Welcome back!
On the way to Helena, MT and the first camp site of the trip, I stopped at a place called Gates of the Mountains Wilderness. Lewis and Clark made some stops in the Wilderness. After getting off the Interstate, I came to a fenced-in area that had some signs telling about the Lewis and Clark adventures in the area and this man and his dog made of metal. There was no real explanation of why they were there or if they were lost, just one of those RoadsideAmerica.com type attractions.
The next stop was Helena, MT and the State Capitol building. Helena was a small clean city with a nice Capitol Building and some lovely lilac bushes. Lilacs are big in Montana. The desk clerk at the hotel in Great Falls where I stayed on the way to Browning talked about the lilacs. And finally a picture of one of the locals at the Capitol building. The wildlife has been just as much fun as the scenery. There are lots of deer and antelope out along the highway as well as the usual assortment of birds and vultures. I could never get a clean picture of one, but Montana had a bird that was basically black with white feathers on its back and for the last third of the wing. Its tail feathers were similar to a jays, but overall the bird was larger. It was a scavenger as I saw it many roadkill sites. It really stood out when it took flight because of the white feathers. Wish I was able to get a clean picture.
I spent the night at a KOA Kampground outside of Helena on Canyon Ferry Lake. Originally I was to use my tent, but the tent sites were on gravel and the bugs were out in force. So I took a cabin instead. The first real sunset of the trip as this was the first relatively clear night. Although it did cloud up and rain a bit sometime during the night. After leaving the KOA, I saw the first prong horn antelope of the trip up close. And then it was on to Little Big Horn.
On the way to Little Big Horn I stopped at the Prairie Dog Town State Park. No facilities other than picnic tables and prairie dogs. I got out of the car to stretch and eat lunch. The picnic table I chose was in the back of the park away from the town - or so I thought. The whole time I was there eating there was a prairie dog about 20 yards away and he chirped out the warning the whole time I sat and ate. It was the funniest thing. It would grow tired and skip a beat or two, but then it would get its wind back and continue its alert message to the whole town while I ate.
After eating I walked around to see what I could see and you could follow my trip around the park by the alert chirps. It was like turning on lights on a path as you get close and as you pass by the lights turn off again. The warning sounds started as I would get close and go silent after I passed. I was walking on the paved parking area and road not amongst the homes of the town. But they definitely had a neighborhood watch system. I could not get very good pictures because they would usually dive down into their holes if I walked to the edge of the pavement. Quite cute critters I must say.
The bottom most prairie dog is my lunch friend. Then there is a typical doorway and finally a small herd. You could see them scurry off in the distance, but if you started to move towards any of them they ducked into the nearest hole. It would be fun to be able to see the passageways under ground and whether they were all connected or if there were separate communities.
After lunch it was on to the Little Big Horn.
I will have to continue with that story in my next posting as I am off to Kentucky in the morning to see Abe Lincoln's birth place, his boyhood home and then to Southern Indiana to see his boyhood home in Indiana.
Thanks for traveling along.
see you again soon!
Michael
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