Out the Door One Last Time

Barb and I moved to Malta nearly twenty years ago fleeing the rampant growth that was just beginning to take off in the Gallatin Valley.

We bought an old house and an office building in town, and settled into life on the Hi-line. Barb wrote while I renovated the buildings, grew a big garden, and hunted.

Yesterday I walked out the door for the last time, leaving the house that I’d lived in longer than any other. One last load of boxes, tools, and furniture filled the pickup and flatbed trailer.

Heading east out of town I stopped at the turnoff to Sleeping Buffalo to check the load, make an offering, and pray for safe passage. Two boulders housed in a kiosk there are part of Assiniboine-Cree legend and highly revered by the Natives.

Two hours later I pulled up at the cabin on Fort Peck Lake with the final load intact. Too tired to unpack that evening, I cracked a beer and sat on the patio with the dog instead.

At dusk the bats began flying. I picked up a broom and tried to make contact but it was a like trying to hit a knuckleball — a futile effort.

I wondered if this wasn’t my future. I’d just left a fine two-story stone house on a tree-lined boulevard with a fenced yard, kennel, garage and shop for a small cabin six miles off the pavement and 50 miles from Glasgow, which the Washington Post dubbed the “Middle of Nowhere.”

In the morning, however, following a night of dreamless sleep, the future looked a bit brighter. I might not spend my final years trying to hit bats with a broom after all. There was a boat tied up at the dock. The sun was sparkling off the water. A rooster pheasant crowed from across the bay.

This could work.

We’ll split our time between the lake and Livingston, where we have 13 grandchildren. We still have our office in Malta, too. Barb wanted to keep a place there so I could continue to hunt Phillips County.

Looking back on my life I came to realize I’m only good for about 18 to 20 years in any one place and then I move. At this point I’d be tickled to have another 20 years ahead of me.

I certainly spent the last 20 in a fine place.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]