Adventures in Wyoming and Montana

BUFFALO, WYOMING

We were so excited to have a really nice weather day as we drove from Hermosa, South Dakota to Buffalo, Wyoming.  We stopped at another Wyoming Visitor Center, this one just past the Vore Buffalo Jump.  On another trip here we stopped to check out the Vore Buffalo Jump – a stop worth taking.  This historic spot is one of many sites where native people herded huge bison herds over a cliff where they fell to their death.  It was the women who organized these kills, positioned themselves near the fallen bison and eventually harvested the meat, horns, fur and fat from these giants to sustain their lifestyle.  The story of buffalo jumps is an amazing look into the history of the plains and the way these creatures provided the natives with food, clothing, heat, and shelter.

It wasn’t long after that we pulled into Buffalo KOA.  Just a two-night stay, but long enough to rest a bit, enjoy the weather and do the laundry. We were getting tired of sandwiches for lunch, so we tried Albertano’s Mexican Restaurant.  Excellent enchiladas with a nice spicy salsa.  We brought it back to our RV site and ate outside on the picnic table.  Not too much wind but the cottonwood trees are shedding so we had to avoid eating the “cotton” that was drifting over us.

We drove over to Main Street and wandered around looking into the shops.  We stopped at Lickety Split Ice Cream and ordered their licorice flavor.  I had tried it there before and I was hoping Doug would like it as much as I did.  He did! 

HARDIN, MONTANA

It would be hard to leave the beautiful country scenery of Wyoming – if we weren’t going to Montana!  We waved good-by to Buffalo and Wyoming.  The new scenery included small streams lined with cottonwoods; the lovely Tongue River; a tiny cemetery; small, sheltered homes and cabins – all made the drive pleasant.

June 1^st found us in Hardin, Montana.  Doug thought we should see something different than the KOAs we had mostly been staying in.  For this stay he picked Grandview Campground.  Our first impression was not good.  I walked into the office to register, and I had to walk over messy piles of merchandise – clothing, souvenirs, grocery items – as well as scattered piles of paper.  I get that they were about to paint this office, but it was a sty.  The two little black dogs and a black cat were responsible for the paper all over the place.  The owner was very talkative – I heard all about her trip to Ireland as a young woman with some very colorful details that were TMI.  She escorted us to our site through two other sites that left us wondering how she could ever rent them.  Our site was ok – gravel with a tiny concrete pad and grass.  We did have a nice tree.  And having great weather does make the place look a lot better. 

We didn’t bother to unhitch for this two-night stay.  Our neighbors pulled in the next morning and we had some quick friendly conversations.  Later, after dinner, we invited them over to sit outside.  Dehlia and Bill were from Brooklyn and Long Island.  They were on a 6-week trip, one of many they have taken since they retired.  They had great stories about their non-camping travels.  We stayed out until dark enjoying their company.

While we were in this campground, we were able to video stream our niece Linda’s wedding in Las Vegas.  It was a beautiful wedding – our bride was lovely, the groom looked great with his cap on backwards with his tux.  My brother Dan sang the sang he wrote for Doug and I for our wedding – The Light of Love.  We call it Lytle Love.  And mother of the bride Lisa looked great and little dog Buddy was well behaved.  It was such a great thing for us to be there virtually!

We left Grandview, thinking it really wasn’t such a rundown campground after all.

THREE FORKS, MONTANA

There was the same bucolic scenery as we drove to Three Forks.  Purple sage and a few evergreens popped up here and there along the endless green grassy horizons.  We got a glimpse of the Rockies again.  You can’t miss those majestic snow-covered peaks that are sharp and almost perfectly triangular.

This part of the trip was along the Yellowstone River.  To our right was the Absaroka Mountain Range which stretches about 150 miles across the Montana-Wyoming border on the western side of the Bighorn Basin.  I like to crochet or read or do crossword puzzles as we roll along the highway, but when the view out all of our very large windows is this spectacular I just marvel and ooh and aah.

Our two-night stay at the Three Forks KOA included spending Friday at Lewis and Clark Caverns.  We had been looking forward to this cave for a long time and we were excited to finally see it.  We did the Paradise Tour – a newly established tour that allowed the tours to continue during COVID because this part of the cave is a large open room.  I was glad to be able to do this tour.  A week after touring through Rushmore Cave with its 412+ stairs was still making my knees ache. 

This tour was a half mile walk to the entrance on a flat pathway with awe-inspiring views.  We happened to be there on the hottest day ever, but being used to the heat, we were fine.  We walked straight into a tunnel that was chiseled out by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Depression Era.  The tunnel itself is remarkable – lit just enough to give it the ambience of a tunnel but with plenty of headroom.  It was a long walk through the gray limestone tunnel and then you are in the amazingly colorful cave.

This tour was different from many other cave tours.  Only a very few stairs; no tight passageways; and big open viewing areas where even with about 15 people on the tour, we all had room and time to look at all the many formations.  Usually, the time on the tour is spent going up and down stairs at a rapid pace to keep up with the tour guide and the rest of the group.  I’m not a sure-footed goat by any means so I take each step carefully and somewhat slowly; and I often feel like I’m holding up the rest of the tour. 

But Lewis and Clark Paradise Tour gave me lots of time to look at everything – large intricate columns, hundreds of stalactites and stalagmites.  I saw a back plate shield, oriented popcorn, and some really cool popcorn with very large perfectly round orbs.  The decorations were right there in front of us.  The history of the cave is interesting.  Luckily, the State of Montana took over the cave’s protection or it would have been mostly destroyed.  The few steps inside the cave were carved by the CCC out of actual flowstone.  As much as that is not ideal, it was fascinating to see the polished layers of calcite inside those stairs.

