Washington State supports and funds Syringe Service Program often referred to as needle exchanges, as a core component of its public health strategy to prevent the spread of blood-borne infections like HIV and Hepatitis C among people who inject drugs. Operating legally since a 1992 state Supreme Court ruling, these initiatives are managed locally by county public health departments, non-profit organizations, and community health agencies. While the primary function of these programs is to distribute sterile needles and collect used equipment for safe disposal, they also serve as vital connection points for healthcare, providing access to overdose-prevention tools like Naloxone alongside direct referrals to substance use treatment programs. I thought it was important to understand why and how this program works. When we do cleanups in the Umpqua, we often have to deal with discarded needles. I wonder if it would help if they did the same thing with condoms? Another unpleasant cleanup item.
Our first stop was Costco for gas and a few items. I went in before Kasey to get a head start. If you have an executive membership, you can shop starting at 9am instead of waiting until 10 when the peasants can also shop. What a system. And I like it because it isn’t busy. But at what cost? I don’t like crowds and if I pay more, I can avoid them. Is this what it is like to have money and influence? This does not feel right but I also like avoiding the crowds. What a huge business. I got to wonder what the store inventory was worth. In the millions no doubt. We got 3 items. A record low for Costco purchases. One item was lemon juice for our pico de gallo
Back on the road, we called Mike and then Jerry back in Roseburg to check in. Quite a bit of rain happened while we were gone according to Mike. He was working on getting his deck replaced and Jerry had Jacob over working on yard work. Both of those things are what we also need to do. But, what the heck, we can do that later. Now we are travelling.
We had great weather as we travelled east in Montana toward our destination of Minnesota. We were listening to Heather Cox Richardson, Heather Delaney Reese, and Mary Gedry. All while enjoying the views.
As the miles rolled on, we started listening to more of our book by Ken Goddard, First Evidence. It makes the time fly. I remember when the Ashland Forensic Lab first opened in the late 80’s. I asked for a guided tour which Ken Goddard granted. It was fascinating and I became an instant fan. When I found out he wrote novels, I read several. Now we are reading some of his works on our trip. He is retired now, but his career is amazing. The first ever wildlife forensic lab was designed and built under his direction and it sits in Ashland Oregon.
We made a stop at a rest area along our route. The building looked like an administration office. I kept looking for the restrooms. But this huge building WAS the restrooms. All brick and individual and private stalls. The parking lot was almost empty too and had some historical signs for information. Something about Jedediah Smith.
Our destination for the day was Makoshika State Park. Pronounced, Mah KO Shukah
Accent on the O. It means Land of Bad Spirits. It is just south of Glendive MT. I sometimes wonder about the towns we pass along the way. Glendive is a small city in eastern Montana and the county seat of Dawson County, home to roughly 4,800 residents. Sited along Interstate 94 on the banks of the Yellowstone River, it acts as an agricultural, commercial, and transportation hub for the surrounding badlands region. Makoshika State Park is located directly adjacent to the city and is Montana’s largest state park. It is renowned for its striking badland formations, rock pine, and extensive fossil remains of Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops. Glendive features two stops on the official Montana Dinosaur Trail, including the Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum and the Frontier Gateway Museum. The river flowing through town offers popular outdoor activities like paddlefishing, kayaking, camping, and hunting for Montana Moss Agates along the shoreline.
Founded in 1881 as a Northern Pacific Railway town, Glendive historically served as a hub for livestock transport and later experienced brief oil booms linked to the Williston Basin. It is also home to Dawson Community College.
We have been here before in 2023 so we were quick to pick out a campsite and reserve it the night before. It was quite windy at the campground but when we arrived, we unloaded the bikes and headed back to the visitor center. What a cool bike rack. Nice touch.
We spent a little time at the visitor center since we missed out last time we were here. The dinosaur history of this area is fascinating. They had a display of current inhabitants as well.
We took Tad out for a walk to check out the area more. The layering on the hillsides is fascinating and shows the lines of soil deposition through the eons. Since we were here last, a disc golf course was constructed. A little windy today but apparently it was well researched and meets the PDGA standards.
Back at camp we proceeded to chop and process our peppers and tomatoes for salsa. We made a huge batch.
Our neighbor in the campground stopped by and we quickly gave him a small container of our creation. His wife would love it he said.
Dinner was skillet burritos. Quite yummy. We spent the rest of the evening playing more games and sampling beer from our friend Al Walker.
Soon it was bedtime. The wind was calm and it was so quiet. Another chapter of our book and we felt sleep overtake us. A good day.
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