Monday, May 31, 2010
Gravel everywhere
When we stopped to take the border pictures, this is what the windshield of the Honda looked like. As you can see I was lucky not to lose this windshield. From now on will duct tape and cardboard the windshield. It took quite a while to get the gravel out of the windshield wipers.
Jan stretching her legs
When I came up from fishing, Jan was also stretching her legs, note the cowboy hat which is her pride and joy. Debbie and her bought the hats in Livingston, Montana. I had to wake her up so we could get the rest of the way to Alaska.
a side trip
We stopped to stretch our legs at a pullover and I did about a half hour of practicing the cast. All I had was a lure so didnt catch anything but getting ready.
Continental Divide Lodge
This picture is out of order. Here is where we stayed Friday night before we arrived in Skagway. This was a neat place. First we had our dinner in the lodge, very small menu, in fact they only had the special which was baked chicken, gravy, potatoes, dressing and veggies and a piece of pie (rhu barb). It was delicious.
On the way back to the camper I explored the place, there was no electric running in this part of the Yukon so the guy had two big generators sitting in a building just running away producing the electric. The river ran right in back of the site we were at and it was a hard, rushing mountain river so we took a walk along the river. The next morning (slept like a baby) we ate breakfast and stopped at the office and got a fresh cinnamon roll to go. Note none of this is on my diet but my belly hanging over my belt proves that I have failed in that respsect.
On the way back to the camper I explored the place, there was no electric running in this part of the Yukon so the guy had two big generators sitting in a building just running away producing the electric. The river ran right in back of the site we were at and it was a hard, rushing mountain river so we took a walk along the river. The next morning (slept like a baby) we ate breakfast and stopped at the office and got a fresh cinnamon roll to go. Note none of this is on my diet but my belly hanging over my belt proves that I have failed in that respsect.
Reid Falls, WOW
What a beautiful waterfalls in the middle of the forest, the temperature was at least 20 degrees cooler and the mist was in the air.
Reid Falls
At the top of the cemetery, which was a complete surprise was a waterfalls. You will see why we were so suprised in the next picture.
Gold Rush Cemetery
Skagway has a past, it was the gold rush town in the 1890's when gold was discovered in the Yukon at Dawson City. It was truly a wild west town after our own "wild west" towns had become civilized. It was completly lawless and the people came here not only for a chance to find gold but for the adventure or to get away from something.
The town was run by a sheriff who actually work for a syndicate bosss named Jeff "Soapy" Smith who was a slick operator. He was a benefactor to the people who lived here but had a plan to cheat all of the gold seekers.
As usually happen the greed caught up with him and he got into a gunfight and was killed, in fact they both were killed and now are buried in this cemetery in the woods beside the railroad tracks.
The town was run by a sheriff who actually work for a syndicate bosss named Jeff "Soapy" Smith who was a slick operator. He was a benefactor to the people who lived here but had a plan to cheat all of the gold seekers.
As usually happen the greed caught up with him and he got into a gunfight and was killed, in fact they both were killed and now are buried in this cemetery in the woods beside the railroad tracks.
Alaska at last
We arrived Alaska/Canadian border and went through customs on Saturday, almost 5 days early to my schedule. So I guess the schedule was not very good. Once we left Grand Prairie, we drove over 300 miles a day but still stopped when we wanted to. The roads were really better than I expected even though the motorhome now has a break down the middle of the windshield. I hope not to get anything done with it until we get back to Florida. In fact people from the Yukon see it as normal to drive with a cracked windshield.
There were several sections of gravel road as we were in the last section of the Yukon and the eastern section of British Columbia going into Alaska.
We will stay in Skagway for 4 nights at the Pullen Rv Park which is right beside the cruise ships, in fact there are people walking by the camper now that just got off the holland american cruise ship. They see this camper from Florida and they all have to stop and talk when I am outside.
There were several sections of gravel road as we were in the last section of the Yukon and the eastern section of British Columbia going into Alaska.
We will stay in Skagway for 4 nights at the Pullen Rv Park which is right beside the cruise ships, in fact there are people walking by the camper now that just got off the holland american cruise ship. They see this camper from Florida and they all have to stop and talk when I am outside.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
We left Grande Prairie for the Alaska Highway this morning. We saw deer on the road side again. One time there were 2 moose at the side of the road and Daddy had to brake
really fast and hard to avoid one that decided to cross the road. Boy, could you smell those brakes!!!! But, we missed the moose. Good thing! He would have caused a lot of damage.
We are still in the Rocky Mountains so the roads are still a 7% or 8% grade. Once today when we were doing 65 mph and a hill came up the RV dropped back to only 35 mph to get up the mountain! Then when we came down the other side of the mountain we had the air brakes on, the engine shifted down two whole gears and Daddy had to hit the brakes too!
We saw a group of horses just running wild around one of the many corners on the highway and further down the road was a rather large black bear on all fours eating. We couldn't stop fast enough; but the people in the RV park next to us stopped. The black bear was not too happy and he raised up on his two hind legs. Of course, they said he was about 10 feet from them. You are supposed to stay at least 30 feet away. They can be very dangerous.
These people we met at this RV Park live on the west coast of Florida. They are originally from Hagerstown and College Park, Maryland. We really like them; and they are going to Alaska also. It's really a SMALL WORLD!!!!!!!
really fast and hard to avoid one that decided to cross the road. Boy, could you smell those brakes!!!! But, we missed the moose. Good thing! He would have caused a lot of damage.
We are still in the Rocky Mountains so the roads are still a 7% or 8% grade. Once today when we were doing 65 mph and a hill came up the RV dropped back to only 35 mph to get up the mountain! Then when we came down the other side of the mountain we had the air brakes on, the engine shifted down two whole gears and Daddy had to hit the brakes too!
We saw a group of horses just running wild around one of the many corners on the highway and further down the road was a rather large black bear on all fours eating. We couldn't stop fast enough; but the people in the RV park next to us stopped. The black bear was not too happy and he raised up on his two hind legs. Of course, they said he was about 10 feet from them. You are supposed to stay at least 30 feet away. They can be very dangerous.
These people we met at this RV Park live on the west coast of Florida. They are originally from Hagerstown and College Park, Maryland. We really like them; and they are going to Alaska also. It's really a SMALL WORLD!!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
This is our second day here in Grande Prairie. I needed to wash 7 loads of laundry today; we have 2 weeks worth of dirty clothes.
We went to the Grande Prairie Stompede at 5:30 PM. The rodeo with bull riding was at 1:00 and we already missed it. But we saw the Chuck Wagon Pony Races with 40 chuck wagons competing. It was packed and it's a Wednesday night. There is school tomorrow, but the kids were still here when we left. A lot of the little boys are dressed up just like their Daddies. They have on wrangler jeans, cowboy shirts and cowboy hats and boots. They were SO cute.
Most of the chuck wagon drivers were men, but a few were women. These women were big, stocky with muscles and dressed just like the men. I had to look twice when the announcer said a female name. Each chuck wagon looked like a miniature Conestoga wagon with an elaborately painted design - probably done with air brushes, on the wagon and the fabric hood. The teams of 4 horses each wagon had were in matching bridles and harnesses. The horses are the same ones that have run the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. They are retired from those races and sold up here in Canada to run these Chuck Wagon Races. They can run these races until they are about 20 years old and then they become a family pet. They are extremely fine stallions who always want to race. Because the horses are bred to run, they can hardly wait to race. One horse decided it was time to run, he incited the other 3 harnesses with him and off they went. Then the other 3 teams of horses decided to run again. They had to line them up all over again. This was one of the funniest sports we have seen. And it is really big here. Everybody in town seems to go to it. On Sunday (when we will be gone) the fastest team out of the whole week will be announced. The winner will receive $70,000.! Then the chuck wagons go to another town in western Canada and it starts all over again. This is the Canadian Cowboys way!
We went to the Grande Prairie Stompede at 5:30 PM. The rodeo with bull riding was at 1:00 and we already missed it. But we saw the Chuck Wagon Pony Races with 40 chuck wagons competing. It was packed and it's a Wednesday night. There is school tomorrow, but the kids were still here when we left. A lot of the little boys are dressed up just like their Daddies. They have on wrangler jeans, cowboy shirts and cowboy hats and boots. They were SO cute.
Most of the chuck wagon drivers were men, but a few were women. These women were big, stocky with muscles and dressed just like the men. I had to look twice when the announcer said a female name. Each chuck wagon looked like a miniature Conestoga wagon with an elaborately painted design - probably done with air brushes, on the wagon and the fabric hood. The teams of 4 horses each wagon had were in matching bridles and harnesses. The horses are the same ones that have run the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. They are retired from those races and sold up here in Canada to run these Chuck Wagon Races. They can run these races until they are about 20 years old and then they become a family pet. They are extremely fine stallions who always want to race. Because the horses are bred to run, they can hardly wait to race. One horse decided it was time to run, he incited the other 3 harnesses with him and off they went. Then the other 3 teams of horses decided to run again. They had to line them up all over again. This was one of the funniest sports we have seen. And it is really big here. Everybody in town seems to go to it. On Sunday (when we will be gone) the fastest team out of the whole week will be announced. The winner will receive $70,000.! Then the chuck wagons go to another town in western Canada and it starts all over again. This is the Canadian Cowboys way!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
We saw 3 deer as we left Grande Cache this morning and drove over the Smoky River on a wooden bridge that had red iron work above. For the next 85 miles there were 7% and 8% grades. Up and down, up and down, up and down! The air brakes are really getting a work out! We're heading to Grande Prairie, Alberta for 2 days. They have a Wal-Mart, Costco, Michaels and a "No frills" grocery store with gas pumps. The prices were really good at both. The gas and diesel prices are much higher than in the states. That's the result of a socialist country.
The Tamarak Campground was really nice. There were plenty of trees and pretty empty when we pulled in. The trees make it nice and private, but the satellite TV doesn't work. They do have a cable hookup; but no internet.
Jenn- I finally found my yarn at the Michaels here. I've been searching for it since Nashville. It is made by Bernat in Canada. It has a different name in the states; but it is the same yarn.
Since we are to be here for 2 days I could do more cooking in the kitchen here. I haven't been able to do that for a while now. I even had time to make an apple crisp. I really miss making meals from scratch and I'm really tired of eating out.
By the time we finished eating supper and cleaning up the dishes we figured it was about 7:00, so we drove into town to find someplace with internet to pull up the email. We couldn't find anyplace open. We looked at the clock- it was 9:15 PM and it looked like it was just 6:30 or 7:00. Maybe we will get used to the sun being up so long one of these days. It doesn't set until after 10 PM. And that time keeps getting later and later the further north we drive.
The Tamarak Campground was really nice. There were plenty of trees and pretty empty when we pulled in. The trees make it nice and private, but the satellite TV doesn't work. They do have a cable hookup; but no internet.
Jenn- I finally found my yarn at the Michaels here. I've been searching for it since Nashville. It is made by Bernat in Canada. It has a different name in the states; but it is the same yarn.
Since we are to be here for 2 days I could do more cooking in the kitchen here. I haven't been able to do that for a while now. I even had time to make an apple crisp. I really miss making meals from scratch and I'm really tired of eating out.
By the time we finished eating supper and cleaning up the dishes we figured it was about 7:00, so we drove into town to find someplace with internet to pull up the email. We couldn't find anyplace open. We looked at the clock- it was 9:15 PM and it looked like it was just 6:30 or 7:00. Maybe we will get used to the sun being up so long one of these days. It doesn't set until after 10 PM. And that time keeps getting later and later the further north we drive.
Grande Prairie Stompede
In Grande Prairie we decided to go to the local rodeo, we went to the evening show which was the Chuckwagon races. It is like harness racing but with a metal chuckwagon pulled by 4 horses. This sport is a big deal and has a professional association that races all around western Canada. It was fun, but dusty, and the grandstands were packed, this was a grande prairie celebration.
