Great Falls: History...and great falls

It was nice to wake up to a second straight day of sunshine...but, also another day of chilly temperatures. I spent an enjoyable day in Great Falls, MT, relaxing and doing some sightseeing...and eating. Since neither of the two museums I was planning to see opened till 10:00 am, I decided to take a little stroll along the Missouri River. Yes, the Missouri River actually originates in Montana! Just outside of town, I walked 1.5 miles along the paved Rivers Edge Trail, taking photos of Rainbow Falls, Rainbow Dam and Crooked Falls.

Rainbow Falls is not that big this time of the year. After taking some pics from the viewpoint at the parking lot, I started walking down the trail. Suddenly, the roar of the falls became even louder as they started releasing more water down the spillway. You can see a hint of a rainbow in the below pic.

Further down the trail was the much more impressive Crooked Falls. Although not very tall, the horseshoe shaped falls are pretty long.

As I was walking back to the parking lot, a brownish furry animal suddenly ran across the trail about 50 yards ahead of me. At first, I thought it was a cat, but it was too big to be that. I got a good look at it as it ran over the bluff...grey fox! Too bad it was moving too fast for me to get a pic! My next destination was the Malmstrom Air Force Base Museum. I reported to the visitor center and had to undergo a quick background check, plus I had my picture and fingerprints taken. All done for the sake of security...after all, it IS a working Air Force Base!

Once inside the gates, I walked about 200 yards to the museum site. I snapped pics of the static aircraft outside, then entered the museum building.

Once inside, I was greeted by the museum's director. I don't think they get many visitors on a weekday this time of the year. Malmstrom AFB is one of three U.S. Air Force Bases that supports, maintains and operates the Minuteman III missile sites...the other two being Warren AFB in Wyoming and Minot AFB in North Dakota. I learned a lot watching the information videos and looking over the museum displays. They also had a very large collection of model aircraft.

After a very tasty BBQ lunch at Smoked. American Barbeque, I visited The History Museum in downtown Great Falls. The museum focused mainly on local stuff with historical artifacts like old phones and old items from long closed stores. Can the arch EVER be controlled?

Well, it looks like the clouds are returning tomorrow, with maybe some rain in the afternoon. I'm planning to see as much of Glacier National Park that's possible this time of the year. Of course, the recent storm that came through didn't help matters, since it dumped more snow on the park. I'll just play it by ear and hope for the best!

Walking in a winter wonderland

What a difference a day...or rather, night...makes! When I went to bed last night, the wind was still blowing strong in Malta, MT. I was staying at a little family-run hotel, and it was very nice! Kind of like an economy bed and breakfast. The owner even cooked breakfast...I had pancakes with homemade chokecherry syrup! Yummy! Amazingly, the weather was beautiful! Blue skies, no wind and SUN! Now, why couldn't it be like this yesterday? As I drove east on US Hwy 2, the road was bare and dry, so it was smooth sailing!

I was in good spirits when I left the highway and traveled fifteen minutes south of Chinook, MT to Bear Paw Battlefield National Historic Site. This was the second site that is part of Nez Perce National Historical Park that I visited on this trip...the first being Big Hole National Battlefield near Wisdom, MT. It was at this location that the Nez Perce Flight of 1877 came to a sad end. And, it was here that Chief Joseph uttered his famous words, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

 

As you can see, the area was still showing the effects of yesterday's storm. I had the place to myself as I set off to walk the 1 1/4 mile interpretive loop trail. Even though the temperature hovered around freezing, I didn't feel cold at all...the sun probably helped! The snow on the ground varied from a dusting to several inches deep due to drifting from the winds. But, it didn't hinder me at all as I enjoyed the scenery and solitude. 

The depression in the ground that you see in the next photo is where many soldiers killed in battle were initially buried. They were later interred at Custer National Cemetery in Hardin, MT. And, the following pic is the location where Chief Joseph surrendered to Colonel Miles. One thing to keep in mind...there probably wasn't any snow on the ground when these events occurred.

One cool thing about the snow was all the animal footprints! Some had a story in themselves, animals eating and maybe BEING eaten...rabbit, coyote, pheasant and who knows what else!

After finding yet another museum I planned to see still closed for the season, I decided to just travel to my pit stop in Great Falls. Actually, it gave me time to do a little grocery shopping...one eventually gets tired of eating at restaurants! Tomorrow, I'll be visiting two museums that I KNOW will be open, and I might sneak in a park, too.

