Well, I have turned my attention away from deeper issues for a bit. Took a drive to Helena yesterday to visit the father. One of my favorite drives in the area. I always envision what that strech would have been like before the interstate. Can you imagine following the river on horseback, stopping to fish the Dearborn for your dinner as the sun set, the sudden onset of darkness as canyon walls blocked the last light of the dying day. Preparing for the night with the sounds of the wild just beyond the flickering of your campfire, secure in your solitude, not needing the the trappings of modern civilization to justify your place in the great scheme of things. Life at the beginning of our modern age was so much simpler. You were respected for who you were, the strength of personality and conviction so much more than than they are today. Wealth was measured by factors that didn't always include bank accounts. The pace of life was slower, people had time to just be, life governed by the rise and fall of the sun, the seasons of the year instead of the hands of the clock and days on the calendar.

However, reading what I just wrote, it might be difficult to fish the Dearborn for your dinner, seeing as how you probably would have had to cross the Missouri first. I guess that would depend on which side of the river you were on when you left Gt. Falls. So you would be cold and wet, getting ready for bed, with the prospect of having to also cross the Dearborn in the morning. Or you could fish the Missouri, but I think you would still have to cross when you got a bit further along, there are some pretty rock walls that come all the way down to the river. But still better than trying to decide which bills to pay or if you are going to lose your job due to company downsizing. I guess the rivers we ford are just a different kind of water now, but we're still cold and wet when the sun goes down.