This time we entered Montana at the Gateway City of Wibaux. This is Eastern Montana where the motto is “Good People Surrounded by Badlands.” On the way, we saw the oddest sight – a giant 16 foot 2-dimensional metal baby sculpture chasing a rhino, bison, and velociraptor. These are obviously public art but like the other large objects we see along the highways, this just appears along the highway, sitting in an enormous field, with no explanation or warning. This one was strange. According to Roadside America, it is titled ‘Creepy Crawler Giant Baby’ by John Cerney.
We spent just two nights in Miles City KOA Campground. We weren’t outside much in this campground even though the weather has been perfect. It is one of those campgrounds that has mostly cottonwood trees – and they were shedding. The white cotton was swirling everywhere and lay in clumps on the ground. It looked like a light snowstorm out our RV windows. We braved the white stuff to take a walk into the town of Miles City – just about a half mile walk. We went to the Post Office and then meandered down Main Street. This is not much of a town. It has lots of great history but the downtown area is pretty run down. No public art, but there are some benches. The houses are modest – some are well cared for with lots of flowers but others need paint and their weeds and trash are taking over their lots. But it was still a nice walk.
When we returned home we had an interview for a volunteer position that we have been excited about. The interview went well and we were offered the opportunity to volunteer at D.C. Booth Historic Fish Hatchery in Spearfish, SD. We visited the hatchery on our first trip through the Black Hills 2 ½ years ago and since then we have been thinking about what a great place this would be for a volunteer gig – and now we got it! We will be doing interpretive tours through the grounds and buildings. So we are learning as much as we can about trout – rainbow, brown, lake and cutthroat – and all about the history of fish hatcheries. We will be there from May through September 2020 which will give us time to feel like a part of the pretty town of Spearfish, to explore more thoroughly the canyon, and to visit the many attractions that are in that part of the country. Good news for us!
We stayed at the really nice but pretty expensive Billings KOA. Our site had a concrete pad, a nice concrete picnic table, a fire pit/grill and a two-seater swing. With our awning out, the swing was in the shade and was a great place to relax outside. We were still getting lots of cotton floating around but it didn’t seem as heavy there.
Wednesday was a hot (and a little humid) day but we drove the short distance to Pictograph Cave State Park. We saw the two caves – Pictograph Cave and Ghost Cave and were able to see the cave art painted on the walls as much as 9,000 years ago. Over 30,000 artifacts were recovered here starting in 1937 by the WPA workers. The paint applicator that was used on some of the red rock art was radio carbon dated as used between 1480 to 1650 BC – at about the same time Cleopatra was in Egypt and the Roman Legions sacked Carthage. The art and artifacts found in the Pictograph Cave set the sandstone cliffs apart and are a national treasure. During periods of heavy rainfall, three waterfalls flow down the walls continuing the erosion process. Quite a sight to see!
The next day we went to Chief Plenty Coups State Park. Chief Plenty Coups was a man of “many achievements”. He was chief of the Apsaalooke Tribe, also known as Crow. His Crow name is Aleek-chea-ahoosh. In 1884, he set up the homestead we saw as an example to his people of a good life of farming. We took the easy walk through the property along the edges of the hay field and over the sacred spring. Again, we had perfect weather so eating our lunch on a park bench was relaxing and pretty. Nice day.
On Friday, July 26th, we left the Billings area and arrived at Bear Canyon Campground in Bozeman. We had been here before and this time we had a tree-shaded site for four nights. We just hung out on Saturday – the day started out rainy so we stayed home and relaxed. Then we went for a beautiful Sunday afternoon drive along the Gallatin River through the canyon all the way to the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The sky was bright blue; there was a pleasant breeze; the river sparkled; and there was hardly any traffic. The scenery is amazing. Charles Kuralt said that the Bear Tooth Parkway is the most beautiful scenic road in America. We haven’t driven that yet, but this scenic drive gives it a lot of competition.
