History awaits in Great Falls

Today was devoted to reliving a little history.  We left the sleepy town of Browning, MT and headed south to First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park just outside of Great Falls.  This park has one of the largest buffalo jump sites in the U.S., spanning a mile in length!  Many, many years ago, the native peoples of the area drove herds of bison over the cliffs for their meat.  To see the site, my sister and I opted to hike the 3-mile loop trail rather than make the easier drive by car.

At the top we got a closer look at the cliff edge...and prairie dogs!  I asked a park ranger...who was leading around a school group...if there was any visible buffalo bones around.  He pointed out a spot on the ground where you could see bone fragments.  Those are pretty old bone fragments!

After our hike, we headed into Great Falls for lunch, then a visit to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. This excellent museum is run by the USDA Forest Service and has the most detailed exhibit on the Corps of Discovery expedition that I've ever seen. 

After watching an introductory video by Ken Burns, we strolled through the interpretive center.  Of particular interest was the replica of an air gun that Captain Lewis had on hand, just in case the powder got wet. 

It was pretty warm today in Great Falls...low 80s this afternoon.  Tomorrow looks to be sunny again for our zoo day in Billings.