Elk
After we left Jasper on Monday we were driving enroute to Grand Cache when we spotted this Elk beside the road, I originally thought it was a Moose, quite a rack on this one.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Today we went up the Jasper Tramway. The Base Camp is at elevation 1000 feet. The Upper Camp is at elevation 2000 feet. The mountain is called Whistler Mountain for the noise the hoary marmot makes. At the very top we are actually in a cloud with a little bit of snow flurries. Most of the employees here are very young adults from Alberta,Canada, Nova Scotia, New Zealand and Australia. There are just 2 trams in a balanced pulley system; they have to operate together. It wouldn't work for a ski slope because hardly anybody could get to the top fast enough. We can see quite far. There is a heart-shaped lake below and we watched a Canadian Northern train with many, many double stacked cars pull into the station in Jasper. Daddy ordered eggs, sausage and toast for breakfast. I had a blueberry muffin and coffee. Then we watched the clouds roll in and block out the lower camp. Most of the year it is very clear up here, except when the seasons are changing- which is now.
We are driving to Grande Cache to spend the night. On the way we will stop at Wal -Mart in Hinton. As we left the Tramway we saw 2 large elk on the side of the road eating. Then we saw 2 huge bull moose on the Yellowhead Highway between Jasper and Hinton. After Hinton we are on rout #40 which is the Bighorn Highway.
Grande Cache(pronounced CASH) is named for the cabins on stilts that were built here in the late 1800s. The word cache is French and means large storage space. Historically, it was used as a staging area for the fur trappers and native Indians where they left from to trap animals in what is now called Willmore Wilderness Park. In 1969 it was established as a town by the McIntyre Porcupine Coal, LTD. company. We stayed at the Grande Cache Municipal Campground which was very private and wooded. Daddy washed the RV and car by hand. The weather was absolutely gorgeous.
We are driving to Grande Cache to spend the night. On the way we will stop at Wal -Mart in Hinton. As we left the Tramway we saw 2 large elk on the side of the road eating. Then we saw 2 huge bull moose on the Yellowhead Highway between Jasper and Hinton. After Hinton we are on rout #40 which is the Bighorn Highway.
Grande Cache(pronounced CASH) is named for the cabins on stilts that were built here in the late 1800s. The word cache is French and means large storage space. Historically, it was used as a staging area for the fur trappers and native Indians where they left from to trap animals in what is now called Willmore Wilderness Park. In 1969 it was established as a town by the McIntyre Porcupine Coal, LTD. company. We stayed at the Grande Cache Municipal Campground which was very private and wooded. Daddy washed the RV and car by hand. The weather was absolutely gorgeous.
CN intermodal train
Looking down from the top it was cloudy but we did see this CN stack train headed east. After watching the views for a while we went upstairs and had a breakfast. The college students who worked the tram were from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They stayed in dorm style housing in the town of Jasper and were brought to work every day.
Jasper tram
Looking down from the gondola we see that our RV has a white top, we did not know that. Ours is the closest to the left bottom.
Jasper, Alberta tramway
We visited the tram at Jasper on Monday morning, the 24th and the next couple of pictures will be from the tram. We went there first and then left for Grand Cache and Grande Prairie.
23, 2010Sunday, May
Today we are headed up the Ice fields Highway to Jasper, Alberta where the Banff National Forest ends. There were snow flurries quite a bit yesterday and today. I was able to take 2 pictures of a black bear today; but haven't seen any moose or elk yet. Daddy saw 2 big horned sheep on the side of the road when I had gone into the back of the RV to fix lunch.
This is the most spectacular mountain road in the world! It goes through 3 very deep river valleys beneath soaring glaciers and notched mountains. The dozen of peaks are horn like with permanent ice fields. All along this highway you can see ice capped mountains and glaciers. The largest of these is the Columbia Glacier which is 200 square miles and 2500 feet thick. This is the largest non polar ice cap in the world and the ice is centuries old. They have a specialized bus with track tires to transport you to the glacier. You can get out and walk on the glacier; but it is cold and you need really thick boots. We decided not to go because several people have fallen in crevices that are hidden by the snow. They die of hypothermia before they can be pulled out. The pictures of the glacier are good enough for me!
All of the streams, creeks and rivers here are very aqua blue in color because the water is from a melted glacier. It is lacking the large amount of oxygen that is found in regular streams. The animals known to live here are bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk, bear and deer.
This is the most spectacular mountain road in the world! It goes through 3 very deep river valleys beneath soaring glaciers and notched mountains. The dozen of peaks are horn like with permanent ice fields. All along this highway you can see ice capped mountains and glaciers. The largest of these is the Columbia Glacier which is 200 square miles and 2500 feet thick. This is the largest non polar ice cap in the world and the ice is centuries old. They have a specialized bus with track tires to transport you to the glacier. You can get out and walk on the glacier; but it is cold and you need really thick boots. We decided not to go because several people have fallen in crevices that are hidden by the snow. They die of hypothermia before they can be pulled out. The pictures of the glacier are good enough for me!
All of the streams, creeks and rivers here are very aqua blue in color because the water is from a melted glacier. It is lacking the large amount of oxygen that is found in regular streams. The animals known to live here are bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk, bear and deer.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Now we are in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, the last town before the Banff National Park. We found a neat RV park that is in the trees. The town has a quilt store that I spent 1 hour in. Then Daddy went to the libray to pull up his email. There is no internet coverage at the RV Park.
Banff is Canada's oldest National Park. It is 259 square miles of mountains, glaciers, high moraine lakes and rushing rivers. The 2 mountains are Sulphur Mountain which is black in color because of its minerals; and Rundle Mountain, which is a fin shaped mountain turned on its side. They have a road called Tunnel Mountain, which is a misnomer because the tunnel was never built. We found the Fairmount Hotel where we stayed 6 years ago in August when the flowers were in full bloom. Now there is still snow, but it is still beautiful. We walked the trails above the Bow River to see the 2 waterfalls. The walls on both sides are steep and someone threw an acoustic guitar down , and it was laying about 6 foot above the river.
The highway to Banff and Lake Louise have special large animal overpasses made of 2 tunnels for the highway cars and sod, shrubs and trees on top of the tunnels for the animals to be able to cross the highway without getting hit or killed. Most of the animals that are hit by cars usually end up dying shortly after. This prevents that from happening. They have built 23 of these special overpasses between Banff and Lake Louise. There are hidden cameras to see if the animals are using them. They have found at least 11 species of the animals are using them. Supposedly, you can go online to the National Parks System to view it. I'll have to check it out when I'm finished with the blog tonight.
We walked around the town of Banff and Lake Louise. They are just upscaled resorts where everything is so overpriced. Their big tourist time is in the summer. But, there were a lot of tourists here now.
Banff is Canada's oldest National Park. It is 259 square miles of mountains, glaciers, high moraine lakes and rushing rivers. The 2 mountains are Sulphur Mountain which is black in color because of its minerals; and Rundle Mountain, which is a fin shaped mountain turned on its side. They have a road called Tunnel Mountain, which is a misnomer because the tunnel was never built. We found the Fairmount Hotel where we stayed 6 years ago in August when the flowers were in full bloom. Now there is still snow, but it is still beautiful. We walked the trails above the Bow River to see the 2 waterfalls. The walls on both sides are steep and someone threw an acoustic guitar down , and it was laying about 6 foot above the river.
The highway to Banff and Lake Louise have special large animal overpasses made of 2 tunnels for the highway cars and sod, shrubs and trees on top of the tunnels for the animals to be able to cross the highway without getting hit or killed. Most of the animals that are hit by cars usually end up dying shortly after. This prevents that from happening. They have built 23 of these special overpasses between Banff and Lake Louise. There are hidden cameras to see if the animals are using them. They have found at least 11 species of the animals are using them. Supposedly, you can go online to the National Parks System to view it. I'll have to check it out when I'm finished with the blog tonight.
We walked around the town of Banff and Lake Louise. They are just upscaled resorts where everything is so overpriced. Their big tourist time is in the summer. But, there were a lot of tourists here now.
Friday, May 21, 2010
We are on the road again headed to the Canadian line. The road still goes through the Indian reservations, which are really winding roads with no houses or barns just cattle, horses and dogs roaming the mountainsides. The first time I saw the dogs I thought it was a couple of coyotes. Once we had to stop because there were about 15 cattle just standing in the street. One brown and white steer looked at us in awe with its eyes really big. It was a good thing we could stop the RV because they weren't going to move until they wanted to. Of course, our air horn is quite loud and finally they moved to the side. A couple of miles later we came upon about 7 horses and 1 juvenile horse just galloping down the road. The fields on both sides were behind fences so they kept galloping down the street until they came to an opening. They really had to run and we were following right behind them. We ate at an Indian owned cafe- Fire Horse Cafe- and the waitress told us it doesn't get hot until August. The sky was a beautiful blue today and she said it was 70% chance of snow.
At the Canadian line there was no one in front of us. On the other side there was a long line. A lot of Canadians have post office boxes in East Glacier, Montana because the US mail system is so much better that the Canadian. They drive across the line to pick up their mail once or twice a week. The custom official came to our RV door and just asked us questions and let us go through. The roads are better here on the Canadian side and the ranches seem to be more organized. The roads are much better but the wind has really picked up. It's a struggle to keep the RV going straight. Daddy's arms will be sore by the end of today.
We wanted to stay in a RV park in Calgary; but have found out it is their big holiday this weekend. All of the RV parks require a 3 day minimum stay and we only want 1 night. Finally found 1 at West Olympic Park which is on our way out of Calgary anyway. It was really nice but our water hose would not reach the outlet. So we just filled up the next day. These Canadians really love to go RVing. The highways are full of them! This holiday is called Victoria Day and is celebrated Friday through Monday. That means every place we want to go for the next 3 days will be crowded.
We went to the Costco in Calgary. They have some different foods in their food court: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, smoked beef sandwiches, french fires with gravy or poutine(gravy and cheese mixed), mini donuts, espresso and cappachino. I tried to pay for our purchases with my debit card. Because my debit card has a Visa logo on it Costco will not accept it. So I wrote a check; but that meant I was paying Costco too much. It took 45 minutes to get the check back, rip it up and recharge it on an American Express. What a hassle! I hope the rest of our trip into Canada goes easier
At the Canadian line there was no one in front of us. On the other side there was a long line. A lot of Canadians have post office boxes in East Glacier, Montana because the US mail system is so much better that the Canadian. They drive across the line to pick up their mail once or twice a week. The custom official came to our RV door and just asked us questions and let us go through. The roads are better here on the Canadian side and the ranches seem to be more organized. The roads are much better but the wind has really picked up. It's a struggle to keep the RV going straight. Daddy's arms will be sore by the end of today.
We wanted to stay in a RV park in Calgary; but have found out it is their big holiday this weekend. All of the RV parks require a 3 day minimum stay and we only want 1 night. Finally found 1 at West Olympic Park which is on our way out of Calgary anyway. It was really nice but our water hose would not reach the outlet. So we just filled up the next day. These Canadians really love to go RVing. The highways are full of them! This holiday is called Victoria Day and is celebrated Friday through Monday. That means every place we want to go for the next 3 days will be crowded.
We went to the Costco in Calgary. They have some different foods in their food court: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, smoked beef sandwiches, french fires with gravy or poutine(gravy and cheese mixed), mini donuts, espresso and cappachino. I tried to pay for our purchases with my debit card. Because my debit card has a Visa logo on it Costco will not accept it. So I wrote a check; but that meant I was paying Costco too much. It took 45 minutes to get the check back, rip it up and recharge it on an American Express. What a hassle! I hope the rest of our trip into Canada goes easier
Jasper, Alberta
Jasper is a town within the Canadian National Park, so we stayed in a national park RV area which had electric. That is really all we need. This was a holiday weekend for Canadians as it was Victoria day to celebrate former Queen's birthday.
Jasper was developed as a railroad town and CN double stack trains are constantly going through. This steam engine is at the town square and the CN has a big presence in Jasper.
Quite a few good restaurants and souvenir shops.
Jasper was developed as a railroad town and CN double stack trains are constantly going through. This steam engine is at the town square and the CN has a big presence in Jasper.
Quite a few good restaurants and souvenir shops.
Preparing to Ice Climb
These two gentlemen are dressing in their ice-climbing clothes and tools. I hope their climbing is more organized or it is going to be a long day for them.
Icefield Highway Glacier
The highway between Lake Louise and Jasper is called the icefield parkway. Here Jan is at the Columbia Icefields, they do off a specially fitted bus that takes you onto the glacier. It was $49.00 Canadian a person which was a bit steep. We will see plenty of Glaciers in Alaska so we passed. This "finger" of the glacier lays right beside the highway. The glacier itself covers many square miles.
