Changing Watersheds

I have spent most of my life influenced by the Missouri River. Although I was born near the Yellowstone River, I only spent less than a year in that river drainage before moving to the banks of the Missouri River. I grew up within walking distance of the Missouri and often played in the water as a child. As I grew older I spent a lot of time on the river in my canoe, hunting ducks, looking for birds, and occasionally fishing. After a few years for school west of the divide in an entirely different ocean drainage, I returned to the upper reaches of the Missouri River in Helena, MT. Then, after another short stint in Laramie WY under the influence of the Platte River drainage, I returned to the Missouri River, this time near the headwaters only a short drive over the hill to the upper reaches of the Yellowstone River. By this time it was no long just me and the moves not as easy to accomplish, physically or emotionally. Back to Helena after that, then home again to Fort Peck, where this blog started.



Now we are going back to the river of my birth. The Yellowstone. I have accepted a job that will take me back to Billings. New challenges, new responsibilities, new landscapes, and, for the most part, an entirely new watershed.
It was not an easy decision and the repercussions are still bouncing around in my head and being revealed in ways I hadn't anticipated, but it was a decision we feel will be an overall positive for all of us. I am certainly going to miss a lot about being here, after all it is the landscape of my youth and will always be home, but I am looking forward to the differences too. I am a prairie person and we will remain on the plains, but we will be much closer to the mountains, particularly the Beartooth Plateau and the Pryor Mountains. We will certainly miss our good friends here, and in particular two of our best friends, my parents Chuck and Jean.
Anyway, more to come as this transition develops.