Day 6: Cody, WY to Hardin, MT
Distance: 210 Miles, Driving Time: 4 hours
Highways: 14, 16, 20, 72, 310, 212, 90, 87, 47
Weather: 72 degrees (Cody) to 85 degrees (Hardin), sunny, strong breeze
Highest Elevation: Descended from 5000 feet to 3500 feet (Pictograph Cave) to 3200 feet at Little Bighorn Battlefield NP.
This morning I headed northeast towards Billings, MT, following in part the southern return route of William Clark; tomorrow I will cross what was both the Lewis and Clark outbound route, but also the northern return route of Meriwether Lewis.
I took a quick side trip to the Pictograph Cave State Park just south of Billings. Unfortunately, in order to see the pictographs I would have had to climb up a moderately steep incline for about a quarter mile. Not only was I not wearing the right shoes or clothing for that trek, but I no longer have a body willing to undertake such an adventure ~ not to mention the fact that I would have to go inside a cave. Probably not. Thus, below are pictures of the sign and the surrounding terrain. There is also a visitor's center which has a well-done exhibit of the artifacts found at the site. The pictographs in the caves are dated from about 2000 years ago.
 |
| Entry sign |
 |
| Park terrain, rather majestic |
I continued a bit southward to Hardin, MT, a town just 15 miles from the Little Bighorn Battlefield NP. After checking into my motel and having lunch, I headed to the NP. This is such a tragic site for Native Americans and the early European/New American settlers alike. The graves of soldiers from Custer's Last Stand and other Indian Wars as well as the Spanish-American Wars, WWI, WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam populate acres and acres of hillsides over much of the battlefield of 1876. A feeling of great sadness and futility permeate the air for all those who were gone too soon.
The bodies of the Cheyenne, Lakota, Arapaho, Crow, and Arikara were buried in the traditional ways of the Indians in tepees, scaffolds, in trees, and in caves. Custer was buried here with his brother with special markings not afforded other soldiers who died here. However, when a contingent returned a year later to remove his body, the special markings were gone; some bones were determined to be Custer's and they were taken to West Point to be reburied. There are those who think Custer may not be in that grave at all.
Note: you may remember my earlier discussion on Jeremiah "Liver Eatin' " Johnson and how the Crow attempted to kill him many times over for transgressing on their scaffold-style grave sites.
Note: you may remember my earlier discussion on Jeremiah "Liver Eatin' " Johnson and how the Crow attempted to kill him many times over for transgressing on their scaffold-style grave sites.
 |
| Park Entrance |
 |
| For the Patch Collection |
 |
| Historical Marker |
 |
| Map of the various battlefields |
 |
| Horses have right of way |
 |
| The Battlefield terrain has changed little in 135 years |
This ends the first segment of my trip. Tomorrow I will be heading due north to Malta, MT to visit with my quilting and cruising friend, Elizabeth Stickley. I'll next be blogging on Page B on the right sidebar, otherwise you and I would be scrolling forever to read blog posts.
A little side note: If you are 62 or older, as I am, you can get a lifetime senior pass for the National Parks. Cost $10.00. On this trip I have already saved $73.00 in park fees! Get your senior pass today! This may well be the best value senior perk available. (9/10/17 Update: The dogs in Congress have raised the lifetime senior pass fee to $80! While this is still a great value, how sad is it that instead of taxing the wealthy by giving them less tax loopholes, they choose to go after the fixed income group and rape them of an additional $70?)
*************************************
Day 5: Cody, WY
Distance: In town.
Highways: 20
Weather: 75 degrees and overcast; rain, lightening and thunder in evening
Highest Elevation: 5000 feet, Cody, like Denver, is a mile-high city.
A day without driving is very welcome, giving me a chance to walk around a bit and stretch these creaky bones. My first stop was the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a really wonderful museum that houses not just memorabilia related to Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, and the Wild West Show, but includes sections in Natural History, Western Art, The Plains Indians, and an amazing Firearms display.
 |
| The Sign says it all |
There are a number of metal sculptures surrounding the museum, you can see Sacagawea on the right in the photo above. Below are the statues of Bill Cody and Sacagawea. (Yes, that is the correct spelling of Sacagawea, adjusted by historians about 10 years ago based upon the study of the Shoshone language.)
