June 15,2008 Makoshika State Park

We traveled today to Glendive, Mt. and stopped at Makoshika State Park. This is the largest Park in Montana with hundreds of trails and interesting formations. It is called the Badlands of Montana.This a area that dates back to the Dinosaurs and has lots of geological landcaping. Here are some of our photos of the area.

They have a lot of unusal rock formations. This is Elves rock.

Then there's Cap rock.

Then we have a rock called the bridge.
This was a nice stop for the night. Tomorrow we'll be heading to Roosevelt National Park.

June 14,2008 Pompey's Pillar

We spent last night in Billings at the Moose and left this morning heading toward N.Dakota. On the way we stopped at Pompey's Pillar. Pompey's Pillar was called by the Crow as "Where the Moutain Lion Lies." Pompey's Pillar is a massive sandstone that rises 150 feet from the base on the banks of the Yellowstone River. Lots of markings were left on the rock and most notably is the name ingraved of Capt. Wiiliam Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition. This is where Clark wrote his name barely visable. More photos and views.

We continued on to a fish and wildlife area on the Yellowstone River to camp.We found this place.

It was still early and we wanted to go to Little Bighorn Battelfield ,so we got parked and headed out in the toad. This is where Custer had his last stand Although the Indians won the battle, they lost the war against the military's efforts to end their independent, nomadic way of life.Last stand memorial.

National Cemetery and grave of Marcus Reno

Red granite markers show where Lakota and Cheyenne warriors died.

Lots of history here hope everyone gets to visit this monumental battelfield.

June 11,2008 Grant-Kohr's & Old Montana Prison

Today it's snow flurries and cold. We wanted to go to the Grant-Kohr's Ranch so off we went. Conrad Kohrs was the Cattle King of Montana he left Germany in the 1800's at the age of 15. The quest for gold led him eventually to Montana but he eventually made his fortune in cattle. There were many cattlemen before him,such as Johnny Grant. Johnny Grant settled the Valley before Kohrs camr along. The Ranch is run by the National Park Service and is quite large. They have programs recreating life on the ranch. Here's a picture of the chuckwagon and one of cowboy cooks.

Here is the home of the Kohrs. Everything inside is still in excellent condition.

After touring the ranch we went to the Old Montana Prison.

Here's a photo of the gallouse where they hung the bad ones.

Pictures inside the prison.
They also had a great old car museum in the prison. After a long day of being cold and somewhat wet we went back to camp and warmed up.

June 11,2008 Butte,Mt.

We are staying at Fairmont Springs Resort for a few days to explore the town. First we went to the old mining museum and the old recreated mine,Hell Roarin' Gulch.

Entrance to the mine
Inside the mine
The Saurekraut Factory
I would recommend going to the mining town and museum.

June 10,2008 Snow

We woke up this morning to alot of snow. We were going to leave and head to Butte but didn't know if we would be able to get out of the campground. The camp host told us if we left now the road to Butte should be ok. We hurried up and took off.

We left and headed out and it was beautiful. We could easily spend our summer in this area.

On the way to Butte we past Anaconda Copper Mine. You can still see the the smokestack.

June 9,2008 Phillisburg and mining town

We left Missoula today and filled up with propane for 99cents a gallon. What a deal with gas being so high. We decided to take the the Pintler scenic highway and stop and see Phillipsburg and a couple of old mining towns. We decided to go to the campground first and then come back to town. This is a forest service campground and is called Phillipsburg Bay on Georgetown Lake. The weather is cold and drizzly but here is a picture of the lake. After getting set up at camp we went into the historical town of Phillipsburg. This town started in the 1800's because of gold and silver and later on became famous for it's sapphire mines. All the buildings are in use today and are original.Some of the buildings are quite colorful. This is the original Doe's drug store. Now an old fashioned soda fountain. Very good food. Merrill and Son's dry goods store

Granite County Jail hangman's noose still visible in the tower.

We took a dirt road out of town to the old metallic mill of Kirkville.The mill was over 360 feet long and 150 wide.It had 2 smokestacks,furnaces and a giant foundation built of cut granite. Some of the buildings are still standing.

We started up another dirt road to see the old mining town of Granite.

Here's a photo of what was the Superintendents house.

Rough road

We decided to call it a day as it was getting colder and they predicted snow.

June 4,2008 Powell Campground

WE only traveled about 50 miles today and stopped at the Powell Campground. This is very nice and we have electric for only $7.50 a night. The weather is cold and rainy but what abeautiful area.Here is a picture of our campground. Doesn't get better than this. We even had some entertainment.
We decided to take a ride up to Lolo Pass and see if we could get a phone signal and it started snowing. It was beautiful but once we got there the Lodge was nice and warm. We got back to our campground and warmed up. Tomorrow we will head to Missoula.