Lewis and Clark

23 June 2013

The park ranger from the Buffalo Jump suggested that I visit the Missouri Headwaters State Park since I was passing by anyway. Meriwether Lewis described in his journal how they determined this to be the source of the Missouri River. They named the three tributaries the Jefferson, the Madeison, and the Gallatin, after the organizers of the expedition: President Jefferson, Secretary of State James Madison and Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin. July 28, 1805

Missouri is the official name given by the U. S. Geological Survey. It dates back to French explorer Jacques Marquette's journal and 1876 map of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. His Algonquian-speaking guides called the people living at the mouth of the Missouri River "8emessourit" meaning "people with canoes (made of logs)." Over time, the name was simplified to "Missouri" and became the river's name.

The object of you mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal steam of it, as, by it's course & communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean... may offer the most direct & practical water communication across this Continent..." 

from Thomas Jefferson's instructions to Meriwether Lewis, July 4. 1803.

Lewis and Clark camped here on July 25, 1805 along with others in the group and Lewis' dog Seaman who traveled with him from Pennsylvania.

I skipped a few rocks across the river, took some note, ate and then moved onto Crystal Park. It was higher up in the mountain and the views were great.  I really fell in love with Montana.

At Crystal Park I joined other who were looking for Quartz crystals in the soil. I dug around and found a few but neglected to take any photos. The mosquitoes were fierce so I didn't stay long. On a good day and with some time it could be a fun place to dig holes and find more crystals.

I drove back down the mountain a little and found a campsite in the National Forest. I love the national forest campgrounds mostly because they were in expensive and also because they were never crowded and in beautiful locations. I just wish there were more of them in the east.

Madison Buffalo Jump

23 June 2013

There are several Buffalo Jumps in Montana but Madison Buffalo Jump was more or less on the way to Glacier my next National Park. A buffalo jump is a high ledge that the western native people used to help harvest buffalo for the winter.

This cliff was an important hunting tool used for communal bison hunting. Sosoni' speaking (Shoshone) probably used the jump most frequently, but over time many nations have call this area home. For days the entire camp plans and prepares for the upcoming hunt. Tools, weapons and hearths are ready. Ceremonies and personal rituals are performed. Many of the artifact such as arrow and spear heads, and pottery shards were found in the area.

Runners locate the heard and with their bodies covered in wolf skins they crouch and began to move the heard toward the cliff. After witnessing a buffalo drive in 1776, fur trader Alexander Haney wrote, "The Indians' gestures so closely resemble those of the animals that if I had not been in the secret, I would have been as deceived as the buffalo." As they move the heard onto the plateau, hazers hiding behind rocks jump up and begin shouting and waving hide.  Below all eyes are fixed on the cliff ready for the stampede of bison of to fall to their death. Those below others move in to kill any injured animals.

Below the 30 foot cliff women began butchering and skinning the bison into manageable pieces. The large bones were cracked open and boiled to remove the nourishing marrow. Nothing was wasted. I think my camper was parked in one of the butchering sites. The majority of the meat was preserved for winter food. Long strips of meat were hung from pole racks to dry. Once dry, the meat was ground into small bits, mixed with the marrow and often chokecherries, buffalo berries or other fruits dried in the summer. The mixture was then spread out in sheets to dry and then cut into cakes. These energy bars, called pemmican, provided nourishment throughout the winter.

While I was there a park ranger came up the trail and told me the history of the area and offered suggestions for other places to visit while in the area. Besides a man and his son I was the only other person around and they soon left leaving the place to myself. 

As I slowly drove back along the gravel road I noticed these cloud formations. I started to think that this was the place where photos were taken of clouds to study in textbooks. There was so much sky and the clouds kept changing.

Later I wrote in my journal: "I could see forever and what I saw was rolling hills of grass, foothills sage green with that wonderful smell of herb and blue mountains and snow covered peaks. Occasionally cattle dotted the landscape but they could have just as easily been buffalo.  I felt like it had always been this way but now instead of wagon ruts there was a 2 lane road.

"There is more than what you see here." -- Tony Icashula, Pend d'Oreille

Yellowstone National Park - Mammoth Hot Springs

21 June 2013

Eventually my camper was repaired and it was dime to depart Yellowstone. I could have stayed another week and still not see anything twice. I would love to return someday but alas my funds wouldn't support a longer stay. On my way out I stopped at Mammoth Hot Springs for a quick look.

