After some Saturday afternoon pie (razzleberry—raspberry/huckleberry—for Phil and blackberry/cherry for me) and a cup of coffee at Glacier Heights Restaurant, we headed over to Columbia Falls to do some grocery shopping. I forgot how depressing small towns dependent on tourists can be. There’s the House of Mystery, which purports to show all kinds of wondrous anomalies due to being located in a geological vortex. Half a mile a way was Great Bear Adventure. For a mere $8, you could drive through the stockade-like enclosure and view a unique ursine habitat from the safety of your car. The signage was truly memorable in spelling (“weekens” for “weekends”) and verbiage (“Where your car is your cage, weather and bears permitting”). I won’t even attempt to describe the Amazing Fun Park.
The town of Columbia Falls was even drearier than the tourist traps. Surrounded by massive, densely wooded mountains, the fast food franchises and local dives seemed especially soulless. Walking around the Super 1 Grocery, I felt like an extra in a zombie movie with all the other people wandering through the florescent-lit warehouse snatching Cheese Puffs and Wing Dings from the shelves. Most oppressive of all was this gargantuan lumber mill on the edge of town with eerie tubes snaking all over the place and piles of scrap lumber littering most of the open space around it.
Going and coming, we encountered LeeHorseLogger.com, a stocky, stone-faced man driving an ungainly wooden contraption drawn by 3 downtrodden plow horses. He took no notice at all of the traffic jam he was causing on a busy highway. What grim and fruitless war was he fighting and why did I want to know about it? These unexpected incidents often bug me when I travel but later when I return home, the questions they bring up in me bring answers that enrich my life.
Phil talked me down from my funk and volunteered to cook the steak on the outdoor grill (in 40 degree weather). I baked potatoes and made a salad. With wine and a dollop of peas, it made a very reviving meal. That and a little meditation session helped me get back in a good frame of mind.
The town of Columbia Falls was even drearier than the tourist traps. Surrounded by massive, densely wooded mountains, the fast food franchises and local dives seemed especially soulless. Walking around the Super 1 Grocery, I felt like an extra in a zombie movie with all the other people wandering through the florescent-lit warehouse snatching Cheese Puffs and Wing Dings from the shelves. Most oppressive of all was this gargantuan lumber mill on the edge of town with eerie tubes snaking all over the place and piles of scrap lumber littering most of the open space around it.
Going and coming, we encountered LeeHorseLogger.com, a stocky, stone-faced man driving an ungainly wooden contraption drawn by 3 downtrodden plow horses. He took no notice at all of the traffic jam he was causing on a busy highway. What grim and fruitless war was he fighting and why did I want to know about it? These unexpected incidents often bug me when I travel but later when I return home, the questions they bring up in me bring answers that enrich my life.
Phil talked me down from my funk and volunteered to cook the steak on the outdoor grill (in 40 degree weather). I baked potatoes and made a salad. With wine and a dollop of peas, it made a very reviving meal. That and a little meditation session helped me get back in a good frame of mind.
No comments:
Post a Comment