Billings, Part 3

Wednesday our plans were to tour 3 museums -- one was closed because of a plumbing problem, the second one didn't exist (hmmmm), but the third was really worth the visit. We visited the Yellowstone County Museum and enjoyed a special exhibit of pictures of early Billings taken by a hometown boy who made a name for himself with his pictures while in the Army. There was also an exhibit of western saddles made and tooled by two local men -- beautiful! What museum would be complete without an Indian collection? The beading on the mocs, leggings, arm bands and dresses was impressive. Today just a small belt buckle beaded costs $150 in the museum gift shops. Can't begin to estimate what that exhibit would bring!

Thursday we drove over to Laurel, Montana, about 15 miles west of Billings on I-90 to see the Canyon Creek Battlefield where a battle took place between the 7th Cavalry and the Nez Perce Indians. The National Historic Site was 7 miles north of Laurel and consisted of a brick shelter with three plaques regarding the fight. From there we drove an additional 35 miles to Columbus to visit the Museum of the Beartooths (mountain range southwest of I-90). The curator at the Yellowstone County Museum had recommended visiting, and we weren't disappointed. Of particular interest to Jack and me was the fact that the town of Columbus was originally called Stillwater. The name was changed because of the confusion of Stillwater, Montana with Stillwater, Minnesota! Seems the confusion caused so much difficulty that the name was then changed to Eagles' Nest, then Sheep Dip and when the Northern Pacific Railroad came through, the name became Columbus. The town's local hero was a Marine who was killed at Iwo Jima when he threw himself on a live mortar to save his squad. He was honored with the Medal of Honor in 1947.

On our way back to Billings we stopped at Cabela's, the sportsmen's paradise :-) and hit a couple western wear stores.

Today is our last day in Billings, so Jack is working on the trailer and I have busied myself inside scrubbing the floors, cleaning, etc. Tomorrow (31st) we'll be moving 130 miles west on I-90 and camping at the Livingston KOA which is only 40 miles from Yellowstone National Park. Our intent is to drive down to Yellowstone during our stay there.

Billings, Part 2

The picture of the deer was taken when we were at Yellowtail Dam near Hardin, MT last week. Since then we've seen two does and 4 little ones munching in a garden across the road from the campground. I tried to get a picture last night after a trip to the Dairy Queen, but the fawns were too far away to get a good picture. I did get one of one of the does, however. I'm sure the family who planted the garden don't appreciate their "guests" as much as I did!

The picture of Jack and me was taken at Pompey's Pillar on Sunday when we went out to the Lewis and Clark celebration. Yesterday we stayed around the camp and enjoyed their park-like setting and planned what we'd do today. We washed clothes (yippee!!!) at a laundromat away from the KOA as KOA's machine's were too spendy for my way of thinking. After lunch in the trailer we went to the Visitor's Center and picked up an armful of brochures for Billings and future camp towns.

We visited the Moss Mansion and toured the house with several other tourists. The house was built in 1903 by Preston Boyd Moss who owned two banks, a hotel, a utility, and several other ventures. The house is 60 ft. x 60 ft. and 3 stories tall. The house was reported to be the most magnificent home in Billings. The last surviving member of the Moss family lived in the house until her death in 1983, at which time she donated the house and all the original furnishings to the City. The house cost $100,000 to build and was furnished elegantly. I noticed on a sideboard that the service for 12 of sterling silver cost $193.00!!!!! What a deal!

I don't think you can even buy one place setting of sterling for that amount today. Each room had a black and white picture taken of the room, and when you stepped into the room, it was exactly like the early picture.

One interesting note -- Mr. Moss got tired of having an operator listening in on his business calls, so he had dial phones brought to Billings TWO YEARS before New York City had them!

He also had electric lights in his house when it was built.

Tomorrow we're touring several museums. More later!

Billings, Montana July 24/25, 2010

We pulled into the Billings KOA on Friday. It's the first KOA in the system, started in 1962 here in Billings. It's really a resort -- super level sites, trees, grass, pool and hot tub and each site has a cement patio with fireplace, table and SWING :-) There's an on-site chuck wagon - Pistol Pete's- and if you can afford it, serves breakfast and supper. To my way of thinking, it's a bit spendy if I'm eating outside with paper plates and plastic utensils and trying to keep my plate from flying away in the wind. Oh yes, it also has paved roads. We'll be here for a week, then it's back to the more common KOA campgrounds.

