Big Horn Basin

The Big Horn Basin is a plateau and basin area in northwest Wyoming, about 100 miles wide.  Ten years ago, in 2009, we spent two months volunteering at 7th Ranch in Garryowen, Montana.  When we experienced a long stretch of really hot weather, one of the owners, Sandy, suggested we head south to the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming on our days off to cool down.  We would drive south to near Sheridan, then head west and enjoy the cooler weather.  At the time, we had no idea that the Big Horn Basin is a major archaeology and paleontology site.

This year we are heading south from Washington, Oregon and Montana through Wyoming to Colorado where we will visit family for nearly two months. After 4 nights in Billings, we spent two nights in Worland.  There we found the Washakie Museum, just down the road from our RV park.  We decided to check it out.

This mastodon statue is a landmark in town--our RV park said to go through town to the Mastodon then look for signs to the park--and it also marks the museum entrance.

Inside we found numerous exhibits of the bones and other fossil remains discovered by paleontologists and archaeologists in the basin.  Dr. George Frison found incredible specimens of the animals that lived there 15,000 years ago.  (He has been given the Society for American Archaeology's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Paleoarchaeologist of the Century Award, and was elected to the Nation Academy of Sciences,  according to Wikipedia.)   Also found was evidence of early human occupation from when the mastodons were hunted,  going forward to the Native Americans that lived in the area and the European settlers who came to raise cattle and sheep.

This is the bird-like foot of the Deinonychus, a dinosaur that shows a link between birds and dinosaurs.

These are some of the bones of mastodons who were driven over a cliff to allow the natives to kill them for food, hides and bones, which they used as tools.

We didn't realize there are lots of petroglyphs in the basin.  The display shown here in part, included lighted examples of the petroglyphs.  We could touch a button next to a description (here a hunter with a shield) to see what it looked like.  Very good idea.

Once settlers discovered that the basin was a good place to raise cows, they came in droves.  This display says that in January 1878 there were no cattle in Big Horn Basin, but by the year's end there was one herd.  Between 1879 and 1882 so many were brought that the number was too large to count.

Next came sheep and the predictable conflict between cattle barons and sheep herders.  This is an example of a sheep herders wagon.  That was interesting since we have seen numerous wagons from afar over the years.

We learned about raising sugar beets in Wyoming, with the Holly Sugar Company of Colorado getting the crop started here.

Since we are Colorado residents and lived most of our life in that state, it was good to learn more about our neighbor to the north. We often pass through here in our RV travels.

Where It All Began

This is where it all began.  Right on the bank of the Yellowstone River in 1962, a small campground was established.  A place for folks with tents or RVs could set up camp and enjoy the area.

It was 50 years ago that that campground became the concept that began KOA--Kampgrounds of America.  Anyone who travels along the interstates and major roads in this country sees these iconic campgrounds with the A-frame building and lots of activities for children.  A KOA is both a destination and a convenient place to stop  while looking around an area.

Here in Billings, KOA #1 has  miniature golf

a swimming pool

lots of trees (it has been 57 years since it was established) and grassy sites

Camping Cabins,

and premium deluxe sites with a concrete patio and sidewalks on each side,

There are also two areas for tents, both large and small.

And here we are

In 1988, we set out with John's sister Cindy's pop-up tent trailer to take Eric to a conference in Washington, D.C.  Along the way we visited family in Iowa, and explored New York City and Philadelphia before we dropped Eric off in D.C.  At the time, we didn't know any RV parks existed except KOAs.  Maybe they did, but we weren't aware.  And we had a great time in those campgrounds.

So, this wonderful travel adventure we have been on for 31 years also began with the establishment of this KOA in Billings, Montana.