 |
| Buffalo Bill Cody |
 |
| Sacagawea |
 |
| A Child's Tipi from circa 1898, Cheyenne |
 |
| A Plains Indian Woman |
 |
| A lovely diorama of Plains Indians life |
 |
| Snowy Own in the Natural History section |
 |
| The impressive entrance to the Firearms exhibit |
 |
| Annie Oakley and some of her rifles |
 |
| For those of you who remember 1950 era TV: Paladin's Colt Model 1872 |
While in the museum I was able to attend two lectures: one on the life of Annie Oakley, and another about the Chuck Wagons used on Cattle Drives in the nineteenth century. Both were highly informative. Turns out that Annie had a tough early life and taught herself how to shoot so she could kill game for the family's meals. And those cowboys who herded those cattle were on the range 14-16 hours a day for 3 months living on beans and rice, sourdough biscuits and canned tomatoes, plus loads of coffee. A tough life. Here is a recipe for sourdough biscuits (a cowboy favorite) reportedly authored by Hi Pockets, the chuck wagon cook of the CY Ranch of Wyoming in the late 1800s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sourdough Starter
Use a gallon container, glass or crockery, 2 quarts water, adding enough flour to make a thick batter. Add 1/2 yeast cake and 1 large raw potato, peeled and quartered, plus 1 Tbsp. sugar. Let the mixture set in a warm place for a few days until quite sour.
Sourdough Biscuits
2 Cups Flour, 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda, 2 Tbsp. melted lard, 1 Tsp. Salt, 1 Tsp. Baking Powder, 1 Tsp. Sugar.
Sift dry ingredients in a bowl. Make a hole in flour and pour in enough sour dough mixture plus the melted shortening to make a medium stiff dough. Shape into small rolls. Set in a warm place to rise until they become light. Bake as you would any light rolls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meet Kendra and Rick! And just in case you think that this isn't another small world experience, note that I was born in Ohio and lived there until I was 13. Just saying.
 |
| Kendra and Rick, lifelong friends and fun lunch buddies
I next visited Old Trail Town, a gritty, true-to-life outdoor museum of relocated historic homes from the Old West.
|
 |
| The Story |
 |
| A long range view of a portion of the buildings |
There are several graves of reburied famous outlaws or notorious individuals. My favorite is Jeremiah "Liver-Eatin' " Johnson, who was portrayed by Robert Redford in the movie of the same name. Of course, the movie softened the demented life led by Jeremiah, who, after his unplanned trespass of the Crow burial grounds, was pursued by the Crows who intended to kill him. The Crows eventually killed his wife and child and continued trying to kill Jeremiah. They never did kill him; instead, Johnson killed every one who came after him and immediately cut open the body and ate the liver while it was still warm. Thus, the moniker "liver eatin'" became part of his name and he became a legend to the Crow. Jeremiah died in 1900 in Santa Monica and was reburied in Cody in 1974. Robert Redford was one of the pallbearers.
 |
| Jeremiah Johnson reburied here |
 |
| The View from my Room ~ Cedar Mountain |
Tomorrow I'll head toward Crow Agency, MT and visit the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn, the country of the Crow and Cheyenne tribes. Tune in tomorrow night for details.
I've begun adding links to sites I'm visiting on the right sidebar on the Home Page. Check them out.
I've begun adding links to sites I'm visiting on the right sidebar on the Home Page. Check them out.
***********************************
Day 4: Pocatello, ID ~ Yellowstone NP ~ Cody, WY
Distance: 280 Miles, Driving Time: 8 Hrs (lots of stops and a slow drive thru the park)
Highways Traversed: 15, 20, 89, 14, 16
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 68 to 73 degrees, windy
Highest Elevation: 7950 feet
Departed Pocatello, ID and headed northeast towards Yellowstone Park. The landscape continued to be isolated, but with obviously successful farms and horse ranches here and there, until entering the Targhee National Forest. Eventually I reached the Idaho~Wyoming border and entered Yellowstone NP.
But just before entering the park I stopped in West Yellowstone for lunch, gas, and a Quilt Shop! I continue to meet interesting people with interesting stories. For lunch, I ate at Buckaroo Bill's, served by Garrett. After discovering I was from Grants Pass, Garrett told me that his parents, who owned the restaurant, were from Grants Pass! His grandmother still lives in GP. The world continues to shrink the further away from home I am. Turns out that Buckaroo Bill's "brands" their food; note my pulled pork sandwich ~ and meet Garrett.
(Don't forget, you can left click on the pictures to enlarge them.)
