Across the Great Divide

Listen while you read:  The Band

Standin' by your window in pain
A pistol in your hand
And I beg you, dear Molly, girl
Try and understand your man the best you can

Across the Great Divide
Just grab your hat and take that ride
Get yourself a bride
And bring your children down to the riverside

I had a goal in my younger days
I nearly wrote my will
But I changed my mind for the better
I'm at the still, had my fill, and I'm fit to kill

Across the Great Divide
Just grab your hat and take that ride
Get yourself a bride
And bring your children down to the riverside
. . . 

~  Robbie Robertson (The Band)

Clearly, there's a story being told in this song, but that's not why I chose it. There are many definitions of "the great divide," whether one is speaking of relationships or politics, but I chose this song in a more literal sense. We are traveling back and forth over the Continental Divide, otherwise known as the Great Divide. In Canada, we crossed the Great Divide traveling from Golden into Banff, then in Glacier National Park, we crossed back. Today, we cross it again to the east, and tomorrow, we will make our last crossing as we head back to Washington. Four crossings!

"Across the Great Divide" is on The Band's album titled, appropriately, The Band, released in 1969. I was a fan from the very beginning. The first time I saw them was at Watkins Glen in 1973 along with 599,999 other people. I saw them again twice in 1974 when they played with Bob Dylan in NYC. And, until his death in 2012, I attended several concerts at Levon Helm's barn in Woodstock NY. So, yeah, I love The Band.

The Great Divide separates water flow in North America; it's a wonder of nature. Crossing the Great Divide is better than crossing the Mason-Dixon Line or viewing all the Pedro billboards when one drives South of the Border. And I get to do it four times! Score!

As for those other kinds of divides, one thing that has become clear to me again on this journey is that, despite our differences, most of us are kind and decent human beings. We have chatted with folks in bars and restaurants, hotels and B&Bs, in Canada and the U.S., and everyone has been kind and helpful. Last night, we had a late dinner at Trixi's Antler Saloon in Ovando MT (population: 47) and happened to mention that we were looking forward to some huckleberry pie, as we'd been told back in Golden BC to look for it. While Trixi's did not have any huckleberry pie to offer, two women in the saloon who overheard our conversation had just returned from some serious huckleberry picking. One went out to her car and returned with a handful of huckleberries for us to sample. Yep, they were pretty good, and we are looking forward to some huckleberry ice cream before we leave Ovando today.

So that was sweet. So sweet, I almost forgot to mention that we spent most of the day yesterday in Waterton Park (the Canadian part) and Glacier National Park. We drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road from east to west, enjoying glaciers, waterfalls, forests, and flowers along the way.

It's a beautiful country, no matter the divide.

In Glacier National Park MT