The makeshift privy...

Sometimes a privy is what you make of it. In the case of our family, we have a two year old that "when she needs to go, she needs to go NOW." We discovered that it's easiest to throw her Pink Princess Training Potty (PPTP) in the car so we always are sure to have a privy for her, no matter where we are. She's been trained since Christmas but better safe than sorry, right?

So the inauguration of the PPTP in the wilderness happened on Mother's Day of 2011. That is when my beautiful little girl looked at me, in the middle of nowhere, and said "Momma. I gotta go poop."

That is how she ended up pooping on the side of the road in Polebridge. All while rocking the cute little sundress and LL Bean Puddlestompers. She's got her own style, yo.

Princess Potty! Yea!

lwav: the toddler version.

Swiftcurrent Lookout...

Another fire lookout, but this one is in Glacier National Park. Swiftcurrent Lookout can be accessed by hiking from Many Glacier up to Swiftcurrent Pass and then up the spur to the lookout. It is active and manned during fire season. It is a gorgeous hike. 

I truly do not have much to add to these pictures because sometimes, no explanation is needed. It didn't even stink!

Swiftcurrent Privy from the side.

And one of my favorite views from a loo:

Looking out over the Western edge of GNP.

The pot at the end of the rainbow...

On the top of a mountain in the Northwest portion of Montana, up the bumpy North Fork Road, past Polebridge and every other piece of civilization, you will find one of my favorite places on Earth. Hornet Lookout. Hornet Lookout is an old firetower that is now rented by the Forest Service for folks who wish to stay the night. This one is special to me because it is one of the places that my boyfriend (now husband) took me on my first trip to Montana. We had spent some time hiking in Glacier National Park...but Hornet Lookout was special. It was remote and quiet and beautiful.

And the minute we set foot in the clearing of the lookout on top of that mountain...all hell broke loose. A storm blew in with wind, sleet, rain and thunder. We sat alone in a 12x12 foot structure with windows on all sides and admired what went on outside. It blew over soon enough...and against the dark skies, we were presented with the brightest double rainbow I have ever seen in my life.

Two perfect arcs of gleaming colors against the dark gray of the stormy skies...it led to one of my favorite privy moments. The "pot" at the end of the rainbow:

The "pot" at the end of the rainbow.

When the rainbow was gone and the dark skies cleared, I ventured down to the privy. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was yet another, loo with a view (lwav). Facing East and enjoying the mountains of the Eastern side of Glacier National Park.

Yeah, I took this while I was peeing. So what?

A loo with a view...

Birch Lake in the Jewel Basin is a gorgeous place and an amazing fishing spot. A trip their last summer with our little ones (both under 2 at the time) was a highlight of the late summer days. I, of course, went in search of the elusive toilet.

<-- Toilet!

Wandering up a trail into the heavier trees, the "toilet" was discovered. As open air as it was, the sheer volume of flies surrounding the pit itself was enough to send me running for a tree. The buzzing! My God! The buzzing! I had visions of sitting on the pit with hoards of angry flies hitting me in the butt. Noooo thank you. I will, however, say this: the view was beautiful. One could set in relative peace (if you were either deaf or have the ability to block out the incessant buzzing) and simply enjoy Birch Lake. Sun shining off the water, people fishing, children laughing. I'm fond of the loo's with a view and this was no exception. It could use fly tape though.

loo with a view