| THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016). |
|---|
One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Yesterday was a very full day. We left at 10 am and drove to Crow to watch the re-enactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn -- this particular re-enactment (out of maybe 3 or 4 that take place this weekend) is special in that it's run on the Real Bird family's land on the Crow reservation and the people running it and leading it are Crow and they give you a brief but pretty thorough (Plains) tribal history before they take you up to 1876 (kinda glossing over the part where the Crow were the cavalry's scouts and allies during the battle, but that's okay). I'll post pictures when I have them -- it was pretty gnarly (first word that came to mind). Then we went to Hardin, about 20 miles away and went to the Big Horn County Historical Museum, which I had been to in May with my fourth grade class' field trip. This museum records mostly white history in the Hardin area -- it's cool because the buildings have been carted have been carted to that central area from all over the county, and it has old farm equipment and trains and a couple of stagecoaches that used to run to Deadwood, SD (where Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock are buried). Included on the lot is a church built by Volga Germans -- this is neat to me because my grandmother's father's people were Volga Germans (ethnic Germans living in Russia), only they settled in Iowa. Then we went back to Crow for the rodeo. This was great because we got to watch bareback races, calf roping, calf wrestling (which is fun), and bucking horse riding. The PBR in Billings a couple months ago had only bull riding, which is pretty cool, but I like a bit of variety in my rodeo. (Whatever -- yesterday's was the second one I've ever been to). One of my roommates worked with the high school kids this year and some of her students were in the competitions, which was neat. And then! We drove almost home and went to Colstrip, a nearby town, to join the tail-end of their town festival and watched FIREWORKS. This was so exciting! I haven't been to a professional fireworks display in years, so I don't know if this is new technology or what, but have you seen the kind that burst into golden palm trees and then linger in the air, burning slowly to the ground like dozens of glittering shooting stars? Yeah, those are awesome. Pictures forthcoming. |
|
big sky. how did you find this gig? does it pay or is it strictly volunteer? what are your accommodations like? do you ever get homesick? |
But we live in this huge pre-fab house that was built to house priests, so it's very spacious. My bedroom is enormous (probably 16' x 18'), there are four bathrooms, a giant living room, big kitchen, we've got satellite TV (but no network stations), etc. Five of us live in a house that could easily shelter eight, if not more. Pretty nice accommodations. I infrequently get homesick, and that's usually because community living gets to me once in a while -- I don't miss Pennsylvania (only bookstores and a bigger library and Trader Joe's and Whole Foods), but I do miss my family, especially since my mom's been sick this year. |
Rodeo Re-enactment And I couldn't resist: One of our students eating an orange on the playground This weekend I went to Rocky Mountain National Park outside of Denver, Colorado -- it just might be more beautiful than Glacier. Oh, it hurts to say that...maybe it's not true. But, man, there's nothing like driving along the side of a 12,000+ foot mountain, with no railing. AND Glacier doesn't have tundra. That was my favorite part: walking across the tundra and climbing onto the rocks on the top of the mountain, while a thunderstorm approached. Pictures (good quality, this time) forthcoming. |
A hanging lake That's tundra in the foreground and the terrain drops sharply -- more than 11,000 feet -- beyond that Look how far up we are! Hail storm approaching (in Wyoming) |
|
The pictures don't do them justice. |
The men portraying the warriors were from several different Plains tribes, and I think some were Crow (and the Crow were the US Army's allies, and the Cheyenne's mortal enemies). On horseback On foot Riding painted horses Pretending to trade (that's a coup stick on the right) Better picture of the coup stick Ponies Fireworks |
To cheer myself up, I'm going to share something embarrassing. So...this past year, I had a student, J. 10 years old, very smart, sweet, funny, extraordinarly well-mannered, and still a typical boy who'd roughhouse with the others whenever he got the chance. And he was very, very cute. Basically, if I were 10, I'd have been in love and built a shrine. This past week I watched "Supernatural" on the WB for the first time, and OH, the torment this show has caused me. The lead actor, Jensen Ackles, is so, so, so pretty, with a smile that...ohhhh...and I normally don't go in for pretty men, either, but in his case, the exception has been made. He also looks exactly (like, EXACTLY, down to the cleft in the chin) like my student J., except that J., being half Crow, has black hair. Other than that, they have the same face, one at 10 years old, one at 28. Do you see where I'm heading with this? I am primed to swoon over the one, but I can't because the other gets mixed in there, and it makes me feel dirty! Oh, sure, I could just not watch the show (and don't you tell me it's appallingly cheesy), but don't you see? I'm like a raccoon lured into a trap by a shiny object. I *could* just let go, but...it's so...shiny... *sigh* |
|
|
|
So I used to yell at the tv while watching Jensen Ackles (hehe). |
