One of my absolute best-friends and battle buddies here is Ashton. She and Matt have been married for awhile now (ahh that military lifestyle) but are having a big Catholic wedding late in summer. She never had a bridal shower or bachelorette party so I decided to make a big bachelorette bridal soiree for her!
She is one of the kindest, most loyal people you could ever meet. She's also conveniently a Young Life leader with me (I know, I've been dropping Young Life left and right this week but it is THAT important to me).
One thing that she loves would be outdoor adventures. She's from Colorado so she is 100% familiar with all that is outdoors. She's even interested in getting certified in being an outdoor rec guide! How cool is that?
So it was only fitting that one component of her bachelorette bash involved the great outdoors. It's shameful, but I haven't done much in the local area in terms of outdoor adventures. In fact, the ones that I have done are usually with Ashton.
After weeks of deliberation between a float trip, horseback riding, and hiking, the final result based on everyone's schedules was a hike!
We decided to visit a really great local state park- First Peoples Buffalo Jump. The Native American tribes in the local area used to hunt buffalo by driving them over cliffs. I know, intense.
One thing that I love about Montana is the rich history of Native Americans and the beautiful scenery that accompanies so many areas of this state.
If you're out-of-state, the park asks for a $5 donation but Montana residents can visit the park for free. The visitor's center has a really great mini museum and the presentation was wonderful. We learned all about how the tribes selected three boys to help hunting buffalo. A 16-year old was chosen to wear a buffalo calf pelt and two younger boys were chosen to wear wolf hides. I also learned that female buffalo were the matriarchs and in charge of their herds. #whoruntheworld
What was also pretty neat was learning that the park hoped to buy additional land and actually have buffalo there!! After visiting the museum and the presentation, we hiked up to the top. It took us probably 20-30 minutes and the view was wonderful. There were so many gophers up there, too! I could only imagine the chaos that would ensue if Holly and Blu were with me.
Kimberly, looks like a blast! I can't wait to hear about the the rest of the bash. Have a great day!
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