Missoula Montana-and Travelers' Rest State Park

 Travelers' Rest State Park,  Lolo Montana

"The Witness Tree

A core sample was done to establish that this tree was here 220 years ago 

when Lewis and Clark camped here.

This National Historical Landmark is the only archaeologically confirmed Lewis and Clark campground in the nation.

Some of the Visitor Centers have great displays.

"Beavers-Doing Beaver Things"

I think some of the current styles are learning from the past 

( Salish Tribe headdress)

When Lewis captured a live Prairie Dog (Gopher)

he sent it off to President Jefferson.

No, he didn't send one of these!

Ater a nice soak in Lolo Hot Springs we found a great place for lunch.

Jack's Saloon.

Built by Lumberjacks for Lumberjacks.

This bar was built with a single log of Cedar.

Lumberjacks could get pretty rowdy.

The outdoor eating area is beautiful

( and the food is great)

Great graffiiti

The size of the Cedar logs is amazing.

And the furniture they build is too.

You probably haven't seen one of these swings.

A nice day - tomorrow we leave for Clarkston WA

Keep in touch - We love to hear from you.

 

Two Beautiful Days in Helena

PLEASE NOTE:  

Follow.it has added more and more ads (very frustrating).

If you see even more ads half way through the blog post, please look for a small wording " continue reading", please click that and the rest of the blog should show up without ads.

I will see if I can do something different as an email notifier.

Thanks,

Linda

  "Gates of the Mountains"

Lewis and Clark were glad to reach this area after the journey across the plains and were ready to cross the Continental Divide in their quest to make the way to the ocean.

A lovely day for our boat cruise.

This lake is from a dam on the Missouri River.

This canyon is a wilderness area

that has some different looking limestone cliffs.

It even has some pictographs that are different from what we have ever seen.

They have been carbon dated and are from 1500 AD.

Trolley Ride Tour of Helena

A dreary and drippy morning.

AND COLD!

The Cathedral of St. Helena

Legend (or true story?) has it that a WW II young pilot flew his P-51 fighter through the spires in 1945.

Imagine that!

😂

Montana State Capitol

The 4 rondels in the dome depict archetypes of the states early history.

The Cowboy, The Indian Chief, The Prospector and The Trapper.

The Senate Chamber houses a famous Charlie Russell painting.

Lewis and Clark Meeting the Indians at Ross' Hole

This is Russell's largest painting, done in 1912.

This meeting with the Salish Indians was one of enormous strategic importance because it secured the horses and directions needed to cross the Bitterroot Mountains before winter snows would make travel impossible.

The Border Land

A beautiful building with lots of fine art to show their history.

A lovely Japanese Tree Lilac

A lovely couple of days (in spite of the rain).

Next is Missoula, Montana

Hope you keep in touch.

                      

Helena Montana

Buffalo Jumps

A buffalo jump is a hunting strategy employed by the Plains Indian tribes to kill large numbers of buffalo in a single hunt by stampeding them off a cliff in order to survive the winter months. 

This method was used before the introduction of horses and guns.

The signs at the site said:

"A great buffalo runner often raced right over the cliff -- and jumped onto a safe-ledge out of the way of the cascading horns and hooves.  Even those animals who saw the cliff at the last minute were shoved over by the momentum of the racing herd."

This particular jump is one of the tallest cliffs that we saw.

Lou is trying to identify the 'safety ledge' for the runner.

 As we are leaving Great Falls we are listening to Ambrose Williams book (Undaunted Courage) that details the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

It is fun to listen as we drive through the area of the story.

Lewis is quoted as seeing this mountain and called it 'Fort Mountain'

Heading for the Headwaters of the Missouri

The Jefferson and Madison Rivers coming together here.

The Gallatin River

The definition of the beginning of the Missouri River is where these three rivers come together forming the Missouri.

This is where the Missouri has formed and flows down the canyon to the Great Falls. Today the headwaters of the Missouri 

is a great recreation and camping area for all.

LEWIS ROCK

On July 27, 1805, Meriwether Lewis mapped the surrounding countryside 

from this high point.

York's Island

Was named for Clark’s slave, York, who accompanied the Crops of Discovery.

“Yorks 8 Islands” appears on Clark’s 1805 map, the name was not officially recognized for 195 years until the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved “Yorks Islands” in 2000.    

Time for a good meal - 

The Windbag Saloon was one of the recommended places.

It is housed in the last brothel in Helena.

Day 28

 

Great Falls Montana ( the Great Portage for Lewis and Clark)

 Lewis and Clark had been given information from the Indians that there was a waterfall up the Missouri River.

Captain Meriwether described a 

"sublimely grand spectile..."

when he came upon the falls.

He later discovered that there were 4 more falls and they would have to portage around the falls.

They thought that it would take half a day, but instead it took about a month.

Six canoes were laid upon carts, then pushed and pulled the heavy loads across 18 miles of uncommonly rough prairie.  They used sails to make the going easier whenever violent winds offered help.  Brutal hail storms with some hail as large as eggs left the core bleeding and bruised, pushing their stamina to the limit.

Great Falls was known as the Electric City with the addition of all the dams.

We avoided most of the rain and smoke filled skies, had a nice lunch by the dam.

C. M. RUSSELL MUSEUM

A lovely guided tour and chance to view famous paintings and sculptures

along with hearing the stories of his life.

It was a nice visit to Great Falls and we leave for Helena tomorrow.

We are missing all of you and hope to hear from you.