This summer between being sent away on temporary duty, I was finally able to attend the Montana Master Naturalist course. Sadly, the first year I had my leave cancelled to be sent away, and in 2020 there was the whole COVID thing. This was my year though. I have a different position at work that afforded me the best chance to attend in 2021.
The course was hosted/offered by the Glacier Institute. It was a great course and the people and accommodations were some of the best I ever have had. Right now, I would rather be in my small cabin at the Glacier Institute in Glacier National Park than at my Marriott Hotel Room in south Texas.
The course schedule is a full five days. When people say drinking from a firehose, this is just that. All the attendees had something they were passionate about. Some people were good at plants and fungi, others knew all sorts of bird species, and others knew their bugs. It was a great group of people to be around.
The first day started off with breakfast and coffee as everyone gathered and made introductions. We discussed the local area and why we have the trees on this side of the mountains versus what is on the other side of the divide. We were handed dichotomous keys to identify tree species. Soon we were off on a hike. We all worked our way through the trees, identifying cedars, larches, and pines. The walk took us farther and deeper into the woods where we saw a barred owl being harassed by robins. Soon after we sat and had a lunch, packed and provided by the camp chef. Now that is service. We finished our hike out and had an afternoon break to work on our field journals and read. After dinner, we had a short evening of talking about birds, and bird calls.
Everyday was much like that. We all met in the morning for coffee and breakfast, followed by an educational hike learning a different topic. One day was plants, another was insects. We had great weather except for one day when it rained on us. It was a light shower, but it didn’t really damper anyone’s spirits. Nature brings out the best in people.
Each night, falling to sleep in my cabin was perfect. Laying in bed I could smell the fresh pine trees and hear the river nearby. People that have never experienced an evening camping or spending a night in the forest are really missing out.