The Cowboy Artist

This is at least our 4th visit to Great Falls, Montana.  This is the last stop in the US before heading into Canada.  We stayed here on both trips to Alaska, 2004 and 2012, as well as 2016 when we weren't headed to Alaska or even Canada. And we aren't headed there now.  But it is a good spot when traveling from Washington and Oregon toward Wyoming and Colorado.  We truly enjoy the art of Charles M. Russell and we came so we could attend a museum of his art here.  There is so much to see in the museum, we took advantage of an entry fee that is good for 2 days and we went there yesterday and today.

This bronze showing Russell is displayed on the grounds just outside the museum.

This sculpture part of any exhibit about the buffalo and it's importance to the early western experience and something Russell painted images from throughout his career.  This sculpture is not one he did.  It depicts Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump.  The local Native Americans and later European buffalo hunters would drive a herd of buffalo to a cliff and over the edge.  Other members of the party would kill the stunned buffalo at the base of the cliff.  In 2004 we visited a site explaining this in Canada.

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This painting shows Indians hunting buffalo.

This is one of Russell's paintings of mountain sheep.

An early sketch of a woman deer hunter.

This painting shows Royal Canadian Mounted Police arresting cattle rustlers.  Indian tribes, European hunters and the buffalo often roamed on both sides of the US-Canada border.

A black and white image of an Indian chief.

One of Russell's paintings of the bad guys being shot by either the law or vigilantes.

A Russell bronze of bronc busting.

Trail Walking in Missoula

While we were parked in Missoula we took two really good walks along two of the trails in the town's extensive network.

The Bitterroot Trail started in town.

First we passed by a beautiful mural on the side of a building.

This interesting shelter caught our attention.  It is a creative way to used unmatched boards.

 These signs were posted along part of the trail and used "Hal's Words."  Hal Fraser was an active member of the community and his love of riverfront strolls are part of  the inspiration for this trail. This one says "commitment."  Others included perseverance, patience, vision, enthusiasm, selfless and courage.

The trail crossed the river

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and followed it

The next day we walked on The Milwaukee Road Path which follows the old bed of the train's route through town.  The Milwaukee Road was one part of the Great Northern Railroad which brought rail transportation all  across the northern tier of the U.S.

There were old railroad lights along the trail.

It took us along the river and next to the forest and mountains around Missoula.

We saw these beautiful flowers on the side of the trail.

It was very easy to get our daily 10,000 steps in Missoula, not to the mention  getting a good view of the area's beauty.

Driving to Yellowstone

We spent three days in the RV park at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort outside of Butte.

The resort was pretty nice. There was this mountain goat on the wall in the lobby.

And a beautiful indoor pool as well as an outdoor one. We didn't bring our swim suits so we didn't check it out. They also had a golf course.

The RV park was OK. It seems many locals come here regularly and meet friends and family. We saw several groups sharing meals. There was even a small rally of Beaver motor homes.

The weather turned very cold our last day there, the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. It was cold and rainy. This was our view as we headed out Labor Day for Yellowstone National Park.

When it wasn't raining, there were some dramatic views of the clouds.

But look at this temperature! Doesn't the weather know it is only September 5? It should be warm, if not hot.

We have been to Yellowstone twice before but we don't get tired of the scenery there. More about that in future posts.

Looking Around Helena

We were in Helena, Montana, for six days. Most of our time has been spent doing family history research at the library and the Montana Historical Society Research Center. We did spend a little time looking around the downtown area.

There are some very attractive old buildings.

We saw some interesting details on those buildings.

The Walking Mall is an area downtown closed off to vehicle traffic and lined with small shops. It is called the Bullwhacker plaza. This statue of a bull whacker marks the entrance. Bull whackers were used on the mule trains that brought freight from the river boat landing on the Missouri River in Fort Benton to Helena.

A statue of a newspaper boy hawking the headline on his paper recalls the days when news of gold strikes spread through the press.

Anyone for an outdoor game of chess?

There are several attractive murals lining downtown walls.

We had two blasts from the past. When was the last time you saw one of these signs?

How did a car with this Denver boot get to Helena?

We've had a relaxing week here in Helena.