chirp until all the dogs are at rest.

Farther into the refuge we ran across a herd of bison and their calves, casually positioned in and near the road. We were instructed not to make any sudden movements or noises, as this would trigger a stampede-like response. As with other large prey mammals like cattle, a bison’s flight zone is rather large to strangers and vehicles. Because of this, they are very aware of your presence near them. The calves seemed to be more curious about the cars but the mature cows stayed a safe distance away.

We saw a herd of elk farther away, but didn’t have a chance to get clear pictures of them. After seeing the wildlife, we headed out towards Badlands National Park. On the way we ran through a very authentic ghost town, equipped with public holding jail cells, a building covered in elk skulls, and one lonely gas station. There was not another soul in sight. In honor of my dad and his love for Dances With Wolves, I snapped a few pictures of the Tatanka Trading post. In the movie, Tatanka is the Sioux Indians’ word for a buffalo.

On the way into the Badlands, the weather took a turn and the mud turned into gumbo. As soon as we got to the campsite-which was much farther of a drive than any of us anticipated-the sky fell out and the wind picked up. At this point, the wind was around 20 mph and the temperature was dropping into the low 60’s. Even in the weather, we set up camp (three soaked tents), and began to cook venison on Nic’s camping stove. We finally warmed up a little bit, thanks to a hot meal and a little anxiety from a bison lurking closeby, and packed into the tent around 10 PM. The night wasn’t too bad once we got warm, but waking up to coyotes and bison right outside the tent was unexpected. We packed everything carefully in the car although we still ended up covered with mud, and headed out of there as fast as we could.

DAY 4

We headed to Wall, South Dakota to fuel up and eat a good meal. There we decided to add on an extra hour of driving in order to see Mount Rushmore. And man, was it worth it. First, we stopped at Wounded Knee memorial on the Lakota reservation to see the monument and talk to natives about their tribe. Here, the descendants from the survivors worked to preserve the primitivity of the people. They lived off of the money they made selling handmade jewelry and other crafts, but it was not enough to resolve the tribe’s 92% unemployment rate. They resisted the urge to build casinos and commercial tourist areas on the land, although it would improve their living conditions exponentially.

Mount Rushmore was our next stop. I had heard a lot of people say that it was unlike their preconceived expectations, and that is very true. Although  it is “only a carved rock”, it has a unique beauty to it that really takes your breath away. I was in awe of the preservation of the rock as well as the accurate representations of each president. It was as if their expressions on the rock represented their authority in the country as well as the pride they shared. Although they had destroyed a segment of the spiritual journey taken by the Lakota, the monument brought a positive stigma for Americans to the Black Hills that had not been there before. The rocks also shone in the sunlight-the weather was so beautiful, which was such a nice change from the badlands-because of the quartz and mica schist that added a sparkle. The faces, however, were whitewashed to show off the fine-grained granite. This landmark was surely an honor to be able to view.

From Mount Rushmore, we headed across Wyoming for a short time and into Montana. Driving across MT was much less exciting than we had expected. Long stretches of nothing and no service, which resulted in lots of time listening to the Annie sing, searching the landscape for Pronghorn, and short naps. But we made it to Billings late in the afternoon and met Nic’s friends for dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant. We also hit up Cabela’s and Walmart for all our food and gear needs. Then we made it to the ranch house! It was so much more beautiful than any of us expected, and, let me just tell you how great it was to sleep in a bed.

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Keep up with Marilyn on her personal blog:  Marilyn Meets the West