May Days

"Here is the place where clouds are made . . . a fairy land, where dreams of fantastic things come true, and where interest and wonder never cease." - Morton J. Elrod, 1911

Many Glacier, my new favorite place!

It’s crazy how it’s already June and I’ve finished out two weeks here. May days are officially over. Mind blown. Two things have helped make time go by fast; the first is how fast I’ve been progressing at work and the second is Memorial Day. 

So to get back to my promise about explaining exactly what I’m doing in the archives: I can tell you I am building my skills quickly and becoming comfortable with the collection at a rapid pace. I was still organizing papers last Friday and have now progressed to cataloging the collection this Thursday. But alas, the honeymoon period fell through and I got the rude awakening of the true colors of these archives on Friday. I'll work through it. Feel free to skip ahead of this archives talk if you want to see photos, keep scrolling...  

However, if you do want understand more about what I do, I’ll explain a brief history of the archives collection at Glacier. There are many smaller collections from specific people who worked at the Park, bird reports, biological studies, etc.  But the main bulk of the archives is the central files. Central files are all the papers, reports, surveys, memos, correspondence, permits, newspaper clippings, etc. that have passed through administration. Each year this type of file grows as another grouping of files is cleaned out to make room for the new year.  Now as I briefly explained in my first post, the files from 1910 to 1950 have already been organized, cataloged, and put into Hollinger boxes. I get to work on all the files from 1950 to 2007. The file topics are broad since they cover all aspects of the park from administrative files, biological files, concessioner files, land files, and so on. 

My first introduction to the collection was working with the administrative files and going over the work last year’s intern completed. The admin files are the biggest grouping out of the government organization system and so some have still yet to be processed. As soon as I got comfortable with the types of records and the new organization system I had to learn, I was able to start working with the actual documents. 

Now these documents come in yearly and are in some order by the file unit code that NPS has created. However, sometimes things were not coded correctly or have been misplaced/misfiled. Karen, the archivist, had already pulled all the like-files from each year together. My task is to go through all the same coded documents and give them a sub-subject organization if needed and then organize them by date, reverse chronologically. This task makes a lot of older folders obsolete as they become incorporated together to form the final larger file unit together. After I am happy with the organization of the section, I get new folders for the documents and properly label the folders. I try to keep the researcher in mind and put as much helpful information on that folder title as I can fit. 

Once all the folders are labeled and the date ranges of the documents are noted, I get to catalog the files. NPS has put Archives under the management of the Museum Department so I get to use Re:disocvery, a museum management software used by all of the agencies in the Department of the Interior. It has been manipulated so that it can serve the purpose of cataloging both physical museum items as well as our complicated hierarchy of paper records. So, essentially, I break down each group into units and folders and provide all the needed information about each record so that it can be easily searched and retrieved when needed. That’s essentially what I do. Got all that? 

It may sound boring to some, but to know that these files will be findable once I’m through with them is rewarding and actually enjoyable. You have to know how to get into a groove and not let it get overwhelming. I personally like to listen to music and take the time to enjoy the documents. Yes, some documents are boring memorandums, but I also get to work on some interesting records that are unique gems. This past week I have been working on the administrative files which are a little general, but still have their interesting sub-topics like energy use in the park from 1950 to present. I get to see documents like when recycling projects and policies really came into affect. Another example is correspondence between park visitors, employees, doctors, and administration on a Giardia outbreak in 1977.  After the admin files, I get to move onto the Biological files which includes plants and animals. These should be exciting! 

Enough with the work talk! Here’s the fun stuff I did this past week:

Tiny coffee hut.

I did some more exploring of West Glacier and Columbia Falls. Last Saturday I got to sleep in and then cleaned my little studio. Boy was it fast! Then I walked into West Glacier, the long route, and stopped in at the Alberta Visitors Center. I want to head up farther North at some point this summer so I got some resources on tourist things to do in Calgary and Edmonton. I also stopped in another gift shop that opened and hung out by the coffee hut. Okay, so one thing. Coffee Huts are everywhere here. Seriously, someone needs to start a blog about them all. Even a little town, if you could even call it that, like ours has one. I guess West Glacier does count as a town because it has a bar. One bar. But no library. 

My library in Columbia Falls!

After West Glacier, I adventured back to Columbia Falls and found the laundromat and a library there. I got a library card! Oh, the little things in life.

On this second weekend I already had one friend take me up on my ‘stay with me’ offer. My friend from high school who now goes to the University of Montana in Missoula had the long weekend too and decided to spend Sunday and Monday with me. My friend, Cameron, studies Forestry and was fun to hike with as he explained the types of trees we were seeing and the awesomeness they bring to the world besides providing us with oxygen. 

Cameron!

I finally got my hike in that I wanted, too. On Sunday we did the two mile hike to Avalanche Lake which was beautiful and also packed. So many people were out and we always had someone ahead of us or behind us. Cameron and I hiked up and then went to the end of the trail, farther away from people, and out onto the lakeshore to have lunch. Surrounding us was a peak with five different waterfalls flowing into the lake. So pretty. Here are a few shots of this lovely place:

Avalanche Lake!

Glacier Love!

Look at that water color!

First look at the lake.

Why all the trails aren't open yet.

But there is the promise of Spring!

Lake Bowman

Monday, we decided to go for an adventure and off-roaded in my Ford Fiesta to Bowman Lake on the West side of the Park. The West side is far less crowded and the roads are not paved, but that didn’t stop us from having fun and seeing another breathtaking lake view. We also met this little guy: 

Salamander? Who knows...

On our way back, we stopped at an old merchant building and had lunch. I had my first Huckleberry bear claw. SO yummy!

Polebridge!

Northern Lights Saloon. Worth a click to zoom in.

Huckleberry Bear Claw!

This weekend after doing my laundry, going to the library (already done with one book), and getting groceries, I drove about two and a half hours around to the Eastern side of Glacier and stopped in at Many Glacier and then St. Mary’s. This side of Glacier is in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and has magnificent views of prairie to mountains. Many Glacier was beautiful and probably my favorite out of the two spots. I got to see Big Horned sheep as well as my first bear sighting! Yup, that’s right, A BEAR! 

Traveling through Browning to get to Many Glacier. 

Many Glacier Lodge!

Other view!

Big Horned Sheep!!

My first bear.

St. Mary's

Don’t worry, I was driving in my car and stopped in the middle of the road to see what it would do. I think it couldn’t really see my lime green car/hear it. My Fiesta does blend in, especially since I was in a grove of young foliage trees. Then when he or she finally heard me, it turned back into the forest and so I drove by honking my horn. Got to keep it scared of us. Or, yeah sure, I was honking to say ‘hi.’  

St. Mary’s had great views too, but since the Going-to-the-Sun road is closed off, I just went into the visitor center and hung out for a few minutes at an informational turnout. That being said, the scenery, the sunshine, starting a new book, and seeing two new animals made for a wonderful Saturday! Today, Sunday, is my internet, city, and Target day. Hello again world, for a bit. Time to download some TV shows and new music and then back to the woods.