Holy Smithereens!

Travel Ideas for the Luxurious Adventurer

Lake Mc Donald Lodge & the Hunting Culture of Montana

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*Disclaimer: Before I begin this post, let me first emphasise that WE DID NOT STAY at Lake Mc Donald Lodge. We only stopped here during our tour with The Red Bus Company of Glacier National Park.*********One of the accommodation lodges/hotels that are inside Glacier National Park is the Lake Mc Donald Lodge. It’s a very historic lodge built in 1913. It’s a swiss chalet style lodge that’s very warm and cozy.
We stopped here for a toilet break while on The Red Bus Tour.

It was very impressive inside. Lots of natural wood: pine , cedar and all others that emit that lovely home country smell.

The moose head above the fireplace added to that country touch. As we stayed longer and looked around, I was just taken aback. It was literally an overkill of stuffed animal heads.

I’ve always known that Montana and other states in the US are big in hunting wildlife. It’s in their history and culture.  It’s part of their life. Whenever I travel, I try to respect the culture of every place. Even if I don’t personally accept it.

I’m an animal lover, and seeing those heads/fur/stuffed bodies saddened me a lot. I have seen hunted heads before but not overwhelmingly bombarded like this. It is quite ironic that this lodge is housed in one of the most beautiful places on earth–where wildlife roam freely. And inside this lodge dozens of that (dead) wildlife eyes stare back at you.

In the US , you cannot hunt inside National Parks. You can only hunt on outside grounds. But animals don’t know that of course.

The Bull Moose Saloon
this was on one of our gas stops driving from Montana to Wyoming
I never imagined I’d be culture shocked in the USA. I’m over it now, but at the time I had a hard time accepting it. Especially one night when we switched the TV on and there were about 5 channels dedicated to hunting. TV shopping for guns and other hunting gear. And the rest are just channels that document and give tips how to hunt. There was even a segment on one dad teaching his 7 year old son how to hunt. It was the young boy’s first go at handling the shotgun on his own. He took down a beautiful stag on his own. The dad cried saying that was one of his proudest moments as a father.
It was beautiful to see the father-son moment. That this is one man teaching his son (next generation) how to hunt. Yet I cannot come to terms with it when I see the body of that stag, bleeding and dying. The dad did say that “mom will be happy” because now they’ve got meat on the table for the next weeks to come.
I am not vegetarian, I eat meat. But like most people, I cannot stand to see my dinner getting shot and fighting for its life. I also am ok with hunting for the purpose of feeding a family. However, at this day and age, wouldn’t it be cheaper and more practical to just run to the nearest supermarket and buy?
Same with fur. I understand it’s how people kept warm ages ago. Some places like Greenland and parts of Mongolia still rely on slaying animals for its fur to keep warm. Yet when you are in a developed country–there is always an ethical option.
I will never see beauty in a dead animal stuffed for decoration. All I will ever see are sad eyes that ask “Why?”
This is the last time I will ever talk about my views in hunting. We were in a hunting area so I did expect to see this. I just didn’t think it was still that big.
The tourism in these states are probably aware of outsiders’ reaction to their hunting culture. The souveneir shops carry shirts that say “If  God wanted us to be vegetarians, he would have made broccoli more fun to shoot at.”
Despite all this, I still consider it a privilege to see a part of a country’s culture. I am not boycotting anything. I will always respect the ways and culture of a place I am in. I am after all just a traveller. Them hunters never asked me to come and join the party.
a tired teddy bear. from a cafe in Montana

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