Mountains, Caves and Prisons, Oh My

We had gone to sleep Friday with the rain starting.  We awoke to a steady drizzle and clouds hanging on the mountains.  Our plan was to visit the Museum of the Rockies but I figured with the poor weather, it might be packed with children.  We decided to spend some time catching up on our reading and relaxing, this is a vacation. Then decided to take a drive in the rain.

We had flown through Bozeman pass and now we were going to drive it.   The rain was light by Florida standards and the clouds surprisingly high.  We drove into Livingston, a small town just East of the pass.  Downtown had that classic old Western look with brick storefronts.  The rain was still coming down harder than I like so we drove around rather than walking.

The skies to the North looked clearer so we headed North parallel to the Eastern edge of the mountains.  This area is more of the rolling flat farmland than mountains.  We went as far as Wilsall which has a connection to Lewis and Clarke as Clarke named a local river.  There was even a statue commemorating the local Western spirit.  They have a bronze Thunder Jack standing proudly by the highway. He is a fictional character but very majestic.

We turned South and headed over the mountains.  The rain was lighter and with the clouds hanging over the peaks it made for a picturesque view.  I was glad we had flown through in the sunshine.  The road also passed by the local ski area and then returned us to Bozeman near our hotel.  The rain was waning and after a quick snack break, we headed downtown.

Bozeman has about 60,000 people and an amazing amount of traffic for such few residents.  The problem seems to stem from rapid growth, a city which is just a grid of small streets, 25 mph limits, lots of lights and no main arteries.  Trips of 2 miles tend to take 10-15 minutes.  It is a visually attractive city with great backgrounds but a bit of a pain to get around.  The gas station has a mountain views that would be premium in most other locations but here, every direction is beautiful.

We spent about an hour and a half strolling downtown.  It too had been gentrified but some older businesses survive to keep some of the character.  I did find one that I really liked, they have a Co-op store.  It was a mini market that also had hot food that looked good.  I helped support the local economy by buying some very tasty chocolate. 

Sunday dawned bright and cool.  We were headed down to Yellowstone.  Last time we visited the parks West Entrance, this time we would use the North.  Cecilia made quick work of the drive.  The speed limits are higher here with the highway allowing 80 mph and the country roads 70 mph.  I had read that the North Gate was not usually backed up but we had no idea if that was really true.

As we neared the gate it looked good except for a few cars by the entrance.  As we got closer, we saw those cars were pulled over so we did too.  We saw a group of Pronghorns.  They are not deer or antelopes but they are wicked fast and quite cute.  They are actuallin their own family, Antilocapridae. On the other side of the road we saw some elk.  It was an auspicious start.  After pictures, we stopped at the gate to show our park pass and had a zero delay entry.

We had an ambitious plan,  we stopped at the Mammoth Hot Springs and did the climb to the top.  The prismatic pools on the other side of the park are better with more colors and bubbling but these were nice.  We then headed off to Gibbon Falls and along the way we saw a Bison walking down the highway.  Luckily he was in the opposing lanes of traffic and only delayed us long enough to grab a picture.

We made some scenic stops including a really cool or should I say hot hydrothermal feature with a boiling pool and a vent spewing steam forcefully into the air.  We did not really hikemuch today, we did a good bit of walking but the paths were mostly paved.  The park was not empty but we scored parking without much trouble every place we went.  For a while CC was on a roll and kept happening upon the perfectly located spots.

There is a lot of thermal activity in the park.  Roaring Mountain for example is huge and impressive.  Everywhere you look in the park there is something amazing to see.

Gibbon Falls is nice, it’s a view from a distance but you walk about 1,200’ parallel to the river and get a series of great views.  After the Falls we headed to Grandview.  Grandview is a series of Falls and an amazing canyon.  We drove along the North canyon and enjoyed the views.  I am hooked on waterfalls but I think the canyon itself was the most stunning feature.

There were hikes you could take but they all involved huge elevation changes.  We looked at them but there was so much to see that if we spent a significant amount of time hiking, we would have had to give up other sights.

We continued along and stopped at Tower falls.  A very easy walk and a nice waterfall.  After this we saw the Calcite Springs.  It had less active thermal features and more great river valley views.  We thought our last stop would be a petrified tree but then we ran across another Bison just hanging out by the road and we had also seen several elk.

After that we thought we had finished but as we neared the exit more elk which we stopped to grab some pictures.

A short distance later an even larger group of Elk with a 24 point Stag was just hanging out.  It was time to head home, and even though we were outside of Yellowstone, the drive along the Yellowstone river between the mountains is amazing and we saw more Bison and Elk as well as Pronghorns, cows and horses.  Yellowstone did not disappoint.

Our final day around Bozeman we headed towards Butte.  Our first stop was The Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park.  The cavern was discovered in the winter of 1892 when the relatively warm cave air escaping a small opening appeared to be smoking and two locals went to see if someone needed help.  The Native Americans had seen this before but it was not near a water source so they had ignored it.