I believe these are the most beautiful in the park.

Just down the road I came to the Devil's Slide on Cinnabar Mountain. Early prospectors thought the red color was from cinnabar, or mercuric sulfide, but it actually sandstone and shale stained with iron oxide. The wall of the slide are made of quartz sandstone. The layers were created horizontally but were turned up to their present position by the uplift that created the range to the east.

Since I had just spent a great deal of time in the lodge lounge waiting for my camper I had a chance to write down my Camping and Traveling Rules.
1. Ever thing takes longer than you think it should or planned for.
2. Expect nothing except to have fun and see new things.
3. Go slow and look carefully, you may find a snake or mating lizards.
4. Pay it forward and leave books, CDs and DVDs you have finished in the restrooms and laundry rooms for others to enjoy as you did. Be sure to put a note saying "Please take, enjoy and share with others" you don't want people to think they are stealing.
5.You need less things than you thought but it is good to have them anyway.
6. Keep in contact with family and friends.
7. Photos become less and less important.
8. Check the weather and lay low when necessary.
9. Take vitamins, eat right and stay healthy.
10. Be friendly.

Yellowstone National Park - Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

June 19, 2013

The guys at the Canyon Village Service Station were very helpful and said they could fix my camper but they would have to order a metal strap and in the meantime I shouldn't drive too much.  I was within walking distance of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone so I took many trips there before my camper was repaired.

Above is a view from the Artist Point. In fact there were a number of visitors there with their paints and drawing pads.

I hiked the Brink of the Lower Falls Trail and got a good workout. The lower falls is 308 feet.

The white in the lower left side is snow.

My first good photo of a Yellow Bellied Marmot.

The colors of this canyon were very interesting and different from any I had previously seen. It turned out to be one of my favorite locations of my entire journey.

One of the most rewarding moments was watching an Osprey bring in fish to its mate and chicks. The nest was on a pinnacle in the middle of the canyon and you can see him in the direction about 10 o'clock just a short distance away.

I watched him drop off the fish then circle around and fly below me to look for more fish in the Yellowstone River below.

Not as spectacular but very abundant were Violet-Green Swallows.  I had seen them earlier in my trip but here I had my best views. Look to the right in the photo below and you will see one sitting on the ledge just below me.

Many of the overlooks reminded me of Japanese paintings.

Yellowstone National Park - Roosevelt Lodge and Dunraven Pass

June 17, 2013

This was a day of fun and disappointment. My drive over Dunraven Pass was beautiful with the snow covered mountains in the distance. It was cold and windy but I was tough.

The expanse of the view was just breathtaking.

"As I took in the scene, I realized my own littleness, my helplessness, my dread exposure to destruction, my inability to cope with or even comprehend the mighty architecture of nature." --Nathaniel P. Langhorn, 1870.

There was a lot of construction on the road to the Roosevelt Lodge and I paused to take a photo of the basalt columns. I saw several elk and a black bear but with the bumper to bumper traffic caused by road construction it was almost impossible to take a photo. My camper felt like it was coming apart at the seams because it was so bumpy.

Finally I arrived a Roosevelt Lodge and decided to take the short hike to Lost Creek Falls located behind the lodge.  I wanted to stop at Tower Falls but there were no parking spaces open so I had to move on.

One of the nice things about this little trail is that no one was on it and I could take photos without having to move aside for those rushing by.

The falls wasn't grand but it was a wonderful place to stop and contemplate. When I was at Old Faithful I received word that one of my uncles had died and that was weighing heavily on my heart so I welcomed the time outside alone. He was a farmer, hunter and fisherman.

From here I drove to Sough Creek in search of  birds and other wildlife.  When looking at the bear the day before I was told I could find pika here. I didn't but I did see these baby prairie dogs

As I left Slough Creek, the bottom of my camper sounded like it had just fallen off and indeed one of two metal straps holding my water tank on had broken. There was only a gas station in Roosevelt so I had to head back. The sound was horrid as the metal strap scraped and clanged over the rough road. Then it started to snow as I reached the pass, I held tight to the steering wheel and drove very very slow and was actually a bit thankful for a good excuse to slow down because I was already in slow mode because of the condition of my camper. I arrived back to Canyon Village and took my camper into the service station the next day and they said it could be fixed. They would make the part I needed.