BridalVeil falls
Nothing special about this falls, just another miracle of nature along the road enroute Jasper
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
After spending several hours in Great Falls, Montana at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center we left for the drive to Glacier National Park, Montana. A deer ran across the road just in front of us. It's a wonder we didn't hit it! We traveled through many Indian reservations, one after another, and they are fairly rustic. There are curving roads and no houses . We drove through many weather changes: started warm, then windy and some rain and cooling off.
We stayed at the Alpine Meadows RV Park in Summit, Montana. Maria's Pass is named after Lewis' cousin, Maria Wood. The Blackfeet Indians were the first humans to make a pass over this mountain. They called it Backbone Pass. It's 35 degrees outside with 15 - 30 mph winds in this valley. There are white caps in the St. Mary's River and the forecast is for 100% chance of snow with 1 inch accumulation. When we stopped at a pull-off to eat lunch, it was snowing and blowing really hard. Yesterday it was 74! Snow is on both sides of the road and tiny yellow flowers are blooming- similar to a yellow crocus or petite daffodils; and they are all over the forest floor wherever you look! Just in front of us are 10 wild horses and 1 baby horse in the road. They looked at us as if we were the strange ones. Maybe they don't get many cars here.
All of the ecosystems are interlinked here. If something happens to 1 species, it'll compromise the other species too. The Grizzly bear has a vital role in Glacier Park. There is a high population of the Grizzlies because there is no development or housing in the Park. Grizzly bears gain 100s of pounds during the summer to prepare for the long hibernation. With no developments there is more vegetation and it is lush; then the bears can live longer. It is not that way in Yellowstone. Glacier National Park is a refuge for almost every large mammal species native to the US. Most of these we will never see because they stay away from the roads and the majority of the park is inaccessible by road. There are 270 species of birds and over 1000 species of floral.
The Blackfeet Indians were here 10,000 years ago and named the tallest mountain Chief Mountain. The Indians believe the glaciers were formed by a battle between the sun (an old man) and the moon (an old lady) throwing rocks, stones, boulders, moss, trees. etc. The Euro-Americans didn't arrive here until the late 1800s when silver brought miners and railroads brought tourists. In 1900 George Grinwell lobbied for Glacier to be a National Park. It was accomplished by 1910. Going to the Sun Road ( elevation 6700 Ft.) was built in 1921.
This landscape is due to the glaciers and oceans of ice 12,000 years ago. The glaciers are 5000 feet of ice grinding away at the ground(glaciation). The lake waters are blue in color because of the glaciers reflecting back the sky. By 2030 this glacier will be gone due to global warming and it'll change every living thing in the park; micro-organisms, plants and animals.
Most of Glacier National Park is not open yet. We were only able to go in 1 entrance and even then the road was closed off after shortly after. The roads are not plowed. We will be leaving the RV park tomorrow because it's disappointing not being able to view the park.
On the way back to the RV park we saw many beavers. They dam up the local streams. A lone wolf was seen roaming around the RV park this morning. There are only 3 RVs in here at this time of year. It snowed and sleeted quite a bit overnight and it was really cold. You could hear the wind whipping around the RV.
We stayed at the Alpine Meadows RV Park in Summit, Montana. Maria's Pass is named after Lewis' cousin, Maria Wood. The Blackfeet Indians were the first humans to make a pass over this mountain. They called it Backbone Pass. It's 35 degrees outside with 15 - 30 mph winds in this valley. There are white caps in the St. Mary's River and the forecast is for 100% chance of snow with 1 inch accumulation. When we stopped at a pull-off to eat lunch, it was snowing and blowing really hard. Yesterday it was 74! Snow is on both sides of the road and tiny yellow flowers are blooming- similar to a yellow crocus or petite daffodils; and they are all over the forest floor wherever you look! Just in front of us are 10 wild horses and 1 baby horse in the road. They looked at us as if we were the strange ones. Maybe they don't get many cars here.
All of the ecosystems are interlinked here. If something happens to 1 species, it'll compromise the other species too. The Grizzly bear has a vital role in Glacier Park. There is a high population of the Grizzlies because there is no development or housing in the Park. Grizzly bears gain 100s of pounds during the summer to prepare for the long hibernation. With no developments there is more vegetation and it is lush; then the bears can live longer. It is not that way in Yellowstone. Glacier National Park is a refuge for almost every large mammal species native to the US. Most of these we will never see because they stay away from the roads and the majority of the park is inaccessible by road. There are 270 species of birds and over 1000 species of floral.
The Blackfeet Indians were here 10,000 years ago and named the tallest mountain Chief Mountain. The Indians believe the glaciers were formed by a battle between the sun (an old man) and the moon (an old lady) throwing rocks, stones, boulders, moss, trees. etc. The Euro-Americans didn't arrive here until the late 1800s when silver brought miners and railroads brought tourists. In 1900 George Grinwell lobbied for Glacier to be a National Park. It was accomplished by 1910. Going to the Sun Road ( elevation 6700 Ft.) was built in 1921.
This landscape is due to the glaciers and oceans of ice 12,000 years ago. The glaciers are 5000 feet of ice grinding away at the ground(glaciation). The lake waters are blue in color because of the glaciers reflecting back the sky. By 2030 this glacier will be gone due to global warming and it'll change every living thing in the park; micro-organisms, plants and animals.
Most of Glacier National Park is not open yet. We were only able to go in 1 entrance and even then the road was closed off after shortly after. The roads are not plowed. We will be leaving the RV park tomorrow because it's disappointing not being able to view the park.
On the way back to the RV park we saw many beavers. They dam up the local streams. A lone wolf was seen roaming around the RV park this morning. There are only 3 RVs in here at this time of year. It snowed and sleeted quite a bit overnight and it was really cold. You could hear the wind whipping around the RV.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Lakota Indians were the Tetons and the Sioux. They had a tradition that they could get close enough to an enemy to be able to touch the enemy; but not get killed or kill the enemy. This was called "counting Coup". To represent it they had a stick with bison fur and eagle feathers on it. These Lakota Indians were the middlemen of the trading on the Missouri River and monopolized it. Lewis and Clark wanted open trade among all of the tribes; but the Lakota didn't, so they became hostile.
The Nakota Indians (Yankton Sioux) welcomed Lewis and Clark because Lewis and Clark guaranteed their protection from their enemies. They held a 3 day feast for Lewis and Clark and they ate "Fat Dog". The Arikara Indians marveled at Lt. York, who was a black man. They actually rubbed his skin to be sure it wasn't painted on and called him "Big Medicine". To the Oyate Piute Indians the buffaloes were their guardians. Oce ti Sakowiz was a young warrior who the bison helped return him to his tribe. So now they will care for the bison as long as they live.
11,000 years ago the Indians herded the buffalo to the cliffs to fall to their deaths called Buffalo Jumps. The Giant Bison became extinct 6000 years ago. The modern buffalo is smaller. These modern American buffalo have larger heads and neck bumps and more ribs than the true buffalo( those from Asia and the African Water Buffalo). These modern buffalo roam in herds with a dominant male who has a breeding harem that he protects against wolves.
The Indians ate Boudin Blanc- buffalo sausage which was a suet of kidney and shoulder meat. They also cooked the buffalo leg bones , cracked them open and extracted the marrow to spread onto corn bread. The buffalo foot bones became toy horses for little boys to play a game of hunting and war. In the hoof and pen game they would swing the hoof bones and catch them on a sharp point. The buffalo horns became huge spoons. Nothing was wasted.
Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery met many, many Indian tribes and about 50 different languages on their expedition west. The Indians also made use of sign language very effectively when they encountered a tribe that did not understand their language. All of the different tribes used the earth and its resources very carefully; wasting nothing.
The Nakota Indians (Yankton Sioux) welcomed Lewis and Clark because Lewis and Clark guaranteed their protection from their enemies. They held a 3 day feast for Lewis and Clark and they ate "Fat Dog". The Arikara Indians marveled at Lt. York, who was a black man. They actually rubbed his skin to be sure it wasn't painted on and called him "Big Medicine". To the Oyate Piute Indians the buffaloes were their guardians. Oce ti Sakowiz was a young warrior who the bison helped return him to his tribe. So now they will care for the bison as long as they live.
11,000 years ago the Indians herded the buffalo to the cliffs to fall to their deaths called Buffalo Jumps. The Giant Bison became extinct 6000 years ago. The modern buffalo is smaller. These modern American buffalo have larger heads and neck bumps and more ribs than the true buffalo( those from Asia and the African Water Buffalo). These modern buffalo roam in herds with a dominant male who has a breeding harem that he protects against wolves.
The Indians ate Boudin Blanc- buffalo sausage which was a suet of kidney and shoulder meat. They also cooked the buffalo leg bones , cracked them open and extracted the marrow to spread onto corn bread. The buffalo foot bones became toy horses for little boys to play a game of hunting and war. In the hoof and pen game they would swing the hoof bones and catch them on a sharp point. The buffalo horns became huge spoons. Nothing was wasted.
Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery met many, many Indian tribes and about 50 different languages on their expedition west. The Indians also made use of sign language very effectively when they encountered a tribe that did not understand their language. All of the different tribes used the earth and its resources very carefully; wasting nothing.
In the western plains and the mountains of Idaho lived the Salish(Flathead) and Kalispell Indians. They ate bitter root, camas, fish, deer, buffalo and elk. Their enemy were the Blackfeet Indians. When the Salish chief, 3 Eagles, knew Lewis and Clark were near, he asked his braves to bring them in unharmed. Lewis and Clark and their men had to cross over the Bitter Root Mountains for their next stage of their trip to the Pacific Ocean. It was snow covered with many fallen trees. They were exhausted, hungry and cold for 11 days and resorted to eat 3 colts and 1 horse to prevent starvation on the Weippe Prairie. The Nimiipu and Nez Perce Indians used hides and tulle mats made of bulrushes to keep warm.
The Nez Perce had portable houses made of hides and bulrush (tulle) stalks that repel water. It is used on the floor as mats because the tiny air pockets in the stalks insulate in Spring, Summer and Fall. In the winter they moved to longhouses made with pole tripods formed into double ridgepoles. The rugged, hilly plateau provided them with good food. In the spring they fished the salmon runs. In the summer they gathered over 100 plants for food and medicines, including the camas which they made into cakes.. When fall came they killed buffalo and dried the meat. In the winter was the time for ceremonies and storytelling. They were excellent horse breeders because they had lush grasses. The horses were bred for strength, endurance and surefootedness. Wealth was measured by how many horses a person owned. The Nez Perce Indians made many tools from teeth, bones, antlers and stones. Nez Perce became their American name because several of the tribe had pierced noses. The Nez Perce Indians had an alliance with the Crow and Flatheads.
When they reached the territory of the Nimiipu Indians an older woman of the tribe was responsible for their friendly greeting. She had been captured by the Blackfeet and sold to a white trader, who was very friendly and took her back to her tribe. Because of this she told the tribe not to harm Lewis and Clark.
While staying there the Orofini Indians helped them make 5 dugout canoes by burning out the centers of pond pine trees to be able to launch into the Clearwater River. They branded their horses and asked the Nez Perce Indians to please pasture them until the spring when they planned on returning. It took 2 days to arrive at the Snake River and another 6 days to reach the Columbia River. From the Columbia River(whitewater) they went through Celilo Falls, to the Short Narrows, to the Dalles and the Cascades. They were able to accomplish between 20 and 60 miles a day. At the Short Narrows they couldn't portage the boats, so they rode the rapids. The Indians watching were very surprised that all 5 canoes made it. Today this area is classed as a Class V rapids. Because Sacajawea was with them, the other Indians they met did not consider them a war party because a woman was with them. They had upset stomachs from the amount of oily salmon they were eating now. So they decided to eat dog meat. At Celilo Falls there was a 20 foot drop so the carried the canoes. The Long Narrows and Celilo Falls are both under water now because of the Dalles Dam built in the late 1950s.
At the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers they met the Palouse, Palus, Solkulk and Chimnapun tribes. These Indians dealt mainly in fishing and trade. They were of a stocky build with flat heads. Their lodges had mat floors with flat tops which meant they must have very little precipitation because a large amount of rain would not fall off the roof. It seemed the Indians had eye problems because they had to constantly look at the glare from the sun off the river. Their habit of eating unwashed sandy roots led to worn down teeth.