I found this Yarn & Quilt Shop by accident and dashed in for a quick look-see. My car stops at all quilt and yarn shops everywhere. I met the owner, Pati, who was charming and helpful. I can't wait to start the shawl she had knitted that was on display.But just before entering the park I stopped in West Yellowstone for lunch, gas, and a Quilt Shop! I continue to meet interesting people with interesting stories. For lunch, I ate at Buckaroo Bill's, served by Garrett. After discovering I was from Grants Pass, Garrett told me that his parents, who owned the restaurant, were from Grants Pass! His grandmother still lives in GP. The world continues to shrink the further away from home I am. Turns out that Buckaroo Bill's "brands" their food; note my pulled pork sandwich ~ and meet Garrett.
(Don't forget, you can left click on the pictures to enlarge them.)
 |
| Buckaroo Bill's |
 |
| My "Branded" food, Yum! |
 |
| Garrett, most charming waiter |
 |
| Quilt Shop Signage |
 |
| Pati ~ Quilt Shop Owner & Fabulous Knitter |
 |
| Pati's Knitted Lace Cape - I got the Pattern! |
Now entering Yellowstone . . .
 |
| For the Patch Collection |
This is my second visit to Yellowstone, yet it does not ever get ordinary, it just grabs at your soul, reminding you of how great it is to be free and American. At over 2.2 million acres, Yellowstone is the nation's 8th largest national park. It is also our first national park, established in 1872 by Ulysses S. Grant. The park is filled with rivers and lakes, mountains, calderas, canyons, forest, and beauty that eludes adequate description.
 |
| Rangers walking along the shore of Yellowstone Lake |
 |
| Yellowstone River |
 |
| Gibbon Falls |
 |
| Yellowstone River |
 |
| Yellowstone Lake (136 square miles) |
 |
| Remnants of a distant forest fire |
A couple of factoids: The park ranger explained the buffalo/bison nomenclature to me: many hundreds of years ago, when the Europeans first arrived in the area, they mistook the American Bison for a Water Buffalo and began calling them Buffaloes. The ranger explained that while the Bison don't really care what we call them, they are really not Buffaloes! Also, people! Remember ~ it is Smokey Bear ~ NOT Smokey The Bear! Really.
 |
| An Obstinancy of Bison |
Exiting at the Eastern Entrance of Yellowstone I drove through 50 miles of some very treacherous, windy, steep roads into Cody, my all-time favorite cowboy town. Following check-in at my motel, I mosied on down the road to Cassie's Restaurant for dinner. They are known for their 16-ounce slab of prime rib. Not even. I had some wonderful trout while enjoying the singing and yodeling of Val Geissler, a local entertainer. Turns out that Val recently starred in a documentary entitled "Unbranded" that is available on Netflix or on DVD. He came over and sat with me while I ate during his break. He is a charming devil, married 4 times, but happily with Cindy for the last 20+ years, and a friend of Willie Nelson along with other folks in country music. Meet Val and go watch his movie!
 |
| Val Geissler, country singer |
 |
| A clear example of how bad I am at taking selfies |
***********************************************
Day 3: Boise, ID~Twin Falls~Pocatello, ID
Distance: 250 Miles, Driving Time: 4 Hrs
Highways Traversed: 20, 84, 50, 30
Weather: Sunny, 78 degrees, light breeze
Highest Elevation: 5500 feet
Highest Elevation: 5500 feet
More of the same type of landscape of high desert followed me out of Boise this morning. Once out of the city limits, traffic was sparse and the speed limit is 80! I made a stop midway to Pocatello at the Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, where lots of very expensive homes have been built. I'm not sure from where the money hails.
 |
| My Collector's Patch |
Lewis and Clark met the Shoshones while on their 1804-1806 Expedition, but did not travel to the Falls. However, Europeans appeared in the region around 1840; later the Oregon Trail encompassed this location. The Shoshone Falls becomes almost dry by Autumn due to diversion of the Snake River water for irrigation. My photos show only one set of falls breaking over the rocks; my patch shows how they look in the Spring.
 |
| Entering the Shoshone Falls site |
 |
| The Falls, not much water due to time of year |
 |
| The Snake River at Shoshone Falls |
Meet Marguerite and Harry Roberts
The daily blog wouldn't be complete without a picture of me. Such a lovely day today.
Tomorrow I'm off to my favorite Western town, Cody, Wyoming. I'll be traveling through Yellowstone National Park. Tune in tomorrow night!