Monday we were scheduled for routine maintenance at Freightliner near us. So we planned our day to accommodate this appointment. We went to the nearby Headwaters of the Missouri River State Park. This site was near where Sacagawea, a Shoshone, was kidnapped. She later returned and met up with Lewis and Clark in 1805 and served as their guide. The Corps of Discovery set up camp in this area where the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin Rivers merge into the Missouri. In fact, they broke up camp on July 29th, 214 years to the day that we were there. The three rivers are the source of the town’s name – Three Forks. Not only did we have a wonderful hike through the hills and prairies of the state park, but we also stopped in the town of Three Forks. It is another charming western town with all the pleasantries we like – murals, benches, no parking fees with plenty of parking on Main Street, and lots of interesting shops. In addition, Three Forks had some special amenities – we had a yummy lunch at Stageline Pizza and then we sampled the excellent pie and ice cream at Iron Horse Café and Pie Shop. We stopped in the extensive free Headwaters Heritage Museum to learn more about the history of the town and surrounding area. Everywhere we went we met friendly people, especially the woman who staffs the Three Forks Visitor Center – her office is a cozy, inviting old train caboose filled with many helpful brochures and she herself was a native with a wealth of knowledge and suggestions. The town also seems to really be into painted rocks. I like to paint rocks too so it was fun to see so many all along Main Street poking through the well-tended landscaping. This town rates really high on our list. We had to kill some time waiting for our rig to be done so went to a nearby recreation area on the river, set up our chairs and relaxed with the perfect weather and perfect view. Our rig was done early – no real problems just regular maintenance – so it was a great day all around.
On Tuesday, August 30th, we left Bozeman for Fairmont RV Park in Butte. The next day we had a really wonderful visit to Virginia City and Nevada City. Virginia City is a genuine western town – the original buildings are still in their original locations and the renovations on them have been minimal. There are over 100 buildings – a whole city museum free to visitors – which you can walk into the entrance and see them the way they used to look. The wallpaper was faded and torn, the floorboards were worn and scuffed but the furniture and artifacts were authentic. We loved wandering down the boardwalk sidewalk and experiencing this western adventure.
Just down the road was Nevada City. This was a reconstructed town and the main area was sectioned off with admission fees. It was still interesting to walk around.
On August 1st, we went to the Washoe Fish Hatchery – continuing to research and observe the fish industry in preparation for our upcoming volunteer position at the D.C. Booth Fish Hatchery. Washoe had some pretty trout in a pool for us to watch as well as an indoor viewing area.
After seeing fish, we went to Copper Village and Art Center. We don’t have any need to buy “things” but we like to look around, especially at the local items.
We left Butte and pulled into Jim and Mary’s RV Park in Missoula. This is the fourth time we stopped there – always a beautiful park to be in. We got there in time for the First Friday Downtown in nearby Missoula, followed by the Saturday Farmer’s Market. We love Missoula and enjoy our repeated visits there.
We did do something different – on Sunday we visited the Garden of 1,000 Buddhas. A lovely place, filled with the peaceful, happy faces of Buddhas within a circular wall crowned with small white casts of Buddhas. The top of the hill housed a large circle of prayer flags. The pond was lovely, adding water sounds to the peacefulness. We are glad to have spent some of our life in this truly special place.
As much as we love Montana, our Travel Spirit had other plans for us and we got to Riverside State Park in Spokane. There we were met by Doug’s sister Bev and her husband Barry. They had been on the road for about a month, enjoying Glacier National Park and Montana. It’s always fun for us to camp together, catch up, share a few meals and just enjoy each other’s company.
We also had the pleasure of meeting up with Jodi and Ken, our daughter’s in-laws, and seeing how happy they are in their new home in Spokane Valley. The four of us enjoyed a nice dinner together.
Camping in the beautiful state park along the Spokane River gave us time for some short hikes and beautiful views of the river. It was really hot so we did spend extra time inside our rigs being thankful for air-conditioning.
We parted company with Bev and Barry – they went home to Tigard, OR and we spent a few more nights on the road. We stayed one night at Plymouth Park KOA and two nights in the Cascade Locks KOA. We walked around the park in Cascade Locks and saw a little of the small main street.
As much fun as we were having, travelling and sightseeing, we couldn’t wait to get to our next stop: Olde Stone Village, McMinnville, OR – near our Portland area family!