When they arrived at the Dalles they rested for a while to dry out. The Dalles was the dividing line for the Indian languages. They left behind the Nez Perce languages and entered the Chinookan languages. The local Indians helped them with their passage; but they took blankets, axes and supplies in payment without asking first. So Lewis and Clark had to set up guards to ensure they had enough supplies for their trip. These Eneeshurs Indians had homes made of split wooden planks and stored their fish in rectangular baskets that held 100 # each. Their main diet was fish. The Chilluckittequaw Indians on the west coast at the Pacific Ocean has lightweight canoes with carved animal heads on their bows.
This trip took a total of 17 months and they covered 3174 miles.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is at the Giant Springs National Park here in Great Falls. It is said to be the best one. We have stopped at every one we have passed on our journey and this one was really the best. They have reproductions of pieces of Lewis and Clark's journals here. The originals are in the museums at Chicago and Philadelphia.
The Lewis and Clark journals were so thorough that they wrote more words than the Bible! Of course, their punctuation is a bit haphazard. They spelled the words phonetically- exactly as it sounded to them. In fact, Clark spelled the Sioux Indian name 27 different ways and never spelled it S-i-o-u-x as it should be. In addition to writing in their journals they also wrote on buffalo hides and rock faces.
Captain Lewis studied in Philadelphia for months preparing for this expedition. The boat was made in Pittsburgh and he sailed down the Ohio River from there to meet Clark. They had served together in the military. Lewis had to carry an enormous amount of supplies for their survival. He had gifts to appease the Indians: beads, bells, decorative items, camp kettles, leather working awls, fish hooks and tobacco. In order to survive in the wilderness they needed; food, clothing, firearms, mosquito netting, tools and medicines for 30 men and 1 Newfoundland dog, named Sea Witch. In addition, Lewis and Clark needed writing implements and materials, reference books, scientific instruments to be able to draw the maps accurately for Thomas Jefferson.
All of these items were placed into oiled canvas bags. The gifts for the Indians living on the lower and middle Missouri River filled 21 large bags. They filled 5 bales with gifts for the distant Indians. All of this was placed into a keelboat and 2 pirogues. The keelboat could carry 28 -32 tons. In today's terms, a moving van can carry 10 tons. The keelboat was like a large barge with sails; 55 feet long (longer than 3 and a half minivans) and much wider. It was propelled by rowing, poling, towing or sailing and they had to use all of these methods. In fact they needed to hire teams of oxen and horses from the farms around the Ohio River to pull the keelboat because the water was too shallow. The pirogue was a French word for a large dug out canoe. The pirogues were like shallow flat bottomed plank boats that carried 8 -9 tons each.
In December, 1803 they built a camp 14 miles north of St. Louis on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from the mouth of the Missouri River on the Wood River. Naming it Camp Dubois they imposed strict military regimen and preparation on these men called the Corps of Discovery. They learned about the wilderness they were going to explore by talking with fur trappers and traders of the area. Before they left they had a 7 page map of the the first 700 miles of the Missouri River. They departed from Camp Dubois which is now a suburb of St. Louis.
The Plains Indians were very susceptible to the European diseases, especially smallpox. In the 1740s there were 500 Missouria Indians; by 1785, because of smallpox, there were only 120. In the early 1800s the Missouria joined with the Otoe Indians to fight the Sioux. The Arikara squaws were farmers, the men hunted and traded and they numbered 30,000 . When the smallpox hit in 1780 - 1781 they only had 22,500 left. Lewis and Clark met these Indians at the beginning of their trip.
By the time winter came in 11/1804 they were at Fort Mandan. It was brutal, -40 degrees with snow drifts. When the river iced over, they had to stop. They constructed log homes with stone fireplaces. When they built a blacksmith forge, the Indians came to trade corn for the sharpening of their axes. With 50 men at the fort they ate 1 large buffalo or 4 deer each day. While they waited for the river to thaw, they visited local Indian lodges of the Hidasta and Mandan tribes. The Mandan tribes had 2 subtribes: Nupta and Nuptadi. The Hidatsa tribe has 3 subtribes: Hidatsa, Awalixa and Awaxawi. In 1804, the Mandan and the Hidatsa had a very large trading center which they controlled. They were the middlemen of this monopoly trade and profited greatly from it. They traded flint from the Knife River for things they needed. Their village was 50 foot above the Knife River. They had circular earthen structures with 1 opening and it held several families and their horses!!! Squaws used bullboats made of a willow frame with a large bull hide to paddle on the river. This bullboat was stored on top of the earthlodges to protect the smokehole from the wind. Lewis and Clark were impressed by their architecture. When the Corps of Discovery left on 4/7/1805, it is said the Indians played them a funeral song because they didn't expect them to survive.
They encountered bad storms and high winds across Montana. Lewis thought the Mandan Indians were telling tall tales when they described a grizzly bear; until he came upon one unexpectantly and almost didn't get away. They saw plenty of hawks, grizzlies, eagles and buffalo; but only found evidence Indians had been there before them. When Indians put up tepees, they weighted down the buffalo hides with rocks to prevent the wind from lifting it up. Lewis and Clark found these rock rings and where campfires had been; but no Indians. Lewis saw remnants of a camp with 126 tipi (tepee) rings around the Judith River.
The maps Lewis and Clark had were of the lower half of the Missouri River and just 100 miles of the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean; but nothing in between. Clark listed each bend of the river with a "course and distance" reading noted in his journal with compass bearings. To this day, it is still very accurate. Every night and day they noted the positions of the sun, moon, stars and planets.
On 5/31/1805 they needed to pull the boats(at least 1000 #) up against the force of water rapids. Lewis and Clark then dug huge pits to store supplies and equipment for their return trip. They carefully hid the site, covering it over with shrubs and rocks. Then they dumped the unused dirt into the river. They lined the sides and bottom with sticks, dry grass and hides for protection from the elements. Everything they put into the pit was packed in oil cloth, metal containers and barrels to prevent moisture from ruining it. On 7/4/1805 the Corps had a party for the 4th; then spent 2 weeks building an iron boat and drying and packing 600 # of buffalo meat. The boat sank as soon as it was placed in the river.
When they arrived at the fork of the Missouri River, they weren't sure which way was the origin of the Missouri. The Mandans told them it began where the waterfalls were. The river was surrounded by Stoney Mountains with white cliffs and rock escarpments. Lewis went alone on foot and saw on 6/14/1805 the Great Falls of the Missouri, now called Ryan Dam. But in the next 8 miles he found 4 more waterfalls. The Indians never mentioned more than 1 waterfall. At the last waterfall he found a large bubbling spring of fresh water- the largest in North America. This is called the Giant Springs now. It pumps out 200 million gallons of fresh water daily.
There was no way they could go up the river in the boats; so they had to portage them. Lewis figured it would take 1 day. Instead it took 2 weeks and 18 miles of blazing heat, rough terrain with the prickly pear cactus spines going through their double soled moccasins. On the way around the waterfalls a thunderstorm came with hail the size of lemons that broke the skin. They had no place to hide. They still had trouble with the mosquitoes, knats and the prickly pear cactus. The upper portage camp was on an island called White Bear because it had lots of grizzly bears.
Sacajawea met them here at Great Falls and was ill. After 2 bloodletting didn't help her, Lewis had found a mineral springs and gave some to her to drink. The next day she was fine. They named it Sulphur Springs. She must have felt really bad to be able to drink water that smelled like rotten eggs. At this point Sacajawea's baby is only 4 months old and a flash flood hits them. She lost the baby's cradle board but saved her baby. It is assumed she made another cradle board to carry the baby. It is common practice to keep the babies in cradle boards until they are 2 years old. They stayed for 1 month at Great Falls to rest up from the portage of the boats and to heal their feet.
They still have not seen any Indians, just evidence that once they were there. But, the Indians didn't usually come to the falls until fall and Lewis and Clark were there in the summer. The Falls were not spiritual to the Crow and Blackfeet Indians; they just vied for the hunting grounds.
After hiking for 4 days they arrived at the Big Belk Mountains where they found cutthroat trout and pelicans. The sheer vertical limestone rock walls towered above the river. They called these the Gates of the Rocky Mountains 20 miles north of now Helena, Montana. Clark went around on foot above the cliffs and ended up with sore feet from the cactus spines. On 7/25/1805 they came to 3 forks in the river. They named them the Jefferson, Madsion and Gallatin Rivers. At this point they called the area Three Forks, and now this is the town of Three Forks, Montana. They also saw 3 bighorn sheep for the first time. The Nez Perce Indians use their horns for bows. They soften the horns by boiling and straightening and sharpening them. Surprisingly, this was where Sacajawea was captured by the Hidatsa Indians when she was 10 years old. On 8/8/1805 she saw the large limestone rock that was shaped like a swimming beaver and remembered it. On 8/11/1805 Clark stayed at the camp with the boats to heal his feet and Lewis went ahead to explore. Lewis followed the rivers to see which one was the Missouri headwaters. He left a message on a freshly cut pole for Clark about which river was the correct one. But a beaver took the pole to use in its dam; so Clark never saw the note and, of course, went up the wrong river for 9 miles before he turned around.
Lewis saw some Shoshone Indian women gathering food on 8/15/1805 and presented them with gifts so they took Lewis to their village. When the 60 warriors saw Lewis they became upset; until the women showed them the gifts. Five days later Clark arrives with Sacajawea. When Clark and Sacajawea were introduced to the Shoshone Chief, Cameahwait, she realized he was her brother. So they had a party for this reunion and also it was Lewis' 31st birthday on 8/18/1805. He felt he had nothing to show for his life.
This was the end of the river; no more water trail to follow. They had a choice: turn around and go back with no water route to the Pacific Ocean or walk to the Pacific Ocean. They decided to walk and find some Indian tribe with horses to trade. In the distance they saw even more snow covered mountain ranges. They thought it was only one. This was depressing because they needed to get over the snowy mountains before winter set in. Lewis followed the rivers to find the origin of the Missouri River.
Because of Sacajawea's connections being the sister of the chief of the Shoshone Indians, they were treated well. The Lemhi Shoshone Indians believed the top layer of the earth (dirt) was the dust of their ancestors. They stayed for many days and traded supplies for horses so they could travel further west. There were no more rivers to follow and the Salmon River was impassable. They pack their supplies on horses and sunk their boats into the pond for safekeeping for their trip back home.
The Lewis and Clark journals were so thorough that they wrote more words than the Bible! Of course, their punctuation is a bit haphazard. They spelled the words phonetically- exactly as it sounded to them. In fact, Clark spelled the Sioux Indian name 27 different ways and never spelled it S-i-o-u-x as it should be. In addition to writing in their journals they also wrote on buffalo hides and rock faces.
Captain Lewis studied in Philadelphia for months preparing for this expedition. The boat was made in Pittsburgh and he sailed down the Ohio River from there to meet Clark. They had served together in the military. Lewis had to carry an enormous amount of supplies for their survival. He had gifts to appease the Indians: beads, bells, decorative items, camp kettles, leather working awls, fish hooks and tobacco. In order to survive in the wilderness they needed; food, clothing, firearms, mosquito netting, tools and medicines for 30 men and 1 Newfoundland dog, named Sea Witch. In addition, Lewis and Clark needed writing implements and materials, reference books, scientific instruments to be able to draw the maps accurately for Thomas Jefferson.
All of these items were placed into oiled canvas bags. The gifts for the Indians living on the lower and middle Missouri River filled 21 large bags. They filled 5 bales with gifts for the distant Indians. All of this was placed into a keelboat and 2 pirogues. The keelboat could carry 28 -32 tons. In today's terms, a moving van can carry 10 tons. The keelboat was like a large barge with sails; 55 feet long (longer than 3 and a half minivans) and much wider. It was propelled by rowing, poling, towing or sailing and they had to use all of these methods. In fact they needed to hire teams of oxen and horses from the farms around the Ohio River to pull the keelboat because the water was too shallow. The pirogue was a French word for a large dug out canoe. The pirogues were like shallow flat bottomed plank boats that carried 8 -9 tons each.
In December, 1803 they built a camp 14 miles north of St. Louis on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from the mouth of the Missouri River on the Wood River. Naming it Camp Dubois they imposed strict military regimen and preparation on these men called the Corps of Discovery. They learned about the wilderness they were going to explore by talking with fur trappers and traders of the area. Before they left they had a 7 page map of the the first 700 miles of the Missouri River. They departed from Camp Dubois which is now a suburb of St. Louis.