********************************************
Day 2: Burns, OR to Boise, ID
Highways Traversed: 20, 201, 84
Weather: Sunny, 85 degrees, light breeze
Highest Elevation: 4840 feet
The day's journey headed out into the continuing high desert terrain, ascending to 5500 feet. I have a few photos of the unrelieved mountainous landscape of brown, more brown, sagebrush, scrub pine, and utter sameness; yet a certain majesty. These giants have been here an awfully long time.
Some of the first trees seen in 400 miles
Near the summit
Just before reaching the Idaho border, I came upon some road construction with a pilot car arrangement to ferry cars down one lane. With a 10-minute wait, I got out to chat with the flagger. Meet Lisa, The Flagger Girl! She worked in fiber optics for 14 years until the job went poof and has been a flagger for 3 years now. She lives in Idaho.
 |
| Lisa, The Flagger Girl |
 |
| For my patch collection. Welcome to Idaho. |
I managed to get out and drive through two well-known parks, Ann Morrison Park and the Julia Davis Park. A favorite author of mine, Rachel Gibson, lives in Boise and often mentions these parks in her books. It was fun to see them in real life. Autumn has arrived and the trees are turning.
Ann Morrison is known for being at the forefront, with her husband, of early dam construction during the early 1900s in Oregon and Idaho.
Julia Davis was from Canada and her husband came from Cincinnati, Ohio. Together they helped lay out the City of Boise. Julia was known for her hospitality to travelers on the Oregon Trail in the late 1800s. There is a lovely rose garden, a number of museums, and a zoo located in the Davis park. I enjoyed a lovely and serene walk around the Rose Garden this evening.
 |
| Autumn Leaves In Ann Morrison Park |
 |
| The Welcome Sign in Julia Davis Park |
 |
| Julia Davis Memorial Statue |
 |
| That's Me enjoying the serenity of the Rose Garden |
Tomorrow I leave for Pocatello, ID with a couple of stops along the way if time is on my side.
**********************************
Day 1: Grants Pass, OR to Burns, OR
Highways Traversed: 199, 5, 62, 140, 531, 422, 97, 676, 395, 20 (Yeah, really.)
Weather: Sunny, 85 degrees
Highest Elevation: 4600 feet
And I'm off! The car is packed with the regular stuff like clothing and toothbrushes, as well as a plethora of things for the quilt classes I'll be teaching in Montana. In the front passenger seat are the munchies and the cold drinks. I've hooked up my Kindle to the RAV4's audio system and turned on an audio book. Time to start rolling down the road.
I'm heading mostly east and a little bit north; I'd prefer to go due east, but eastern Oregon is mostly high desert with mountains, streams, rivers, and lakes, which means the roads can be a bit cattywampus at times.
After leaving Grants Pass and Medford in my rear view mirror, I traveled through about 100 miles of National Forest and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forests that I didn't photograph, because I live in the forest and didn't need any more pictures.
At about the halfway mark, I stopped at this National Historic Site. Looking north is Table Rock and looking west is Dead Indian Mountain.
Table Rock, Elevation 5351 Ft.
The Historic Marker at Table Rock
The Historic Marker is a bit difficult to read, however, it tells of how the Native Americans first inhabited the land about 10,000 years ago. The first European Americans didn't arrive until 1905 and left by 1920 due to farms that failed to thrive. The area is virtually barren now except for shacks of old homesteads.
Dead Indian Mountain (distant)
Across from the Table Rock Mountain far in the distance is Dead Indian Mountain.
By now I need to pee and to get something to eat. Notice that there is nothing around Table Rock. About 20 miles up the road I arrived at Christmas Valley. How the area got that name is without explanation. Perhaps in the winter the snow falls and someone wears a Santa suit, but today I mostly expected to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ride by.
Instead, after getting gas, peeing, and getting some food, I met Janie!
Instead, after getting gas, peeing, and getting some food, I met Janie!
Janie, the Local Gopher Trapper (no shit!)
Janie moved to Christmas Valley about 14 years ago and began trapping gophers for the local farmers who grow mostly Hay and Alfalfa. Evidently the gophers just love those crops.
I then headed down the road for the last 100 miles, on the long and lonesome highway. There is NOTHING, truly nothing on this road but some of the loneliest habitats I've ever seen. It is 87 miles to the next gas station! I have not passed any recognizable chain stores or eateries for the last 200 miles of the drive. I like living isolated, but you need a whole new word to describe 'isolated' in Eastern Oregon.
Lonely Places on the way to Burns
A Farm
A Really Lonely Tree
The Long and Lonesome Highway
Some Lonely Cows