Whiteout: Winter ISN'T over!

When I hit the sack at my hotel in Medora, ND last night, the wind was howling. Throughout the evening, several freight trains rumbled by on the track adjacent to the hotel. Thankfully, they didn't blow their horns! In the morning, it looked like it had rained heavily overnight, but it was just drizzling lightly as I left. Even though I held out a bit of hope that I might be able to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park's North Unit this morning, I quickly realized it wasn't happening. As I traveled east on I-95, then north on US Hwy 85, the rain turned to snow. In addition, there was slush on the road and it was still windy. What had I gotten myself into! I got stuck behind a snowplow, which was probably a GOOD thing, although I was crawling at 30-40 mph.

When I reached the town on Williston, I had lunch at a road trip favorite, Culver's. I enjoyed a butterburger, but passed on the frozen custard. With temps hovering near freezing, I didn't feel like eating something cold. Since I really wanted to fit in some sightseeing today, I briefly considered visiting the nearby Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. But, with a long drive ahead of me and horrible weather conditions, the only thing on my mind was making it to my pit stop for tonight. As I drove west on US Hwy 2, things alternated between sleet, snow and rain, with wind and near whiteout at times. I was genuinely worried! At least the road was passable, and I was able to maintain the speed limit most of the way.

It was quite a relief when I made it to my hotel, and I checked in extra early...it was only 2:30 pm! Right now, it's still very windy, but no rain or snow. Since I have no sightseeing report for today, I thought I would post a photo from each day of my road trip so far...different pics that you haven't seen yet.

Day One: Bryan Hall, Washington State University, Pullman, WA

 Day Two: Miner with family, Wallace, ID

 Day Three: Ghostly shadow in corner, Bannack State Park, Bannack, MT

 Day Four: Ice-covered Earthquake Lake, MT

 Day Five: Weirdly shaped tree, Yellowstone National Park, WY

 Day Six: Bison, Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park, WY

 Day Seven: scenic view near Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite, WY

 Day Eight: prairie dogs, Devils Tower National Park, WY

 Day Nine: bison tracks, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, ND

Tomorrow, things are supposed to clear up, but I might still have to deal with less than ideal road conditions. I'm hoping that won't stop me from having some fun. I shouldn't be experiencing stress on my vacation!

North Dakota: Blowing in the wind

When I left Miles City this morning, I knew the weather wouldn't be good today. As I drove east on I-95, it was overcast with just the occasional mist falling. My first destination of the day was Makoshika State Park in Glendive, MT. I had heard good things about this park, and I was looking forward to seeing it. But, when I got to the park entrance, I found the road closed! What the heck? Only now, after checking the park website did I find out there is road construction currently being done. Yet ANOTHER road trip disappointment! I had no choice but to continue on to my other planned destination, Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

An hour later, I arrived at the park, located adjacent to the town of Medora, ND. This is the very first time I've visited the state of North Dakota, and I was excited to see the sights of this park.

I started my park experience by watching their informational video, then headed off on their 36 mile scenic loop drive. The weather continued to be horrible...overcast and very windy. I knew I wasn't seeing the park at its best, but I was going to make the most out of a less-than-ideal situation. Despite the lack of sunshine to bring out the colors, the hills and rock formations were still impressive. It reminded me a lot of Badlands National Park in South Dakota.

So, I mentioned that it was windy. Well, I found out what it was like to be FULLY exposed to the wind when I made the short jaunt to the top of Buck Hill...the 2nd highest point in the park. I was BLASTED by extremely gusty winds...I estimate it had to be at least 60 mph, possibly higher! It was a challenge to hold my camera still enough to take some pics! Boy, I wish it had been sunny!

Further down the road, the Boicourt overlook provided my favorite views in the park. And, just in case you were wondering, yes, there is wildlife! Bison all over the place and many prairie dog towns! Most of the prairie dogs were in their burrows. I don't blame them...the cold wind was terrible! The temps never got higher than 38 degrees, and with the wind chill? Yikes!

Before leaving the park, I returned to the visitor center to see their exhibits. Here are a couple of Winchester 50-95 rifles Teddy Roosevelt owned, and the Maltese Cross Cabin was his home when he visited the ranch he co-owned in the Dakota Badlands...before he became the 26th President of the United States.

Tomorrow, I'm planning to visit the north unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park...I was at the south unit today. The weather looks to be even worse than it was today...RAIN! I'm really hoping that's not the case, but I have at least one other place to visit that might not make the day a total washout...literally!