Good-Bye Rocky Mountains; Hello Flat Grassy Plains

We started this part of the trip by scheduling routine maintenance on our rig. Our chassis is made by Freightliner so we arranged for a check-up at Rocky Mountain Truck Center in Belgrade. The staff there, especially Angela, were very helpful and hospitable. We didn’t know how long the work would take so we didn’t make reservations for that night. Instead we decided to try boondocking – or dry camping – no hookups. We checked out the local Walmart which was crowded with other rigs. We weren’t too enthused about the Flying J Truck Stop – the generators running all night and the diesel fumes weren’t too enticing. So we accepted the hospitality of Rocky Mountain Truck Center and stayed in their parking lot. We did have electricity but we used our stored water in our tanks. It was a parking lot, so we only opened one of our bedroom slides. It is different to be more closed in but really not uncomfortable. Our first experience with boondocking went well and I’m sure there will be more of it in our future. Sometimes you just can’t get a reservation in a campground; sometimes it just isn’t convenient to keep driving. We are grateful that there are places we can stay like this and take advantage of the kindness of strangers.

While we waited, we got in more sightseeing. The Lewis and Clark Caverns were a great place for a picnic lunch but we didn’t venture into the caverns – the tour through them included duck-waddling, sliding, bending and 300 steps up and 500 steps down. Just couldn’t do it. We did walk the path to the interpretive pavilion at the Madison Buffalo Jump and learned ab out the lifestyle of the Native tribes that convinced those buffalo herds to run to the cliff where they fell over and then, through enormous community effort, the products from hundreds of bison were used to sustain these people. The Crazy Woman Mountains are beautiful. We saw the Crazy Woman Museum and the Natural Bridge Falls Recreational Area. Both excellent places to stop and get another history lesson.

So… big blue sky, puffy white clouds, sparkling rivers, gently sloping mountains, majestic trees, a riot of wild flowers, the sharp scent of pine and cedar, a osft breeze and bright sun – I’m at a loss to keep finding the words to describe this lovely place. Don’t mistake my lack of descriptive vocabulary for taking this scenery for granted. My friend Crystal texted me: do you realize how lucky you are to spend every day in nature? Yes, I do feel a constant sense of gratitude for this amazing opportunity to see this great country from the ground up to the big sky. I never take it for granted; I am never bored by this majesty; I love it and now, Montana gets my thanks for its stewardship, its State Parks and everything else that made this road trip through it so amazing.

 

We landed for the next three nights in Big Timber KOA. On Friday, July 15th we ate lunch at Prairie Dog Town and watched those cute little rodents as they signaled danger (from us) and then continued to visit with each other. We also checked out Montana’s beautiful free campsites at Fishing Access sites. Right on the rivers, these sites are primitive but certainly prettier than camping a few feet from another big rig. We don’t fish but we hope to take advantage of these sites on a future visit. Peacefully sitting by the Yellowstone River – taking a long break from driving and sightseeing – it sounds lovely. Thanks, Montana. These sites are a gift!

I thought you (our blog readers) might want to experience another part of our journey – the signs and sights we see along the road as we travel on. So here’s a sample: big horn skulls – beetle-cleaned; a doubled-wide church in Big Timber; the Buck Snort Lodge; Lucky Lil’s Casinos everywhere; a billboard advertising The Testicle Festival near Philipsburg, the Salish word for Arlee “where they distribute things”; the Mickey Mouse Koan; a town called Baaxuwuashee; a one-film movie theatre on Main Street; granaries; feed stores; antler chandeliers, gas, grub and goodies, plenty of Dairy Queens; the Medicine Turtle Trading Post; and endless fields of grain and corn. You’ll also occasionally see us post a graphic of a sign seen along the road. We also crossed the Continental Divide at an altitude of 6396 feet. We like to read the population signs of these tiny little towns and when we can, we wander through their side streets to see the housing and schools and stores that make up small western towns.

Our trip took us next to Hardin, whose motto is A Great Place To Be. We agree. It’s the home of the Fighting Bulldogs and our temporary home at the Hardin KOA was a perfect place to venture out to more historic and beautiful sights to see. One of the most impressive is The Little Big Horn Battlefield, no longer only referred to as Custer’s Last Stand. It now is a remarkable look back into this historic battle. Along the long road through the rolling grassland you see stones marking the exact place where a soldier or warrior fell. The rangers know the details and dramatically reveal them, making you feel like you were there amidst the dust of horses’ hooves, the loud blasts of guns and the blood of men and horses that ran along the ground. It is also now the site of a small but beautiful National Veteran’s Cemetery.

Another day we saw the engineering feat of the Yellowtail Dam and hiked in the Big Horn Recreation area. Another day we saw Pompey’s Pillar, where William Clark carved his name in a rock. After a quick lunch in Billings, we went to Pictograph Cave. The trail took us to a large cave where you can still see the paintings of the people who sheltered in that cave. Our history lessons go back to pre-history as well as just a mere century ago. We had been following the route of the Corps of Discovery, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but soon we turn south to follow a different path through this country.

The five nights we spent in the Indian Campground in Buffalo (the first RV park in Wyoming), included more trips to explore history and scenery. I had to see Fort Phil Kearny. I lived in Kearny , NJ, where a statue of Phil on a horse impressed me every time I saw it in the park. Kearny was a Civil War hero and although he never spent time at this place, it was very interesting to see the fort that protected travelers. Another picnic lunch was enjoyed on the shore of Lake De Smet. I walked along the Clear Creek Trail to the great little town – Buffalo, Wyoming – Forever West. This is our seventh state in our RV. We drove partly into Crazy Woman Canyon one morning but the dirt road got a little too rough for our trusty Honda. Downtown Buffalo has the old Occidental Hotel and some well-done murals. And as one of those murals say, it’s not a one horse town. We also drove and walked around Sheridan which is bigger but still small enough to be charming.

We are now in Mountain View RV Park in Sundance, looking up at Sugar Loaf Mountain from our windows. Yesterday was a highlight of our trip. We went to Devil’s Tower, known by the native peoples as Bear’s Lodge or Bear’s Tipi. It was much bigger and more powerful than I had imagined. It was thrilling to see it from a distance as we drove closer and closer. We hiked the Tower Trail, circling this massive rock. It was a great experience to walk through the Ponderosa pines, see the prayer bundles and ribbons placed in this sacred spot, and look up, up, up to see the different facets of the tower. We marveled at the climbers who slowly made their way up the sheer faces. We finished this perfect day by going to Vore Buffalo Jump, a very different kind of jump. At this one, the native tribe drove the bison into a sink hole. It is an active archaeological dig where you can see thousands of bones where they were found. Amazing!

Today we check out Sundance. We love these western towns where we meet the friendly residents and see the unchanged essence of the west. Tomorrow, we leave Wyoming for South Dakota – more exciting sights to see!