One of the highlights of winter in Missoula for me, and for many other families that include dogs, is running free on the golf course. This is a tradition that starts as soon as the golf course closes for the season, usually by Thanksgiving.

The golf course is part of the University of Montana campus. When there is enough snow, a local organization grooms Nordic Skiing trails, but even then, there’s room for dogs. On half the area, dog-hating skiers get a dog-free zone. On the other, people ski with their dogs or walk with their dogs.

On an early season visit (not much snow yet), we were wandering around, when suddenly, Orly spotted something very strange. She started chasing it and barking.

Only problem was, it was in the sky: Two para-gliders, coming in for a landing. Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that the athletic practice fields next to the golf course are a popular landing spot for people who para-glide from the top of Mt. Sentinel in Missoula.

Orly had never seen humans falling from the sky before!

To be honest, I’d never been that close to anyone landing, either.

I called her, but in the excitement, and with another — equally excited — dog chasing her, Orly was unable to understand what I meant by “Come HERE. NOW!”

So she didn’t.

The first glider landed and Orly ran over to greet her. Fortunately, she was a  normal Missoulian and loved dogs.

I managed to corral Orly about the time the second glider landed. Orly wanted to go say hi, but I dragged my wagging, barking, pulling, very excited girl off the field. Unfortunately, I had my hands full and did not manage to snap a photo of the gliders, so the image above is not from our adventure.