Saturday we went to the Pictograph Cave State Park and walked into the caves where prehistoric hunters lived and saw the cave paintings they created. The paintings are over 2000 years old. They have stsrted to fade, so are not as clear as they were when they were discovered in the 1930's.

Since we had paid $5 for a day pass at the state parks, we got directions to Chief Plenty Coups State Park. Its waaayyyy out in the boonies. It is 35 miles from Billings near the little town of Pryor. We visited the Chief's home, a trading post, tipi, sweat lodge, and a modern museum outlining the Crow Nation's culture and heritage. The Chief donated his 189 acre farm to the state of Montana and wanted all cultures to come together in a cooperative nature. He wanted to honor the culture of the Crow Nation and bring people together in harmony. The Chief was born in 1850 and was the last of the traditional chiefs of the Crow Nation. He was a visionary that led his people from the Buffalo days into the 20th century. He was a stateman and ambassador and well known by US Presidents and foreign leaders.

Today we drove to Pompeys Pillar National Monument where on July 25, 1806 Wm. Clark carved his name on a sandstone cliff on the edge of the Yellowstone River. It is the only remaining evidence of the Lewis and Clark exploration of the Louisiana Purchase. Pompey was the name of Sacajawea's baby boy. It was a climb to the top of the rock (213 steps) but the view was awesome!

Hardin, Montana

Arrived in Hardin Sunday afternoon and were fortunate to get a great campsite with TWO trees! We didn't have any trees in WY, so this is a real treat to have shade. We found that the town has 3445 inhabitants, is between the Crow and Cherokee reservations, and we counted SIX casinos in town, and two on the edge of town. WOW! Guess gambling is the local past time! The farms in the area grow barley, oats, wheat and sugar beets. The harvesting crews arrived last night and are staying at the KOA.

Monday we went to the Little Big Horn National Monument and were very impressed with the interpretive opportunities. Besides the usual interpretive film there was a museum which held a good number of Custer artifacts. Mrs. Custer gave the government his buckskin frontier clothing, one of his uniforms, and his cadet uniform from West Point. The museum also held other articles such as guns, boots, saddle, and his campaign desk and a diary from the Civil War era. There were numerous Indian artifacts as well. We took the 1-hour van tour sponsored by the Little Big Horn College with a Crow Indian guide. She gave us the battle from the Indian viewpoint. Very enlightening! When we returned to the Visitor's Center we sat in on a ranger talk and he pointed out that the government had cut back on soldiers, weapons were outdated, and communication among the 3 armies was lacking. Quite a different viewpoint than the idea that Custer was inept at the battle.

Tuesday we toured the Big Horn County Museum outside Custer. We especially enjoyed the 1911 farm house and the cabins from the Custer Motel. We also liked Camp 4 of the Campbell Farming Corporation which was the brainchild of Thomas D. Campbell of Grand Forks, ND. He founded the largest privately owned wheat farm, which employed 100 men and cultivated 10,000 acres. He was known as the King of Wheat Growers because of the mechanized farming technique he developed to raise wheat in Montana's semi-arid climate. We were able to tour the cookhouse and shower/lavatory buildings and saw many of the early wooden grain wagons and old combines.

Today we drove the 47 miles to the Yellowtail Dam and the Bighorn Lake and canyon. The 71 mile lake was formed from the Yellowtail Dam and extends from Ft. Smith, Montana to Lovell, Wyoming. We only visited the Dam and the North end of the Bighorn lake near Ft. Smith. It was overcast, so pictures taken are a bit dark. As we were leaving the marina area, there were two deer grazing close to the road. They didn't run off, so Jack snapped several pictures of them.

Tomorrow we'll stay in camp and on Friday we move the 55 miles to Billings, Montana where we plan to extend our stay to 7 days. Hopefully the wi-fi will be more robust in Billings. We have found it difficult to log in from here.

Casper, WY July 12-18

We arrived in Casper on Monday, 7/12. It was suggested we take the secondary roads so we could see some wildlife, etc. We were not disappointed! We saw many pronghorn antelopes and some deer and cattle (not exactly wildlife, I know!) The campground is just outside Casper, in a little town called Bar Nunn, population 930 people.