The Plains Indians were very susceptible to the European diseases, especially smallpox. In the 1740s there were 500 Missouria Indians; by 1785, because of smallpox, there were only 120. In the early 1800s the Missouria joined with the Otoe Indians to fight the Sioux. The Arikara squaws were farmers, the men hunted and traded and they numbered 30,000 . When the smallpox hit in 1780 - 1781 they only had 22,500 left. Lewis and Clark met these Indians at the beginning of their trip.
By the time winter came in 11/1804 they were at Fort Mandan. It was brutal, -40 degrees with snow drifts. When the river iced over, they had to stop. They constructed log homes with stone fireplaces. When they built a blacksmith forge, the Indians came to trade corn for the sharpening of their axes. With 50 men at the fort they ate 1 large buffalo or 4 deer each day. While they waited for the river to thaw, they visited local Indian lodges of the Hidasta and Mandan tribes. The Mandan tribes had 2 subtribes: Nupta and Nuptadi. The Hidatsa tribe has 3 subtribes: Hidatsa, Awalixa and Awaxawi. In 1804, the Mandan and the Hidatsa had a very large trading center which they controlled. They were the middlemen of this monopoly trade and profited greatly from it. They traded flint from the Knife River for things they needed. Their village was 50 foot above the Knife River. They had circular earthen structures with 1 opening and it held several families and their horses!!! Squaws used bullboats made of a willow frame with a large bull hide to paddle on the river. This bullboat was stored on top of the earthlodges to protect the smokehole from the wind. Lewis and Clark were impressed by their architecture. When the Corps of Discovery left on 4/7/1805, it is said the Indians played them a funeral song because they didn't expect them to survive.
They encountered bad storms and high winds across Montana. Lewis thought the Mandan Indians were telling tall tales when they described a grizzly bear; until he came upon one unexpectantly and almost didn't get away. They saw plenty of hawks, grizzlies, eagles and buffalo; but only found evidence Indians had been there before them. When Indians put up tepees, they weighted down the buffalo hides with rocks to prevent the wind from lifting it up. Lewis and Clark found these rock rings and where campfires had been; but no Indians. Lewis saw remnants of a camp with 126 tipi (tepee) rings around the Judith River.
The maps Lewis and Clark had were of the lower half of the Missouri River and just 100 miles of the Columbia River from the Pacific Ocean; but nothing in between. Clark listed each bend of the river with a "course and distance" reading noted in his journal with compass bearings. To this day, it is still very accurate. Every night and day they noted the positions of the sun, moon, stars and planets.
On 5/31/1805 they needed to pull the boats(at least 1000 #) up against the force of water rapids. Lewis and Clark then dug huge pits to store supplies and equipment for their return trip. They carefully hid the site, covering it over with shrubs and rocks. Then they dumped the unused dirt into the river. They lined the sides and bottom with sticks, dry grass and hides for protection from the elements. Everything they put into the pit was packed in oil cloth, metal containers and barrels to prevent moisture from ruining it. On 7/4/1805 the Corps had a party for the 4th; then spent 2 weeks building an iron boat and drying and packing 600 # of buffalo meat. The boat sank as soon as it was placed in the river.
When they arrived at the fork of the Missouri River, they weren't sure which way was the origin of the Missouri. The Mandans told them it began where the waterfalls were. The river was surrounded by Stoney Mountains with white cliffs and rock escarpments. Lewis went alone on foot and saw on 6/14/1805 the Great Falls of the Missouri, now called Ryan Dam. But in the next 8 miles he found 4 more waterfalls. The Indians never mentioned more than 1 waterfall. At the last waterfall he found a large bubbling spring of fresh water- the largest in North America. This is called the Giant Springs now. It pumps out 200 million gallons of fresh water daily.
There was no way they could go up the river in the boats; so they had to portage them. Lewis figured it would take 1 day. Instead it took 2 weeks and 18 miles of blazing heat, rough terrain with the prickly pear cactus spines going through their double soled moccasins. On the way around the waterfalls a thunderstorm came with hail the size of lemons that broke the skin. They had no place to hide. They still had trouble with the mosquitoes, knats and the prickly pear cactus. The upper portage camp was on an island called White Bear because it had lots of grizzly bears.
Sacajawea met them here at Great Falls and was ill. After 2 bloodletting didn't help her, Lewis had found a mineral springs and gave some to her to drink. The next day she was fine. They named it Sulphur Springs. She must have felt really bad to be able to drink water that smelled like rotten eggs. At this point Sacajawea's baby is only 4 months old and a flash flood hits them. She lost the baby's cradle board but saved her baby. It is assumed she made another cradle board to carry the baby. It is common practice to keep the babies in cradle boards until they are 2 years old. They stayed for 1 month at Great Falls to rest up from the portage of the boats and to heal their feet.
They still have not seen any Indians, just evidence that once they were there. But, the Indians didn't usually come to the falls until fall and Lewis and Clark were there in the summer. The Falls were not spiritual to the Crow and Blackfeet Indians; they just vied for the hunting grounds.
After hiking for 4 days they arrived at the Big Belk Mountains where they found cutthroat trout and pelicans. The sheer vertical limestone rock walls towered above the river. They called these the Gates of the Rocky Mountains 20 miles north of now Helena, Montana. Clark went around on foot above the cliffs and ended up with sore feet from the cactus spines. On 7/25/1805 they came to 3 forks in the river. They named them the Jefferson, Madsion and Gallatin Rivers. At this point they called the area Three Forks, and now this is the town of Three Forks, Montana. They also saw 3 bighorn sheep for the first time. The Nez Perce Indians use their horns for bows. They soften the horns by boiling and straightening and sharpening them. Surprisingly, this was where Sacajawea was captured by the Hidatsa Indians when she was 10 years old. On 8/8/1805 she saw the large limestone rock that was shaped like a swimming beaver and remembered it. On 8/11/1805 Clark stayed at the camp with the boats to heal his feet and Lewis went ahead to explore. Lewis followed the rivers to see which one was the Missouri headwaters. He left a message on a freshly cut pole for Clark about which river was the correct one. But a beaver took the pole to use in its dam; so Clark never saw the note and, of course, went up the wrong river for 9 miles before he turned around.
Lewis saw some Shoshone Indian women gathering food on 8/15/1805 and presented them with gifts so they took Lewis to their village. When the 60 warriors saw Lewis they became upset; until the women showed them the gifts. Five days later Clark arrives with Sacajawea. When Clark and Sacajawea were introduced to the Shoshone Chief, Cameahwait, she realized he was her brother. So they had a party for this reunion and also it was Lewis' 31st birthday on 8/18/1805. He felt he had nothing to show for his life.
This was the end of the river; no more water trail to follow. They had a choice: turn around and go back with no water route to the Pacific Ocean or walk to the Pacific Ocean. They decided to walk and find some Indian tribe with horses to trade. In the distance they saw even more snow covered mountain ranges. They thought it was only one. This was depressing because they needed to get over the snowy mountains before winter set in. Lewis followed the rivers to find the origin of the Missouri River.
Because of Sacajawea's connections being the sister of the chief of the Shoshone Indians, they were treated well. The Lemhi Shoshone Indians believed the top layer of the earth (dirt) was the dust of their ancestors. They stayed for many days and traded supplies for horses so they could travel further west. There were no more rivers to follow and the Salmon River was impassable. They pack their supplies on horses and sunk their boats into the pond for safekeeping for their trip back home.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
We are still waiting for the part. For some reason it still won't be here today. So we're having them ship the part to Anchorage, Alaska and we'll have it fixed up there. It's taking too long to hold up our vacation.
So we are on the road again up to Glacier National Park in northern Montana. We made it as far as Great Falls, Montana and stayed overnight on a WalMart parking lot. There were about 10 campers there for the night. On the way we ran into a couple of thunderstorms. It was odd; just before the storms hit we would run into all of these big, black flying bugs that really messed up the windshield. And you know how Daddy is about a windshield! This happened 3 times now. They must be flying away from the storms.
This town is full of oil refineries and a smelting factory. The air smells from it and it is just across from the WalMart we're staying at. All of the creeks and streams on the way here are full and overflowing. It's been in the upper 70s and all of that snow has melted on the mountaintops. The creeks are muddy colored also. That's when the fishing isn't good. So we left the rental house at the right time because Daddy wouldn't be able to fish. He really like his waders. He never felt the really cold water with them on.
On the road here I tried to fix supper- chili and rice. It was quite difficult because the road was so curvy that I was feeling car sick and it's not easy to do whole grain rice in the microwave. There aren't even any directions on the box to do it that way. So it came out a little chewy. Daddy said it was fine.
So we are on the road again up to Glacier National Park in northern Montana. We made it as far as Great Falls, Montana and stayed overnight on a WalMart parking lot. There were about 10 campers there for the night. On the way we ran into a couple of thunderstorms. It was odd; just before the storms hit we would run into all of these big, black flying bugs that really messed up the windshield. And you know how Daddy is about a windshield! This happened 3 times now. They must be flying away from the storms.
This town is full of oil refineries and a smelting factory. The air smells from it and it is just across from the WalMart we're staying at. All of the creeks and streams on the way here are full and overflowing. It's been in the upper 70s and all of that snow has melted on the mountaintops. The creeks are muddy colored also. That's when the fishing isn't good. So we left the rental house at the right time because Daddy wouldn't be able to fish. He really like his waders. He never felt the really cold water with them on.
On the road here I tried to fix supper- chili and rice. It was quite difficult because the road was so curvy that I was feeling car sick and it's not easy to do whole grain rice in the microwave. There aren't even any directions on the box to do it that way. So it came out a little chewy. Daddy said it was fine.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Today we leave the house for the RV; if it is finished.
I went over to the ranch across from us to see the alpacas. Herb gave me their mailing address and email address to be able to keep in touch. He said it'll be a really dry summer with high chances of wild fires because they didn't receive enough snow this winter. When the owners of our rental house come the first of June, Herb needs to tell them to cut the dry grass around the house. You need a 30 foot barrier around the house to be safe from the fires. Herb has 100 feet of gravel around his ranch, so he'll be fine.
The alpaca had a 19 # baby boy with blue eyes. He'll make a good pet and he'll be good for his wool; but he won't work for a stud because the blue eyed alpacas usually end up deaf. That is not good because they need to be able to hear the llama and the dog making noise when a wolf is around. I was able to hold the baby alpaca. The mother alpaca kept baaing at me because she didn't want me to hold her son. But she didn't bite or push me; she just stayed really close to me. Herb said he would sell us the baby alpaca when we return to Florida! Couldn't you see an alpaca in Florida with all of that thick wool! It would pass out!
Sofia, I fed the 6 horses every night I was here. I also found out some of the others names. Sherman is the roan; Painter is the brown and white painted pony; Lady is the black and white painted pony; Maddie is the sorrel colored (light brown); the really dark horse that always was wearing a coat and was always so shy was a show horse that has something wrong with her. The other dark brown horse that is fairly young and a bully is a new addition to these stables. Herb doesn't know his name. But he always bites the other horses so he can get the carrots. They still don't have much grass in their paddocks to eat. The owner is in New Mexico putting tattoos onto horses lips instead of branding them. His wife is still here taking care of the horses.
We drove to Livingston to check on my boots we ordered. Then we drove to Billings to the RV. It took 3 hours and the RV isn't ready. The part won't be in until tomorrow. They allowed us to stay in the RV and hook up to their power and water overnight. The part should be here by noon tomorrow.
I went over to the ranch across from us to see the alpacas. Herb gave me their mailing address and email address to be able to keep in touch. He said it'll be a really dry summer with high chances of wild fires because they didn't receive enough snow this winter. When the owners of our rental house come the first of June, Herb needs to tell them to cut the dry grass around the house. You need a 30 foot barrier around the house to be safe from the fires. Herb has 100 feet of gravel around his ranch, so he'll be fine.
The alpaca had a 19 # baby boy with blue eyes. He'll make a good pet and he'll be good for his wool; but he won't work for a stud because the blue eyed alpacas usually end up deaf. That is not good because they need to be able to hear the llama and the dog making noise when a wolf is around. I was able to hold the baby alpaca. The mother alpaca kept baaing at me because she didn't want me to hold her son. But she didn't bite or push me; she just stayed really close to me. Herb said he would sell us the baby alpaca when we return to Florida! Couldn't you see an alpaca in Florida with all of that thick wool! It would pass out!
