4th of July in Glendive, Montana

We left Miles City around 7:00am in order to arrive in Glendive in time for the parade which started at 9:00am. When we pulled into Glendive, Amy Hoff – a member and ex-chair of Dawson Resource Council (DRC) met us at a car wash on the edge of town. After ensuring the bus sparkled, we purchased some breakfast foods from a locally owned super market and then drove to the part of town where the parade would take place.

Amy rode on the bus and directed us to the line for the event. Derek lined up the bus behind an old car. Pretty soon old-school tractors and 70 year old farmers surrounded the bus, while waiting for the line to move. Dennis Getz, an individual running for office in MT House District 38 came aboard the bus and talked about his interest in biodiesel. He said farmers in the region grew camelina the past year, but needed more harvests to get through the learning curve.

Shortly after he departed us, the line began to move. The line converged from three different points into one line half a block in front of the bus. We watched many different floats pass in front of us, including political floats (Republican and Democrat), Coke, local wrecker services, old cars and tractors, and many other types of floats. Derek drove the bus, Chelsea and Amy walked with the banner, Jeff rode his bike with the sun face Teresa Ericson made, and Laura walked and handed out candy.

The parade lasted through the entire main street of Glendive. The street went on for about 6 blocks and 15 – 20 minutes. During the parade, kids, parents, friends, young, and old people lined the street. Children raced to the street for each bit of candy thrown and people smiled and waved at the bus. People really seemed to like the bus.

After the parade, we parked and tabled in a parking lot at the end of the street. We pulled out the LCD TV and ran through our general slide show. At this tabling the local broadcast (TV) reporter arrived spoke with Laura about the logistics of the bus and Amy about local issues.

Later in the day, after visiting with Bruce Smith on local foods (we have a dedicated post to this experience), we went to Amy’s house. She offered to take us up to Makoshika State Park. She said she joined DRC to protect the park. Evidentially, the BLM leased the minerals under the badland area for oil and gas development. Amy could not see her favorite park destroyed from industry. She and the group successfully held of development to current day.

Laura and Jeff decided to go to the park with her, while Derek and Chelsea stayed back at her home (on the 100 degree day) to work. Amy took the two who went with her to her favorite spots in the park. The badlands really made a person think about the concept of time. On the side of the hills, the different layers of strata colored the hillsides in a horizontal array of grays, reds, and yellows. The place certainly would look different and take away from the “Lewis and Clark” feeling a person gets while in the park. Visiting this fabulous area really gave an appreciation for her and the work of all those involved. The park also brought home one of the many reasons we promote renewable energy and efficiency.

Overall, the Glendive event went well. And to top off a fabulous July 4^th with the parade, idea sharing, and park visit, Alvin and Dena Hoff invited us to their house where we stayed in their cabin (without electricity or plumbing) near the river. The two treated us extremely well and we got to meet their border collie and eat blue-corn pancakes for breakfast.