Tuesday we went into Casper to watch the Central Wyoming Rodeo and Fair parade. There were 170 units, but we only stayed through 95! The wind was blowing at a very consistent 20 mph! While the Laramie parade was mainly horses and tractors, this one was pretty heavy on fire trucks, ambulances, sheriff and police cars -- all with sirens blaring! What a din! My favorite unit was the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corp. Note to granddaughter: The dance studios used a flatbed truck and the girls took turns dancing on the truck! After lunch we went to the Fair (free for seniors :-) ). There was only one exhibit building, the tractors from the parade, and a petting zoo as well as a large carnival. The rodeo was starting Wednesday night. By then the wind was gusting at 40 mph, so all high rides were closed down.

Wednesday we drove 100 miles south to see Ft. Laramie and then stopped at the Guernsey wagon ruts (picture at top). These ruts were made by the thousands of wagons crossing the prairies to Oregon, California Gold Rush,and the Mormans on their way to Salt Lake City.

Thursday we toured Ft. Caspar (not a spelling mistake) and visited the National Historic Trails Center. The Park Ranger suggested our trip for Friday as we had expressed an on-going interest in the Oregon and other trails west. He gave us a map and directions to the Mormon ferry and Richard's Bridge and suggested a county road to follow the trails west.

Friday we were successful in finding Richard's Bridge, but didn't find the Mormon ferry site. We followed his suggestion and headed west. If you know my husband, he HATES to have dust on his truck. Forty miles of gravel roads and there was no trace of the the bluegreen hue of the truck! It was a very dusty brown! The second picture is taken from the Oregon trail and is what the pioneers were seeing as they came across from the Platt River area. We drove 15-20 mph, and seemed to take forever to get through the 40 miles. I can't imagine 15 miles IN ONE DAY! I was never so glad to see a highway!!!! Since we were only a few miles from Devil's Gate, the Mormon Handcart Museum, and Independence Rock we decided to continue west on the highway to see them. Pioneers wanted to reach Independence Rock by July 4 to ensure that they would get through the mountains before the weather turned cold and the grasses died.

We were very impressed with the Mormons who walked pulling a handcart containing no more than 17 lbs of goods per person in their group. They had supply wagons carrying food and other supplies, but I can't imagine pulling those wooden carts up over the mountains. It was hard to pull them empty! At the handcart museum Mormon teens come and make the 3 or 7 day treks out into the prairie carrying only 17 lbs of their belongings (no electronics!) to appreciate the sacrifices of their ancestors. One trek group lost their tents in a hail storm and came back into camp at the end of their trek with mud up to their knees.

Tomorrow we leave for Montana. More to come!

Laramie, Sunday, July 11

On Friday, July 9 we got into the Laramie Jubilee Celebration spirit! We ate lunch at the Eppson Sr. Citizens center as they invited KOA seniors to join them. For $4.00 a plate we had tossed salad, BBQ chicken, baked beans, cole slaw and ice cream for dessert. The seniors line dancing club entertained, and there was a sing-along as well. After lunch we made the walking tour of the historic downtown Laramie, and slipped into a couple of western wear stores and after our tour we checked out the carnival and treated ourselves to a funnel cake and a diet Coke.

Saturday we hurried downtown to watch the Laramie Jubilee Parade. Being used to having to park miles away and get to the parade route early, we were there at 9:15 for the 10:00 parade. We could have parked on the parade route (wish we'd have known that!) and we could have arrived at 9:45 and had a great spot to watch the parade. As it was, a fellow who was parked on the street offered us the use of his folding chairs, so we were able to enjoy the parade in comfort. There were no bands, dancing studios, Shriners, etc. There WERE a lot of rodeo princesses from various areas advertising their rodeos and celebrations, politicians galore (primary is held in August in WY), and a lot of antique tractors. It seemed every unit in the parade was giving the kids candy -- some of their bags looked like they'd been trick or treating on Halloween! We adults were inundated with political brochures :-( Oh yes, the women along the route received a carnation. After the parade we returned to camp until Mass time and then had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. My next post will be from Casper, WY!