We can check this cave off our bucket list, and we give it high marks.

GREAT FALLS, MONTANA

June 5^th – our grandson Griffin’s 4^th birthday.  We’ve been thinking about this active and sweet child all day long and hoping he is having a great day.

Montana, like Wyoming, also has really nice rest stops.  These are not visitor centers but the views rival Wyoming’s.  We stopped in Cascade County and this stop was perfectly placed between rocky mountainous hills.

During today’s drive Doug had to contend with some high winds.  They were certainly a force of nature as we went through these dramatic canyons.  Most of the drive was mountains, evergreens, giant boulders, and meandering rivers.  We had the Missouri River near us for most of the trip, but for a short time there was the pretty Prickly Pear Creek just on the other side of the road shoulder.

We saw signs for Big Horn Sheep, so on this drive I stopped searching for the Elk that are always advertised and kept my eyes peeled for the Sheep.  Saw nary a one!

Another two-night stay – this one at Great Falls KOA.  Aside from an annoying check in time of 3 pm – on a Saturday! – the park is beautiful.  The sites are very long – long enough for the biggest rigs we’ve ever seen and room to park those giant trailers those rigs tend to pull behind them.  They are wide enough to have a large grassy space between sites – nice to not be anywhere near our neighbor’s sewer.  There is an ice cream parlor, breakfast, a cute little train ride, a popular pool, and a big playground and even some live music. The cost here is outrageous, but we’ve seen worse in parks that are not nearly as nice as this.  The camp store is well stocked, especially with huckleberry products.  I couldn’t resist the huckleberry cheesecake popcorn.

Today, Sunday, June 6^th is the 35^th Anniversary of Our First Date – something we celebrate every year.  We chose to go to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretative Center.  It is right next to Giant Springs State Park.  This was certainly one of the finest Lewis and Clark centers we have visited.  The displays were amazing.  We have had the opportunities to visit many of the Corps of Discovery historic sites.  This one, right on the Missouri River was an important one.  At about this point in their explorations they were confronted with a devastating problem.  Instead of one waterfall to traverse they encountered five in very difficult terrain.  But the Corps persevered and with their strength of body and character portaged their boats and supplies up steep banks to get past the falls.  Sometimes the portages occurred in deep snow and icy cold.  Learning the details of their incredible journey is inspiring.

We took a nice walk down a path and then along the Wide Missouri.  The weather was a little overcast and cool but that made for good walking.  We had worked up an appetite so went into Great Falls to The Block and had sandwiches and homemade chips.

I took advantage of a Walmart right near our campground and loaded up on groceries.  We had planned to have ice cream at the campground to put a nice ending to our happy day, but halfway through the store all I wanted to do was go home and put my feet up.  I checked my steps and it seemed like I walked a lot more than 5,114 steps.  I decided to buy Tillamook Mountain Huckleberry Ice Cream (we are in Montana after all) and stay in for the evening.  A good day and a great start to our 36^th year together,

HELENA

We have never been to Helena and wanted to add another State Capital to our growing list.  Helena turned out to be an interesting capital to visit.  Our home base for our two-night stay was Helena North KOA.  

We had a great time in Helena although the weather was still overcast and cool.  We took the Last Chance Tour Train to see and hear about this historic capital city.  Our driver/guide Kelly toured us through the streets and gulches of Helena, entertaining us with stories.  We drove through the pretty hilly streets of the mansion district, saw the blocks of tall stone buildings owned by successful businessmen during Helena’s heyday.  We got to see the diversity of the architecture – smallish houses in Craftsman, Tudor, painted Log Cabin and Victorian styles.  St. Helena’s Cathedral and its beautiful stained glass competes with a giant spire on what is now the Convention Center.  Old mixes with new everywhere.  As we meandered up a curving street Kelly explained that it used to be a river gulch and that is why it took that shape.  We even got a good glimpse of The Guardian of the Gulch – the old wooden fire tower.  It was a pleasant hour-long ride up and down the steep streets. 

Before we stopped for lunch, we toured through Montana’s Capital Building.  The Grand Staircase showed off colorful stained glass in the arched ceiling and the windows.  The artwork around the dome featured the conflicts and mergers of the native people and the settlers.  The pillars were Montana marble – a soft beige with silvery veins.  We peeked into the Senate Chambers – also designed with beautiful stained-glass ceilings and windows.  We saw the Liberty Bell – like other states, Montana received one to display.  Altogether this was a great example of a state building representing its culture and history.  We ended our morning at Planet Gyro for lunch – the first time in many months we ate inside a restaurant.  We walked back up the hilly streets to our car and decided Helena and its harsh and crazy history was a great place to visit.

MISSOULA

We followed the Clark Fork river part of the way to our next stop which was Missoula. We stopped along and the way and took this picture.

We’re happily back in one of our favorite cities – Missoula.  We are once again staying at the flower-filled RV park – Jim and Mary’s.  Our pine tree site smells wonderful – lots of grass in this big site.  It’s only a two-night stay again but we will make the most of it.

Except – RAIN!  There were only a few moments after we settled in when it wasn’t raining so I got outside and took some photos of the pretty flower arrangements all over the campground.  It then rained most of the night.  We woke up to RAIN and it rained all day. We had hoped to do a little hiking and spend the evening in Downtown Missoula.  But RAIN!

And that was the end of our visit to Montana.