Trip to Montana

Frank Biondo on location for the shoot.

"Trip to Montana" is a Sesame Street story arc that took place over several episodes in Season 23 (1991).

The seven-episode arc consists of two episodes on Sesame Street to prepare for the trip, four episodes in Montana, and a final episode back on Sesame Street upon return.

On-location production took place during the fourth week of June 1991 on a Crow Indian reservation at Arrow Creek, southwest of Pryor, Montana. In-studio segments for scenes on the Sesame Street set were shot during the second week of the following September.

In the story, meant to expose children to cultural similarities and differences found in American Indian nations, Big Bird, ("Dakaak Isee" in the Crow language) Maria, Luis, Gabi, Oscar the Grouch, and Count von Count, are invited to Montana to witness an authentic Crow Indian naming ceremony for 7-year-old Francis Bear Claw II.

Francis's mother, Ramona, and father, Dean (a documentary filmmaker), were on hand for the ceremony where their son is given the name "Fortunate Young Man" from Crow elder Philip Beaumont, Sr. On the show, Francis's parents are played by Lonn Fritzler and Karen White Man Runs Him.

The third through sixth episodes in the series open with a mid-Western version of the "Sesame Street Theme" sung by the touring Sesame Street characters and their traveling companions, the Bear Claw family. The lyrics are significantly changed to fit the visuals which consist of the wayfarers' pickup truck driving through the scenic vistas of the northwestern United States.

The December 1991 issue of Sesame Street Magazine included a feature about visiting a Native American reservation, and Big Bird would travel to meet with another tribe in the 1992 storybook, Big Bird Visits Navajo Country.

Episodes

Picture	Description
	Episode 2880 Big Bird visits his friend Francis for the first time in his New York City apartment where he discovers that he and his parents refer to each other as Crows. He learns that this is a tribe of Native American Indians, and they're preparing for a visit to their motherland in Montana where Francis will participate in his first Crow Indian dance. Big Bird's interest in the ceremony increases as he learns more about it over dinner, so Karen invites he, Maria, and Luis to come along for the trip.
	Episode 2881 As Snuffy helps Big Bird pack and Maria finishes up some work in the Fix-It Shop, the Count has been shadowing everyone and counting their various paraphernalia. In the yard, Lonn shows the kids a coin trick the Crow people have been doing for generations, and Snuffy learns that their name means "Children of the Long-Beaked Birds" (which he's relieved to discover has no literal meaning and Big Bird is not the progenitor of all crow birds). Oscar decides to come along at the last minute (hoping he'll get lost with the luggage), and when it's finally time to leave, the Count hasn't finished counting everyone's luggage yet, so he tags along for the journey.
	Episode 2882 Much to his chagrin, Oscar's trash can was the only item not lost by the airline during transit. He makes the best of his time by insisting to be dropped off the back of a pickup truck and allowing his can to be nailed to a barn for use as a basketball hoop. Back on Sesame Street, Telly monster awaits a phone call from Montana and hears all about Big Bird discovering the Crow language (and writing a poem about Crow country for the tribal elder), and the Count preferring to use it because it has opened up a whole new method of counting for him.
	Episode 2883 On their first morning in Crow country, the Count counts 6,500 horse hairs, while Maria tries to learn how to ride one. She doesn't have much luck, but enjoys watching Bill-Rose lassoing Oscar's can and dragging it through a field. Big Bird tries his hand at lassoing (and pulling a joke on his friends with a trick rope), and uses a stick horse to follow along with equine training. After dinner, where Big Bird watches Francis practicing his "hot dance", he promises to let him use a cellular phone to speak with Gordon, Susan, and Miles back on Sesame Street, and learns that he can listen to his heartbeat to keep a good drum beat.
	Episode 2884 The events of the day are detailed in a letter Big Bird has written to Snuffy, as read by Gordon. Francis, being a city kid, spends some time outdoors to get himself acquainted with the country, while some kids play on a mud slide. Big has some difficulty mounting a horse, and Maria finally figures out how to ride one, but ends up navigating it in the wrong direction. Big Bird also watches a teepee erected, and sings about what a gift nature is.
	Episode 2885 The day of the big ceremony has arrived, and Francis is making the final preparations for his hot dance. Big Bird learns the importance of the face paint that Francis wears and notes that it makes him look just like his father. During the ceremony, Francis is inducted into Philip's family, and gifts are bestowed upon Maria, Luis, and Big Bird for their participation. Even Oscar joins in on the final celebratory dance.
	Episode 2886 While he's been gone, Snuffy has been tracking Big Bird's movements on a map, but today he's mistaken because Big Bird has returned. Oscar has brought a mule back with him which causes a great deal of grief amongst the neighborhood residents because of the racket he makes. Maria and Luis show off the gifts they received and Big Bird recounts the details of the naming ceremony to Telly, explaining that Francis will remain in Montana for a few more days. Telly attempts to arrange a similar observance to affirm his friendship with Oscar, but the gesture ends with an argument over whether or not the two are friends at all.