Sofia, I fed the 6 horses every night I was here. I also found out some of the others names. Sherman is the roan; Painter is the brown and white painted pony; Lady is the black and white painted pony; Maddie is the sorrel colored (light brown); the really dark horse that always was wearing a coat and was always so shy was a show horse that has something wrong with her. The other dark brown horse that is fairly young and a bully is a new addition to these stables. Herb doesn't know his name. But he always bites the other horses so he can get the carrots. They still don't have much grass in their paddocks to eat. The owner is in New Mexico putting tattoos onto horses lips instead of branding them. His wife is still here taking care of the horses.
We drove to Livingston to check on my boots we ordered. Then we drove to Billings to the RV. It took 3 hours and the RV isn't ready. The part won't be in until tomorrow. They allowed us to stay in the RV and hook up to their power and water overnight. The part should be here by noon tomorrow.
Sunday, May 16, 2010.
Today we finished packing and loaded most of it into the car to be able to leave by 10 AM on Monday. We had to buy a cooler to pack up the refrigerator and freezer. Then we asked about banana boxes. We had to pay 35 cents apiece for them! Not much money, but we've never had to do that before. Boxes were always free.
We ate our last dinner at Park Place Tavern in Livingston. The owners are originally from Miami, Florida. We really enjoy their food- high quality and not high price. He said he might enlarge it by the time we come again next year.
We ate our last dinner at Park Place Tavern in Livingston. The owners are originally from Miami, Florida. We really enjoy their food- high quality and not high price. He said he might enlarge it by the time we come again next year.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
As we left to drive to Big Timber I saw the baby alpaca laying in the field behind the mother alpaca. Big Timber is about 75 minutes away on very uncrowded roads. No traffic jams!
The Big Timber Bull-a-Rama is at the Sweet Grass County Fairgrounds. As soon as Daddy stepped out of the car he walked into the largest mud puddle in the whole lot! The bulls came from 3 farms: Red-Eyed Rodeo, Priest Creek or Hofer Bucking Bulls. One bull was really mean and had huge horns. As soon as he bucked the cowboy off, he turned and charged the 4 cowboys that stay in the arena. All 4 jumped up onto the fence simultaneously! Several other bulls didn't want to leave the arena so they had to be roped. The Bull Chaser, Clay from Montana, had to pull the bull. The bull weighs 1500 # and the horse had a hard time pulling him. All of a sudden, the bull started running and almost rear-ended the horse. The announcer said "Hurry up! He wants to be your tailgate!" Most horses are afraid of these huge bulls; so this horse was doing really well. "The next time you tell your horse he's going to the rodeo, he won't go into the trailer!"
Surprisingly, some of these cowboys won the previous years, but didn't even stay on the bulls for 8 seconds. After the first 20 riders are finished and rated, the judges pick the 10 best for the semi-finals. The first 3 of these last 10 barely stayed on the bulls for even 2 seconds. The announcer said,"It's raining cowboys!" If you buy a 6 pack of beer, your name goes into a draw for a cap or T shirt. A 6 pack looks like a lot of beer for 1 person to drink. But out here when you ask somebody how far away a place is, they'll answer, about 6 beers worth. Just before the semi-finals, the 4 young boys that are elementary age compete on the mini-bulls. The first boy Josh fell off before the bull got out of the chute! Many of the children attending the rodeo had on wrangler jeans, cowboy hats and shirts and carried a lariat; even the girls.
These are the future bull riders and they are from this small town of Big Timber. Big Timber was named because it was the first place that Lewis and Clark could find big enough timber around the Missouri River to build a canoe.
After the rodeo there was a dinner and dance at the American Legion Hall in town. We had pork BBQ, cole slaw and a cookie. The band was called The Dirty Shame from Bozeman. They were really good. It was called "Outlaw Country music. They did a lot of Willie and did it well. This is a small town and there were couples of all ages at this dance. The teenagers danced, young couples , middle-aged couples and older folks too. They all did the same dance, some country dance with a lot of turns and swings. Even the young guys asked the older ladies to dance too. Age doesn't seem to matter here. And the people are so friendly!
The Big Timber Bull-a-Rama is at the Sweet Grass County Fairgrounds. As soon as Daddy stepped out of the car he walked into the largest mud puddle in the whole lot! The bulls came from 3 farms: Red-Eyed Rodeo, Priest Creek or Hofer Bucking Bulls. One bull was really mean and had huge horns. As soon as he bucked the cowboy off, he turned and charged the 4 cowboys that stay in the arena. All 4 jumped up onto the fence simultaneously! Several other bulls didn't want to leave the arena so they had to be roped. The Bull Chaser, Clay from Montana, had to pull the bull. The bull weighs 1500 # and the horse had a hard time pulling him. All of a sudden, the bull started running and almost rear-ended the horse. The announcer said "Hurry up! He wants to be your tailgate!" Most horses are afraid of these huge bulls; so this horse was doing really well. "The next time you tell your horse he's going to the rodeo, he won't go into the trailer!"
Surprisingly, some of these cowboys won the previous years, but didn't even stay on the bulls for 8 seconds. After the first 20 riders are finished and rated, the judges pick the 10 best for the semi-finals. The first 3 of these last 10 barely stayed on the bulls for even 2 seconds. The announcer said,"It's raining cowboys!" If you buy a 6 pack of beer, your name goes into a draw for a cap or T shirt. A 6 pack looks like a lot of beer for 1 person to drink. But out here when you ask somebody how far away a place is, they'll answer, about 6 beers worth. Just before the semi-finals, the 4 young boys that are elementary age compete on the mini-bulls. The first boy Josh fell off before the bull got out of the chute! Many of the children attending the rodeo had on wrangler jeans, cowboy hats and shirts and carried a lariat; even the girls.
These are the future bull riders and they are from this small town of Big Timber. Big Timber was named because it was the first place that Lewis and Clark could find big enough timber around the Missouri River to build a canoe.
After the rodeo there was a dinner and dance at the American Legion Hall in town. We had pork BBQ, cole slaw and a cookie. The band was called The Dirty Shame from Bozeman. They were really good. It was called "Outlaw Country music. They did a lot of Willie and did it well. This is a small town and there were couples of all ages at this dance. The teenagers danced, young couples , middle-aged couples and older folks too. They all did the same dance, some country dance with a lot of turns and swings. Even the young guys asked the older ladies to dance too. Age doesn't seem to matter here. And the people are so friendly!
Friday, May 14, 2010
We are packing up to leave for Alaska. We took half of it to the RV last week. If the RV is finished, we will be on the road on Monday. I'll miss this place. I have really loved Montana and could live here for most of the year. Yellowstone was just awesome!!!!
We ate dinner at Pine Creek Lodge. Their entertainment for the night was Claudia Williams, formerly of Montana Rose. She was good and had her daughter sing with her. Her daughter is on her way to Austin, Texas for music training. I ordered elk pasta with elk sausage, butternut squash, asparagus and egg noodles- really good! Daddy had beef tacos. This is the second time he has ordered that; so it must be good.
Daddy went fly fishing today with his new waders. He caught 2 brown trout. This was a first- the river is ready! We go to the Big Timber Rodeo Saturday. It opens at 3:30.
We ate dinner at Pine Creek Lodge. Their entertainment for the night was Claudia Williams, formerly of Montana Rose. She was good and had her daughter sing with her. Her daughter is on her way to Austin, Texas for music training. I ordered elk pasta with elk sausage, butternut squash, asparagus and egg noodles- really good! Daddy had beef tacos. This is the second time he has ordered that; so it must be good.
Daddy went fly fishing today with his new waders. He caught 2 brown trout. This was a first- the river is ready! We go to the Big Timber Rodeo Saturday. It opens at 3:30.
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Alpaca 's, Jan's last Visit, Monday, May 17th
Jan after taking her bath and doing her make-up and hair decided to go on a walk to the neighbors to see the alpaca's. You can see that see is holding the latest member in her glory. They are the strangest looking creatures.
This was right before we left about 1100am this morning and drove to Billings to get our motorhome that was in the shop getting warranty work. We had a car of perishables for the refrigerator/freezer and didnt know exactly how this was going to work out.
The parts for the remaining of the repairs won't be in until Tuesday morning but all worked out well when the dealership made the motorhome available for us to load and to stay the night in. They actually have a mini-RV site set up with electric and other setups. This is great as the motorhome is much more comfortable than a hotel room and also a lot cheaper.,
We ate dinner at Buffalo Wild wings and it was forgettable. We then went to Costco and Walmart and bought a new air filter for the CRV, the dust on the road has me not getting very good mileage so I will change the oil and replace the air filter.
It was 85 degrees today, memories of Florida came to mind, the repaired air conditioner is great. The motorhome should be done at 2 -3 tomorrow and we will be on our way to Glacier Park via Great Falls. Should be a nice, scenic drive. I am ready to get to Alaska and the trip through Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon will be fabulous. Right now we plan to be in Skagway on June 2nd or 3rd. We will stay there and take the ferry to Juneau and the glaciers, depending on when we get done there will head to Anchorage until the boys arrive on June 28th.
Later
This was right before we left about 1100am this morning and drove to Billings to get our motorhome that was in the shop getting warranty work. We had a car of perishables for the refrigerator/freezer and didnt know exactly how this was going to work out.
The parts for the remaining of the repairs won't be in until Tuesday morning but all worked out well when the dealership made the motorhome available for us to load and to stay the night in. They actually have a mini-RV site set up with electric and other setups. This is great as the motorhome is much more comfortable than a hotel room and also a lot cheaper.,
We ate dinner at Buffalo Wild wings and it was forgettable. We then went to Costco and Walmart and bought a new air filter for the CRV, the dust on the road has me not getting very good mileage so I will change the oil and replace the air filter.
It was 85 degrees today, memories of Florida came to mind, the repaired air conditioner is great. The motorhome should be done at 2 -3 tomorrow and we will be on our way to Glacier Park via Great Falls. Should be a nice, scenic drive. I am ready to get to Alaska and the trip through Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon will be fabulous. Right now we plan to be in Skagway on June 2nd or 3rd. We will stay there and take the ferry to Juneau and the glaciers, depending on when we get done there will head to Anchorage until the boys arrive on June 28th.
Later
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The rodeo at Big Timber
We drove to Big Timber yesterday, Saturday May 15th to go to the local rodeo and it was a ball.
This was all bull-riding competion with cowboys from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota and the province of Alberta. These cowboys are professionals in the lower circuit. All trying to get to the big time rodeo circuit.
When we arrived it cost $8.00 a person and we got a good seat right next to the release slots. The stadium was old, but functional, and there was a refresment stand run by the 4H and also a "beer garden" and they asked you not to bring in coolers with your own beer.
The competion was split into two halfs and a final. There were 20 riders in each half. The winner won $6,500 and a new saddle.
The first half, only 4 of the 20 riders stayed on the bulls for 8 seconds which is the minimum amount of time to count the ride.There were cowboys flying everywere. We were looking for 10 riders for the final and so the second half would have to have at least the other 6 for the final.
The second half 7 of the 20 riders rode the 8 seconds and got a score from the judges. Now we had the 10 riders into the final.
After finishing my 5th Coors Lite, the final started and these were the biggest, meanest bulls that had been saved back and it was really good. Several of the cowboys were local and the crowd was quite partial to them . We finally got a winner. We really enjoyed the rodeo and trying to figure out how to get to another one, next week it is in Helena, Montana which is not too far from Glacier Park where we are headed.
After the rodeo the small town celebrated and had a BBQ at the American Legion and a good country band from Bozeman that was really good. Jan and I only danced once but had a ball looking at the cowboys and girls just having a ball. We did not get home until after midnight
This was all bull-riding competion with cowboys from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota and the province of Alberta. These cowboys are professionals in the lower circuit. All trying to get to the big time rodeo circuit.
When we arrived it cost $8.00 a person and we got a good seat right next to the release slots. The stadium was old, but functional, and there was a refresment stand run by the 4H and also a "beer garden" and they asked you not to bring in coolers with your own beer.
The competion was split into two halfs and a final. There were 20 riders in each half. The winner won $6,500 and a new saddle.
