Park visits and...SNOW!

After yesterday's disappointing sightseeing day, I was ready to start afresh. Leaving Missoula, I drove south with light rain falling. As US Hwy 93 went through the Bitterroot mountains, I started climbing and there was more and more snow on the ground. Soon, it was actually snowing lightly and there was a thin layer of slush on the ground. Thankfully, it didn't last as I drove out of the mountains, and I soon arrived at Big Hole National Battlefield.

The parking lot was empty...not surprising since it's Easter Sunday. This park preserves the history of a battle that took place in 1877 between a band of Nez Perce Indians and the U.S. Army. The U.S. government by treaty set aside a large reservation for the tribe, but reneged when gold was discovered in those lands. When war erupted in the region, the Nez Perce chose to flee, but were hunted down by the cavalry. The battle that ensued at this location was a defeat for the Army and the Nez Perce continued their flight north toward Canada. Sadly, they didn't make it and were forced to return to their reservation.

When I arrived, I chatted with the ranger and told her that I worked at the main Nez Perce National Historical Park in Spalding, ID back in the 80s. I was well versed in Nez Perce history, but I didn't know the story of Big Hole very well. I learned a lot from the video presentation available at this visitor center, and I even recognized a few people in it from my park years. I had hoped to walk along the park's Nez Perce Camp Trail, but because of all the rain, it was too wet and thus closed to the public. So, I just took a pic of the site from the visitor center.

After eating my lunch in the car, I continued down the road about an hour to Bannack State Park. I last visited this park in 2017, but didn't spend a lot of time there. Since I had all afternoon, I planned to go inside as many buildings as I could. It also allowed me to get creative with my photos. I think the overcast skies helped, too.

That building above is the schoolhouse and yes, that is a chamber pot. You DO know what that's for, right?

I had a weird thing happen before I went inside the little solitary house above. Right before I opened the door, I could have sworn I heard someone exhale or sigh loudly. Naturally, I thought someone was inside. There was no one inside! There have been ghostly occurrences reported in the park buildings. Was that one?

I had another unexplained thing happen right before I went down the staircase shown above. In the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a dark shadow briefly in the space to the right of the railing. I backed up, thinking it was MY shadow, then moved to the top of the stairs again. Nope! When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I looked behind it and found a small...and empty...closet. Was that a shadow person checking me out? Creepy!

Well, things are finally beginning to look up. The weather forecast has NO RAIN for the next several days! And, just in time for my planned visits to Yellowstone National Park! But tomorrow, I have one more day of looking at old buildings...and maybe some animals.