I’m sitting at Bernice’s Bakery in Missoula. There are people kneading dough, women sipping coffee and me eating a spinach croissant.
Yesterday was a long tiring day. I headed out to Rattlesnake Trail to go looking for huckleberries, but I made the mistake of setting my keys down in my trunk as I dug around for hiking shoes (converse) and then spent the next four and a half hours trying to get them out. I asked the man parked next to me if I could use his phone, since mine was locked in the car. He said sure but suggested we try to shimmy our way in first. So he pulled tools, duct tape and a coil of wire out of the back of his truck and pried the door apart just enough to slide in the rod he’d created by twisting wire with a pair of pliers. The unlock button sat smugly on the center consul of the car. First rod, too short. Tent pole, too flimsy. Tent pole + rod, too slidey. Tent pole + rod + duct tape on the end, still too flimsy. So he suggested we drive into town to get a steel rod.
His name was George, a general contractor from Bozeman, Montana. Though for about 8 months out of the year he worked down in Antarctica disposing of hazardous waste. His white truck seemed to have everything you might need. After picking up a biker with a flat and giving him a ride back into town we got the rods we were looking for and headed back to my car. George paid for them since my wallet was locked in the car and even pulled over to buy us each a dixie cup full of lemonade from the fair skinned, red headed boys selling them on the side of the road.
As we were trying to navigate the steel rod towards the unlock button a man in his mid twenties pulled over to tell us about the bears he’d seen near the path as he was riding. 3 grizzlies and 2 black bears. He suggested we keep an eye out. Yes. This would make the story complete. Bear attack. George told me not to worry, we could just hop in his truck and worse comes to worse he had some bear spray. Of course.
After hours of trying we finally gave in and called roadside assistance. The lock button was gummy with glue from the duct tape and we were sure we’d pushed hard enough. Still the doors remained locked. So after another trip into town, 2 more glasses of lemonade and about 45 minutes, Chris from Iron Horse Towing pulled up. He laid out the camouflage AK-49 case that carried his tools and opened my door in about 9 seconds. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and took George out to dinner. He wouldn’t take any money but he would accept a pork burrito. After dinner he offered to clean the glue of my center consul with some solvent from the back of his truck and was on his way. He wasn’t from the area and still had a 3 hour drive home. Truly, one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.
After dinner I went back to the hostel for a bit to regroup, then headed out to sit by the Clark Fork River and ride the carousel. I straddled a hand carved wooden horse and held on while the surprisingly fast carousel turned. I knew it was silly but I didn’t feel silly. Not even while I tried to gather the rings from a dragons mouth that hung up above the ride. I only managed to grab 2. The kid in front of me had at least 10. I told myself that he must have had a lot of practice.
It was a simple, slow, night and I tried not to be too sad that so much of my day was consumed by car troubles. I found myself wishing I had more time here and made a plan to wake up early this morning so I could make the most of the day. After this I’ll head over to the Good Food Store to get a sandwich and then return to Rattlesnake Trail. Not gonna let bears or keys defeat me.
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