Blackfeet Country

Babb and Browning, Montana

Last night was horrible. Strong winds and rain made the trailer feel like a boat. We rocked all night while listening to the menacing sound of wind roaring through the mountains.

In the morning we decided to stay away from the windy park, so we headed to the nearby towns of Babb and Browning. Both towns are on a Blackfeet reservation. Babb borders Glacier, so much of what we saw there catered to tourists. Browning was different.

As we entered Browning we began to see signs reading Vote for Cheryl Little Dog or Vote for Timothy “Tim” Sure Chief. Most of the signs were hand-painted ether with stencils or freehand. It was refreshing to see that somewhere in the United States elections seemed authentic and people didn’t spend millions of dollars in printing costs. The names on the signs were great, too. Roger “Sassy” Running Crane sounded like a winner to me.

On a mission to find a new seat cover for the driver’s seat of the truck, Adolfo stopped at an auto parts store. We both walked in to lots of stares. We obviously were not from Browning. The store was too small to carry seat covers, so we gave up the search and headed down the street. We turned at an Espresso shop shaped like a teepee.

Still farther down the road we passed a trading post. Adolfo wanted to know what a trading post was. I was quite certain it would be a tourist gift shop, but didn’t want to tell Adolfo for fear he would not stop. The shop did have some tourist stuff, but I was surprised to find that it had jeans, shoes, and jewelry supplies. It was more for residents of the area than for tourists. Cool. I bought some beads for yet another craft project, after all, I have finished Jane’s baby quilt.

On the way out of town we passed murals and messages on walls including one that read Obama for Blackfeet Country.

Our trip back to Glacier ended with another campaign sign, VOTE OLDPERSON.