on the road again…| montana & wyoming | bighorn canyon national recreation area

 

Bighorn Canyon WY 15 (1 of 1)

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Wild Mustang

Wild Mustang

Fun fact: did you know that male horses masturbate? Yeah, neither did I. I found out the hard way (pun totally intended).

My first time through the park, I was super bummed that I hadn’t seen any wild mustangs. That was why I had decided to make the 3 1/2 hour drive to Bighorn Canyon in the first place: this part of the Pryor Mountains is home to a huge wildlife refuge for feral horses.  But I had seen zero 😦

I was driving back through the park on my way to the main road back to Montana when I saw this handsome so-and-so grazing by himself several hundred feet off the road. No one was around, so I got out of my car, positioned myself downwind, and started walking toward him to get a clearer shot (with my camera…I hope that goes without saying).  At first, he seemed completely unfazed that I was there, but after we made eye contact a couple times, he started slowly making his way toward me. Now, all the signs in the park request you keep a 100 foot distance between yourself and the wildlife (totally understandable) so I start making my way back to the road. I want a gorgeous picture, but not at the risk of causing any anxiety for the animal. So I sat on the hood of the rental car, and he came right up to the road, maybe 50 feet away, and continued to graze. We sat like that for maybe 15 min. It was really beautiful. He seemed so serene and gentle…but he was also covered in scars, so I knew there was a side to him that I wasn’t seeing and made me wonder what circumstances lead to him being out there completely alone.

It was getting cold, the sun was going down, and so I started to climb off the hood and get back into the car when the stallion looked up. We locked eyes, and we didn’t move for a good minute or so…then he slowly starts walking toward me, maintaining eye contact. As he’s moving, I notice that he has a MASSIVE ERECTION. Like, I’m talking over a foot long and the width of my forearm. It was TERRIFYING. I would post pictures (because OF COURSE I took a picture) but it would be super NSFW. This is not that kind of blog, people.

Anyway, then he starts slapping his erection against his stomach, all while still slowly walking toward me, maintaining eye contact. Slap. Slap. Slap. It felt very…erm…personal? I wasn’t sure what to do with that, um, gesture on his part. It felt very sexually aggressive. Really, there should really be signs posted clearly around the park explaining that there is a chance, however slight, that you may involuntarily arouse a horse. And that said horse may want to act on it. I was a bit, um, startled (??) by this turn of events…I’ve never been propositioned by a horse before…so I did what every American does in times of crisis/confusion: I got in my car and asked the internets. And apparently, according to science, (because OF COURSE science studies this shit), males horses masturbate 13-14 times a day (WHAT?????) and they do this by smacking their erect junk against their stomachs. So, apparently, this stallion was digging my red lipstick/cowboy boots/Nirvana White vibe…and no judgement. My kryptonite happens to be artistic/lean/scruffy/tattooed/emotionally unavailable men.  To each their own. Let your freak flag fly, you beautiful, horny stallion. Here’s hoping neither of us stay alone for long 🙂

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Barry's Landing
Barry’s Landing

on the road again…| montana | grey cliff | prairie dog town state park

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When I found out there was an entire town dedicated to prairie dogs within 45 min of where I was staying, you know I had to visit.

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Ears on fleek.
Prairie dog contemplating the beauty of a Montana sunset...
Prairie dog contemplating the beauty of a Montana sunset…

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Prairie Dog Town Greycliff 4 (1 of 1)
Prairie dogs signal to the members of their community that danger is near by barking and wagging their tails, while everyone else scurries into their burrows. Apparently, I’m dangerous.
These trees are terrifying...
These trees are terrifying…
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Thank goodness for the zoom on my lens. Nope. Nope. NOPE.

on the road again…| montana | red lodge

 

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The Montana Candy Emporium was AMAZING! Barrels upon barrels of every type of taffy you could imagine and the richest homemade fudge I’ve had in ages! The decor alone is reason enough to drop in…

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All candy stores should have a giant stuffed ostrich. #justsayin’

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Antique store in the front. Antique gun shop in the back. Never have I seen so many historic guns in one place (outside a museum). But I opted for a sunbleached elk antler for my coffee table, not a Winchester…that’s a type of gun, right? Did I just drop an accurate gun reference?? The west is rubbing off on me 🙂

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Nothing says Christmas spirit like expressive taxidermy. The dude on the left is into it. So is the pipe-smoking dog.
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Apparently, the older the bison skull, the more expensive. I’ve seen them sold on the street in Santa Fe for $25-45…but I’m guessing those weren’t from historic, antique bison 😉

 

on the road again…| montana | benton lake wildlife refuge

Back in August, I visited Montana and spent an hour at the Benton Lake Wildlife Refuge outside of Great Falls.

Nothing but wide-open spaces.
Nothing but wide-open spaces.
This is what drought looks like.
This is what drought looks like.
Not pictured: SO. MANY. BUGS.
I picked up a hitchhiker.
I picked up a hitchhiker.
I picked up a hitchhiker. Kudos to the staff at National car rental at Great Falls airport. Without the amazing job you did on this windshield, this shot would not have been possible.
Kudos to the staff at National car rental at Great Falls airport. Without the amazing job they did on this windshield, this shot would not have been possible.
Or this shot. I swear, I spent more time this weekend rescuing crickets trapped in my car...
Or this shot. I swear, I spent more time this weekend rescuing crickets trapped in my car…
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that these birds are well-fed.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that these birds are well-fed.

 

on the road again…| montana | great falls

 

I'm assuming they're referring to the legal kind...
I’m assuming they’re referring to the legal kind…

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Great Falls 22 (1 of 1)Fun fact: there are tons of vintage/antique stores in Montana. Another notable Montanan business model: the casino combo.  Some popular iterations:

  • the gas station / casino
  • the restaurant / lounge / casino
  • the liquor store / casino
  • the taxidermist / casino
  • the laundromat / casino
  • the feed store / casino

Yup. “Put a casino in it” is the Montanan version of Portland’s “put a bird on it.”

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I promise I didn’t add any filters to these pics. I was in Great Falls toward the end of August, during that last spate of wildfires. Not only did it smell as if someone was burning leaves IN my hotel room, but the sky took on this brown-ish/orangey smoky tinge. It gave the entire area an eerie ambiance.

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