Laramie, Part 2

Today we visited the Wyoming Territorial Prison and grounds. The prison was opened in 1873-1903. One of it's most famous inmates was Robert Leroy Parker (aka Butch Cassidy). We toured the Warden's house, the prison, and outbuildings. Volunteers dressed in prison garb were busy making brooms in the broom factory. We also saw a homestead exhibit, frontier town, horse barn, and boxcar house. We HAD planned to walk through the historic downtown Laramie, but saw a sign indicating a book sale at the library. We came away an hour later with a bag of used books! Tomorrow we'll tour the downtown on foot and see what other museums catch our interest. We extended our stay here to Monday, July 12. Stay tuned!

Oh yes, one more piece of Wyoming trivia -- the bucking bronco on the WY license Plate is Steamboat a horse that when he was bucking whistled and it reminded the cowboys of a steamboat whistle. Hence, the name, Steamboat!

In Laramie, WY

It's been brrr chilly here in the mornings - 49 degrees on Wednesday and 51 on Thursday. The temp hasn't broken 70 but there is a promise of tomorrow. Wednesday we toured the Historic Iverson Mansion Laramie Plains Museum and the Laramie Railroad Station Museum.

It was interesting that middle school honor students were our guides in the Iverson Mansion. Thee girls were very poised and were very knowledgeable about th e artifacts in the house, and the history of the Iverson family. It was refreshing to see the eagerness and the willingness to se ek answers to questions that stumped them (where did the butler live if the maid had the upstairs bedroom?)

Scott's Bluff/Chimney Rock, Nebraska

July 4 we celebrated our Independence by driving about 100 miles back into Nebraska to see Chimney Rock and Scott's Bluff. The pioneers depended on these two landmarks to guide them west. Chimney rock is about 22 miles east of Scott's Bluff and the early pioneers would climb as high as they could and etch their names into the soft sandstone. Erosion and time have diminished to rock somewhat, and the names are no longer legible.

Scott's Bluff National Monument sat along the Oregon trail where the pioneers moved through the Mitchell's Pass on their way west. There is a portion of that trail that have been protected, and it was really a moving experience to walk on the trail that the pioneers walked so many years ago on their way west. We also drove to the top of the Monument and enjoyed looking out over the area. We could see Chimney Rock in the distance.

On Monday, July 5, we drove the old Lincoln Highway from Cheyenne to Laramie. We stopped at the Summit rest stop on I-80 where the old Lincoln highway joins I-80 to view the huge statue of Abe Lincoln. The Summit is the highest point on I-80 at approximately 8000+ feet.

Today, July 6, we decided to take the Snowy Range byway up into the Snowy Range mountains and enjoyed a beautiful day. I'm attaching a picture of us at Snowshoe Rec area. We were at 11,000 feet, and were on the snow line. We left Laramie at 10:30 and got back to camp about 2:30. We were disappointed to see all the dead/dying trees in the Medicine Bow National Forest. It's caused by the pine bark beetle and is truly distroying the forests from Mexico to Canada.

Cheyenne, WY

Ahhhh! I like the weather here! Temps in the 80's, always a breeze (sometimes 20 mph!), and 20% humidity. We're camping on the east side of Cheyenne, about 7 miles from the center of town. The KOA owners are great hosts and have had some excellent suggestions of things to do/see.

Some "factoids" for you:
Cheyenne is the largest city in WY, with a population of about 50,000.
Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote, the first to have a woman governor.
Before WWII, women participated against men in rodeos, riding bucking horses, calf roping, and bull riding. Now all they can do in a rodeo is barrel racing!

We've toured the capitol and viewed their 1000 pound Tiffany chandelier, and the stained glass skylights in the House and Senate chambers. The woodwork is beautiful! The trolley tour gave us a good history of the city, and pointed out museums and places we should see while we're here. We are doing a great job on the museums: the Train museum in the restored train depot, the WY State museum, the Nelson museum with it's beautiful saddles - one worth $250K! The early cowgirls started their own museum --Cowgirls of the Old West, which celebrates the women who rode bulls, roped calves, rode broncos, and did trick riding in the pre-1940 rodeos. The KOA suggested the Messenger's Old West Museum with it's collection of old carriages, and various items of the area. Mr. Messenger came in while we were enjoying the museum, and we met him. He raises, trains and sells Percheron draft horses and his sons show their 6 and 8 hitch teams at rodeos and horse shows around the US. Very interesting. I love old houses, so we HAD to visit the Historic Governors' Mansion which was built in 1904. Nineteen governors lived in the mansion before it was opened as a public historic house museum. A new governor's mansion was built in 1975. So far, it's been a very enjo