The first half, only 4 of the 20 riders stayed on the bulls for 8 seconds which is the minimum amount of time to count the ride.There were cowboys flying everywere. We were looking for 10 riders for the final and so the second half would have to have at least the other 6 for the final.
The second half 7 of the 20 riders rode the 8 seconds and got a score from the judges. Now we had the 10 riders into the final.
After finishing my 5th Coors Lite, the final started and these were the biggest, meanest bulls that had been saved back and it was really good. Several of the cowboys were local and the crowd was quite partial to them . We finally got a winner. We really enjoyed the rodeo and trying to figure out how to get to another one, next week it is in Helena, Montana which is not too far from Glacier Park where we are headed.
After the rodeo the small town celebrated and had a BBQ at the American Legion and a good country band from Bozeman that was really good. Jan and I only danced once but had a ball looking at the cowboys and girls just having a ball. We did not get home until after midnight
Friday, May 14, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
I believe we have seen the last of the snow for this year. It has warmed up considerably and the snow melt is flowing down the Yellowstone River. As we were coming home last night we saw many guys out in the river in boats and in waders fly fishing. Daddy is going to pick up our mail today, buy bait and try some fishing. I'm going to start packing things .
Tomorrow afternoon is the professional rodeo at 6PM in Big Timbers. That is at least a 50 minute drive. Tonight we want to go to Chicos again to get in the hot springs and listen to some music. According to their schedule, it's supposed to be some sort of swing. Chicos Saloon is quite old, rather small, all wooden and draws in a diverse mix of patrons. There are young adults with children using the hot tubs, retired couples like us, groups coming from far away cities to meet friends halfway between , young locals, especially when there is a country band, and of course, the security guards who sit at the tables with the rest of us. They even will pinch hit and help bus tables when it gets really crowded. We have been there so often the waiters and waitresses remember us and say hello. They aren't that friendly at the restaurants we frequent in Jacksonville. And the canned beer is just a buck!
I apoligize for being out of pocket to everybody these past 2 weeks. The first week was VERY BUSY with the kids here and we went into the park everyday. Daddy feels like he could take a job as a guide in Yellowstone. He's been talking to the retired couples that work the general stores amd cafes in the park. Some of them have been doing it for 11 years! They drive their RVs here, park in the employees RV lot for the whole season and work the stores and cafes for 5 days a week. The park makes sure the couples have the same 2 days off. Daddy is thinking of doing that for next year or the year after. They receive a free RV spot with full hook-ups, and a job that pays well, but with no benefits. But most retired people who are traveling already have health benefits anyway. So it looks like I'll be able to stay cool in the summer!
After the kids left we just "vegged-out" on Mothers Day and then left for Billings and Buffalo, WY and then the park. That all took the entire week. You can't imagine how spread out everything is here. Forget running to the store for 1 thing you'd like. They're all so far away and so are the towns; but the landscape is gorgeous. When you head out you have a long list of things to buy. We have used so much gas out here; but in some places the gas is cheaper than at home. The sky at night has SO many stars! It is just incredible. The rest of this week will be pretty full again. This rental is so comfortable that when we were gone for 4 days sight seeing, we felt we were coming back home again. We're going to miss this house and the people around it. In the RV I won't have a bath tub for a couple months and it'll be much closer quarters. But our RV is really comfy.
I fed the horses last night Sofia! She has asked about that everyday now. We fed the horses a bag of carrots a day while she was here. Feeding them carrots is okay with these people, they're not like the people that owned the lone horse at the RV park. In fact, the horse at the RV park did not look as healthy as these 6 are. She also wasn't groomed very often. But the 6 here have huge fields full of new grass. I'll keep that up as long as we are here. Daddy took pictures of it last night. That was the first time he had even walked down to see them.
Sofia, they shaved the alpacas and the Llama earlier this week. You should see them! They are SO skinny now with these big fluffy heads. All of the girl alpacas are pregnant and 1 was due any day. I need to go visit them and see if there is a baby one since we were gone. I'll take a picture for you. I'll ask Herb for their mailing address or email to be able to stay in touch. I would love to stay here at the house again and this time of year was perfect.
Gotta go to pack some things up. I'll try to add to the blog as soon as we do something interesting- maybe the rodeo.
Tomorrow afternoon is the professional rodeo at 6PM in Big Timbers. That is at least a 50 minute drive. Tonight we want to go to Chicos again to get in the hot springs and listen to some music. According to their schedule, it's supposed to be some sort of swing. Chicos Saloon is quite old, rather small, all wooden and draws in a diverse mix of patrons. There are young adults with children using the hot tubs, retired couples like us, groups coming from far away cities to meet friends halfway between , young locals, especially when there is a country band, and of course, the security guards who sit at the tables with the rest of us. They even will pinch hit and help bus tables when it gets really crowded. We have been there so often the waiters and waitresses remember us and say hello. They aren't that friendly at the restaurants we frequent in Jacksonville. And the canned beer is just a buck!
I apoligize for being out of pocket to everybody these past 2 weeks. The first week was VERY BUSY with the kids here and we went into the park everyday. Daddy feels like he could take a job as a guide in Yellowstone. He's been talking to the retired couples that work the general stores amd cafes in the park. Some of them have been doing it for 11 years! They drive their RVs here, park in the employees RV lot for the whole season and work the stores and cafes for 5 days a week. The park makes sure the couples have the same 2 days off. Daddy is thinking of doing that for next year or the year after. They receive a free RV spot with full hook-ups, and a job that pays well, but with no benefits. But most retired people who are traveling already have health benefits anyway. So it looks like I'll be able to stay cool in the summer!
After the kids left we just "vegged-out" on Mothers Day and then left for Billings and Buffalo, WY and then the park. That all took the entire week. You can't imagine how spread out everything is here. Forget running to the store for 1 thing you'd like. They're all so far away and so are the towns; but the landscape is gorgeous. When you head out you have a long list of things to buy. We have used so much gas out here; but in some places the gas is cheaper than at home. The sky at night has SO many stars! It is just incredible. The rest of this week will be pretty full again. This rental is so comfortable that when we were gone for 4 days sight seeing, we felt we were coming back home again. We're going to miss this house and the people around it. In the RV I won't have a bath tub for a couple months and it'll be much closer quarters. But our RV is really comfy.
I fed the horses last night Sofia! She has asked about that everyday now. We fed the horses a bag of carrots a day while she was here. Feeding them carrots is okay with these people, they're not like the people that owned the lone horse at the RV park. In fact, the horse at the RV park did not look as healthy as these 6 are. She also wasn't groomed very often. But the 6 here have huge fields full of new grass. I'll keep that up as long as we are here. Daddy took pictures of it last night. That was the first time he had even walked down to see them.
Sofia, they shaved the alpacas and the Llama earlier this week. You should see them! They are SO skinny now with these big fluffy heads. All of the girl alpacas are pregnant and 1 was due any day. I need to go visit them and see if there is a baby one since we were gone. I'll take a picture for you. I'll ask Herb for their mailing address or email to be able to stay in touch. I would love to stay here at the house again and this time of year was perfect.
Gotta go to pack some things up. I'll try to add to the blog as soon as we do something interesting- maybe the rodeo.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
William F. Cody was born to Issac and Mary on February 26, 1846 in Scott County, Iowa into a family with 2 older sister and 1 older brother. Eventually, he had 3 younger sisters and 1 younger brother. When he was 5 years old he teased a dozen older boys by pretending to drop a 5 franc silver piece into the river. All of the older boys were digging all around to find it. When his mother heard about it, she came to the river with a switch to beat him because that was her silver piece and it was a lot of money then. He said,"Aw Ma. It ain't lost. Here it is. I was just learnin' 'em how to dig for gold in California." When he was 9 years old his Dad died and he left school for work. He worked as a bullwhacker, mounted messenger for Russell, Majors and Waddell. At 12 he made his first trip on a wagon train to Ft. Laramie, Wyoming. The California Gold Rush was in 1859; but by the time he was old enough to go, it was too late. So he started trapping beaver and small fur animals. In 1865 he courted Loiusa Frederici in St Louis and they married in March, 1866, moved to his boyhood Kansas home. Then he joined the Army.
By 1868 he had become a skilled hunter and was paid $500 a month to supply the Kansas Pacific Railroad with meat. He became a scout for the Army from 1868- 1872 and then again 1874- 1876. Cody was credited with the victory of the Summit Springs War of 1869 and in 1872 received the Congressional Medal of Honor. On 7/17/1876, less than a month before Custer was killed at Little Bighorn, Cody killed "Yellowhair", the Indian chief, and took his scalp for Custer at Warbonnet Creek.
An author, Ned Buntline wrote stories about Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack and published them under the Beadle Dime Novels, called Buffalo Bill, King of the Bordermen. They kept the frontier safe for people. He also printed them as a series in the newspapers; therefore everybody was able to read them. Then he decided to put them all in a show in Chicago, which was a huge success. Buffalo Bill (W. F. Cody), Texas Jack (JB Omohundro) and Wild Bill Hickok (James Butler Hickok) were all Army Scouts together. These guys were considered the ultimate cowboys. Therefore, the Buffalo Bill and the Wild, Wild West Show was started. They traveled all over the world presenting this show.
Louisa and Cody had a daughter, Arta on 12/16/1866; only son, Kit Carson, in 1870- but he dies 4/20/1876; a daughter, Orra in 1872; daughter Irma Louise on 2/9/1883. That same year they lost Orra on 10/24/1883. In 1904 Arta dies. Buffalo Bill Cody died on 1/10/1917 in Denver and is buried on Look Out Mountain. Louisa Cody died in Cody in 1921. Irma and her husband die of the flu in 1918.
The first horses and cattle were brought to Mexico by the Spanish 350 years before the 1860s. Therefore, the cowboy gear is of Mexican origin. The cattle raising began in the US in the 1860s in Texas and California. By 1870 it had spread to Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Due to the mining and the end of the Indian wars the open range was ended for cattle. The cowboys were men who couldn't get any other jobs. They were usually blacks, ex-Confederate soldiers or youngsters. The job was a lonely, low paying and dangerous occupation.
In the Bighorn Mountains the rocks are in all upset layers, unlike most other mountain ranges. It encompasses several eras: Pennsylvanian, Cambian, Triassimic Permian, Mississippian. You can also see where a tornado hit here on the south rim of the canyon in June, 1959. They lsot most of the Douglas fir trees and it reshaped the mountain. The rest of the trees died between 2002- 2006 due to the fir beetle. In the Dolomite era is the Shell Creek. The town of Shell has a population of 50 people.In this alpine area there is granite ( igneous rock), gneiss and schist which are metamorphic rocks. Also the glaciers left scratches on the light gray pavement rocks- now called glacial pavement rocks. The Indians would collect obsidian here for projectiles.
This area is called an Alpine Cirque- an ampitheatre shaped basin with a glacially carved valley at its head. It is the perfect hideaway for the mountain goats and Rocky Mountian Bighorn Sheep. They have horns which are permanent on both males and females, made of keratin like our fingernails and hair,use the horns as weapons and the horns have a bone structure ubder it. Horns are not branched and are slow to grow. Antlers, which are seen on elk, moose and deer, are shed annually, are only present on the males, grow quickly,, are made of bone and calcium deposits. Antlers are covered in a velvetlike tissue with blood vessels in it while it's growing. They are branched and used to display dominance during breeding season. The mountain goats eat grasses and sedges, have humans, golden eagles, cougars as predators. They are not original to Yellowstone, but were introduced to provide hunters a sport. Their hooves have elastic pads on the bottom to help them grasp the sides of the mountain.
The Bighorn Sheep are very similar; they have a flexible cup shaped hooves. The adult Bighorn Sheep weigh 300 pounds. They fight with each other by butting heads during mating season. Their heads are broad and flat and have air filled chambers that absorb the blows Any other animal would be killed if they tried this.
In this Alpine Environment also lives the Yellow-bellied Marmot or rock chucks. They eat grass and have to fear the golden eagle, red hawk, red fox and Americam martin. They live in rock dens and hibernate. They are known to carry the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever tick. They need to eat copious amounts during the very short summer to hibernate for 7 months. The Pika eats grass; but they don't hibernate. They harvest stems and leaves by laying them out to dry among the rocks. They buiuld "haystacks" of these as food for the winter. Their predators are golden eagles, red hawk, red fox, and ermine. They are called rock rabbits.
The wolverines are the largest of the weasel family and can be very ferocious. They live in the Alpine and arctic tundra and northern forests. The Moose that live here are the Shiras, the smallest of the Moose in the world. They eat willow twigs and buds. They have a long snout with prehensile lips and a long tongue that can grasp the most nutritious and tasty parts.
The lichens that grow here are really 2 organisms in 1 body- a fungus and an alga. The fungus provides structure and protection from the elements for the algas that use sunlight to make sugar for food. These lichens are yellow or orange and are on the rocks in a haphazard pattern. The strong winds here dry out the soil on the mountain tops; therefore the soil is poor, dry and thin and trees will not grow. "Krummholz" a German word meaning crooked wood describes the timber line here. Global warming could reduce the area of alpine environment and the animals that survive only here.
The Mountain Forest Environment is the next one. It is between 6000 and 10,000 feet. The Green River begins at the slopes of the Gannett Peak at 13,804" goes thru the Wind River Range of Wyoming and meanders thru southwest Wyoming to the Colorado River south of Moab, Utah (Canyonlands National Park) which is 730 miles long. It drains 45,000 square miles of the Colorado River watershed and ends up in the Sea of Cortez. It is called the Green River because the green soapstone rocks along its banks makes it look green. The wolves live here in dens on a hillside at the edge of the forests. They mate in February, make a den in April and the pups are born in May. They stay close to the den till they are 1 year old. Wolves prey on all hooved animals; especially those that are sick, hurt, old, weak and young because they are the easiest. It takes a pack to raise a pup. The whole den helps out with their rearing.
The Yellowstone River is the last and largest pristine river which is undammed in the lower 48 states. It is used for irrigation and is a premier trout habitat. It starts in the Absaroke Mountains flows to the Yellowstone Lake, thru the Hayden Valley, over the Upper and Lower Falls, into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone then 671 miles to the Missouri River.
The Mountain Meadow and Aquatic Environment is above 6000'. They are treeless between the foothills and the alpines. The soils are too wet, too dry or too shallow for trees. Moose are found here. They can run 35 mph and are good swimmers. If they go into the river the wolves chasing them usually give up the chase. The Moose was introduced into Yellowstone in the late 1800s. Beavers live here also. In 1 night a beaver can fell a 3"-4" diameter tree, cut it into logs and carry it away to the water. Grizzly bears can be spotted here. There were 50,000 grizzlies here 200 years ago. In 1975 there were less than 1000 with only 200 in Yellowstone.
Human settlements, uncontrolled hunting and trapping have almost made them extinct.
The Snake River is part of the Plains and Basins Environment. It is the 4th largest river in the US. It begins on 2 Ocean Plateau, south of Yellowstone, and flows 1000 miles downstream to the Columbia River which flows to the Pacific Ocean. The Plains are between the Central Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, east of the Absaroke Mountains and the Wind River Range Mountains. The plants must have deep tap roots to reach the underground water to survive. The animals that live here also use little water. The people that live in these lowlands have farms and ranches with irrigation or dig for coal and oil. This area receives less than 10" of precipitation a year. The plants are small above the ground with tiny leaves to reduce heat absorption and water loss. Sagebrush, greasewood and saltbrush are examples of this. The sage grouse bird lives here and eats the sagebrush. They build their nests under them and use them to hide from predators and bad weather. But this sagebrush steppe is slowly disappearing because of humans, farming,alien weeds, oil and gas production, livestock. There is a delicate balance here. If the wildfires are too often, the sagebrush can't become established. If the cheatgrass (an alien weed) grows and takes over, it becomes dry and encourages fires. If the wildfires are suppressed too long, the sagebrush becomes too dense and that isn't good for the animals.
The mule deer have ears that are 25% larger than the white-tailed deer. The white-tailed deer live in forests. The mule deer live in the wide open plains. Their ears funnel and gather the sounds in the wide open spaces so they can hear a predator approaching. Salt cedar is an alien plant that is growing in these plains because people brought them here in the late 1800s to look pretty. They are crowding out the native plants and they hog all of the water. Their roots go deep and dry up the creeks and underground water. They have started a program to get rid of these non-native plants.
By 1868 he had become a skilled hunter and was paid $500 a month to supply the Kansas Pacific Railroad with meat. He became a scout for the Army from 1868- 1872 and then again 1874- 1876. Cody was credited with the victory of the Summit Springs War of 1869 and in 1872 received the Congressional Medal of Honor. On 7/17/1876, less than a month before Custer was killed at Little Bighorn, Cody killed "Yellowhair", the Indian chief, and took his scalp for Custer at Warbonnet Creek.
An author, Ned Buntline wrote stories about Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack and published them under the Beadle Dime Novels, called Buffalo Bill, King of the Bordermen. They kept the frontier safe for people. He also printed them as a series in the newspapers; therefore everybody was able to read them. Then he decided to put them all in a show in Chicago, which was a huge success. Buffalo Bill (W. F. Cody), Texas Jack (JB Omohundro) and Wild Bill Hickok (James Butler Hickok) were all Army Scouts together. These guys were considered the ultimate cowboys. Therefore, the Buffalo Bill and the Wild, Wild West Show was started. They traveled all over the world presenting this show.
Louisa and Cody had a daughter, Arta on 12/16/1866; only son, Kit Carson, in 1870- but he dies 4/20/1876; a daughter, Orra in 1872; daughter Irma Louise on 2/9/1883. That same year they lost Orra on 10/24/1883. In 1904 Arta dies. Buffalo Bill Cody died on 1/10/1917 in Denver and is buried on Look Out Mountain. Louisa Cody died in Cody in 1921. Irma and her husband die of the flu in 1918.
The first horses and cattle were brought to Mexico by the Spanish 350 years before the 1860s. Therefore, the cowboy gear is of Mexican origin. The cattle raising began in the US in the 1860s in Texas and California. By 1870 it had spread to Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Due to the mining and the end of the Indian wars the open range was ended for cattle. The cowboys were men who couldn't get any other jobs. They were usually blacks, ex-Confederate soldiers or youngsters. The job was a lonely, low paying and dangerous occupation.
In the Bighorn Mountains the rocks are in all upset layers, unlike most other mountain ranges. It encompasses several eras: Pennsylvanian, Cambian, Triassimic Permian, Mississippian. You can also see where a tornado hit here on the south rim of the canyon in June, 1959. They lsot most of the Douglas fir trees and it reshaped the mountain. The rest of the trees died between 2002- 2006 due to the fir beetle. In the Dolomite era is the Shell Creek. The town of Shell has a population of 50 people.In this alpine area there is granite ( igneous rock), gneiss and schist which are metamorphic rocks. Also the glaciers left scratches on the light gray pavement rocks- now called glacial pavement rocks. The Indians would collect obsidian here for projectiles.
This area is called an Alpine Cirque- an ampitheatre shaped basin with a glacially carved valley at its head. It is the perfect hideaway for the mountain goats and Rocky Mountian Bighorn Sheep. They have horns which are permanent on both males and females, made of keratin like our fingernails and hair,use the horns as weapons and the horns have a bone structure ubder it. Horns are not branched and are slow to grow. Antlers, which are seen on elk, moose and deer, are shed annually, are only present on the males, grow quickly,, are made of bone and calcium deposits. Antlers are covered in a velvetlike tissue with blood vessels in it while it's growing. They are branched and used to display dominance during breeding season. The mountain goats eat grasses and sedges, have humans, golden eagles, cougars as predators. They are not original to Yellowstone, but were introduced to provide hunters a sport. Their hooves have elastic pads on the bottom to help them grasp the sides of the mountain.
The Bighorn Sheep are very similar; they have a flexible cup shaped hooves. The adult Bighorn Sheep weigh 300 pounds. They fight with each other by butting heads during mating season. Their heads are broad and flat and have air filled chambers that absorb the blows Any other animal would be killed if they tried this.
In this Alpine Environment also lives the Yellow-bellied Marmot or rock chucks. They eat grass and have to fear the golden eagle, red hawk, red fox and Americam martin. They live in rock dens and hibernate. They are known to carry the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever tick. They need to eat copious amounts during the very short summer to hibernate for 7 months. The Pika eats grass; but they don't hibernate. They harvest stems and leaves by laying them out to dry among the rocks. They buiuld "haystacks" of these as food for the winter. Their predators are golden eagles, red hawk, red fox, and ermine. They are called rock rabbits.
The wolverines are the largest of the weasel family and can be very ferocious. They live in the Alpine and arctic tundra and northern forests. The Moose that live here are the Shiras, the smallest of the Moose in the world. They eat willow twigs and buds. They have a long snout with prehensile lips and a long tongue that can grasp the most nutritious and tasty parts.
The lichens that grow here are really 2 organisms in 1 body- a fungus and an alga. The fungus provides structure and protection from the elements for the algas that use sunlight to make sugar for food. These lichens are yellow or orange and are on the rocks in a haphazard pattern. The strong winds here dry out the soil on the mountain tops; therefore the soil is poor, dry and thin and trees will not grow. "Krummholz" a German word meaning crooked wood describes the timber line here. Global warming could reduce the area of alpine environment and the animals that survive only here.
The Mountain Forest Environment is the next one. It is between 6000 and 10,000 feet. The Green River begins at the slopes of the Gannett Peak at 13,804" goes thru the Wind River Range of Wyoming and meanders thru southwest Wyoming to the Colorado River south of Moab, Utah (Canyonlands National Park) which is 730 miles long. It drains 45,000 square miles of the Colorado River watershed and ends up in the Sea of Cortez. It is called the Green River because the green soapstone rocks along its banks makes it look green. The wolves live here in dens on a hillside at the edge of the forests. They mate in February, make a den in April and the pups are born in May. They stay close to the den till they are 1 year old. Wolves prey on all hooved animals; especially those that are sick, hurt, old, weak and young because they are the easiest. It takes a pack to raise a pup. The whole den helps out with their rearing.
The Yellowstone River is the last and largest pristine river which is undammed in the lower 48 states. It is used for irrigation and is a premier trout habitat. It starts in the Absaroke Mountains flows to the Yellowstone Lake, thru the Hayden Valley, over the Upper and Lower Falls, into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone then 671 miles to the Missouri River.
The Mountain Meadow and Aquatic Environment is above 6000'. They are treeless between the foothills and the alpines. The soils are too wet, too dry or too shallow for trees. Moose are found here. They can run 35 mph and are good swimmers. If they go into the river the wolves chasing them usually give up the chase. The Moose was introduced into Yellowstone in the late 1800s. Beavers live here also. In 1 night a beaver can fell a 3"-4" diameter tree, cut it into logs and carry it away to the water. Grizzly bears can be spotted here. There were 50,000 grizzlies here 200 years ago. In 1975 there were less than 1000 with only 200 in Yellowstone.
Human settlements, uncontrolled hunting and trapping have almost made them extinct.
The Snake River is part of the Plains and Basins Environment. It is the 4th largest river in the US. It begins on 2 Ocean Plateau, south of Yellowstone, and flows 1000 miles downstream to the Columbia River which flows to the Pacific Ocean. The Plains are between the Central Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, east of the Absaroke Mountains and the Wind River Range Mountains. The plants must have deep tap roots to reach the underground water to survive. The animals that live here also use little water. The people that live in these lowlands have farms and ranches with irrigation or dig for coal and oil. This area receives less than 10" of precipitation a year. The plants are small above the ground with tiny leaves to reduce heat absorption and water loss. Sagebrush, greasewood and saltbrush are examples of this. The sage grouse bird lives here and eats the sagebrush. They build their nests under them and use them to hide from predators and bad weather. But this sagebrush steppe is slowly disappearing because of humans, farming,alien weeds, oil and gas production, livestock. There is a delicate balance here. If the wildfires are too often, the sagebrush can't become established. If the cheatgrass (an alien weed) grows and takes over, it becomes dry and encourages fires. If the wildfires are suppressed too long, the sagebrush becomes too dense and that isn't good for the animals.
The mule deer have ears that are 25% larger than the white-tailed deer. The white-tailed deer live in forests. The mule deer live in the wide open plains. Their ears funnel and gather the sounds in the wide open spaces so they can hear a predator approaching. Salt cedar is an alien plant that is growing in these plains because people brought them here in the late 1800s to look pretty. They are crowding out the native plants and they hog all of the water. Their roots go deep and dry up the creeks and underground water. They have started a program to get rid of these non-native plants.
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