In true American fashion the locals decided to sell tours and did so for many years.  It's a long story but they didn’t own the land and eventually the US government ended up owning the cave but they just kept selling tours in deffiance of federal law.  These days the tours are much easier than the 1800’s.   Though the one we took is a bit strenuous.

Back then you took a train from Butte and then trekked several miles and up 1,400’ to then repel down through a hole.  The tour also lasted 12 hours and required death defying agility.  During the depression the Civilian Conservation Corps improved the cave by adding stairs and railings. This made the cave safer and easier to visit.  

Thanks to the CCC we drove down a nicely paved road.  They even had several deer cross the road in front of us for that perfect nature effect.  We drove up the mountain to the caves parking lot.  They have different tours and we chose the strenuous one.  It starts with a ¾ mile walk up a steep incline.  The climb starts at an elevation of about 5,000' so that makes it special. You must complete this walk within 30 minutes to prove your fitness for the tour.  If not, they send you down to get a refund.

We did the climb in around 15 minutes though we were breezing hard.   We held our own until the end where we let a young coule pass us but we were second to the top.  The tour then takes you through the cave.  It includes 600 steps, mostly down though. It has lots of really low passages.  I was happy to be on the shorter side as the 6 foot plus tourists had a much harder time.  At the cave entrance, we saw the cave bats.  The colony is pretty small and we only saw four.  They are tiny bats, the size of your fist but pretty cool looking.

The tour takes you from chamber to chamber and the guide explains the cave, its history and you get to see all the natural formations.  The cave is in great shape but there is one area where the people in the 1800’s were encouraged to break off the ends of stalagmites as souvenirs.  This is totally illegal now.

The tight passageways were actually fun and in one place there was an actual rock slide.  It was only about five feet but very cool and it gets you through a very narrow and low section.  At the end of the tour you have to walk a half mile back to the parking lot but it is mostly flat which makes it a breeze.

Our next stop was the Old Montana Prison & Auto Museum Complex.  We have been on several prison tours and they are always interesting.  This prison was built in 1871 and operated until 1979.  Yes, 108 years is way too long to run a prison. We have found that the prisons generally started out lousy and then somehow get worse.  This prison followed the pattern.  The original cell building had been destroyed by an earthquake so the oldest structures were from the early 1900s.  The main cell block building was built in 1912.

This museum is not just the prison, though that’s why we came.  They also have a car museum, a Western museum, a toy museum and more.  I am not into cars but they had an extensive collection starting in the early 1900s through the 1980s.  We enjoyed the cars and some of the later models brought back childhood memories.  The Western collection was heavy on guns but its focus on the many variations of a few weapons made it less interesting.

We did not stop into all the displays but it was a nice follow-up to what was a really dank prison.  The drive back to Bozeman was quick with the 80 mph speed limit.  We also got to cross the continental divide on the way to the museum and back.  It is sort of an arbitrary landmark but always cool.  This was it for Bozeman, we were off to Rapid City in the morning.

Bozeman Pass

The flights to and from Bozeman were the ones that gave me the most concern.  It is 113 miles, about 40 minutes but it possibly presented the most challenges.  Our other destinations did not have a lot of close high terrain and this time of year they do not tend to be low IFR for extended periods. Spoiler, I will regret these words in a few days. Basically, we could wait out most stuff and expect conditions that could easily be handled IFR.

Bozeman is different.  It sits in a bowl and is surrounded by mountains.  To arrive IFR your MEAs are going to be at least 11,000.  Sitting in the valley it has prolonged low IFR periods and with the mountains, the approach options are much more limited.  Bozeman could have been a show stopper.

I had a good backup plan.  The drive from Billings to Bozeman is a bit over 2 hours.  If the weather was going to make the flight impractical, I planned to call AVIS, extend the rental and cancel my Avis in Bozeman.  On the way over it would have been a wash on time as it took us about the same to prep the plane, fly and get in the new car.  Heading to Rapid City next Tuesday it would have added a few hours having to drive to Billings first and then fly onto Rapid city.

As it turned out weather was coming Friday but it wasn’t due until after 6 PM.  Tuesday was also forecast clear so we flew.  The FBO at Billings was really good.  Not only was their line service excellent but they had a very friendly staff, candy and gave us fancy cookies on departure.

It was a cool morning in Billings and they had parked us facing uphill.  This meant I started up and just sat there while the oil warmed.  I needed about 1300 RPM to get rolling uphill so we chilled for about 5 minutes while the oil made it to the mid 80s.  A quick blast of power got me rolling and Billings ground got me a squawk for flight following and cleared us to taxi.  The warm up delay meant the engines were ready for runup at the end of the runway.

We would be light this morning, typically I like lots of gas  and in the flat country I often carry extra gas.  Out here I like single engine climb performance more.  With less gas and weighing 5000 pounds the computed climb available was 320 fpm.  If I had topped off it would have dropped to near 200.  Since I am no test pilot, that extra performance could save my bacon and I like to stack the deck in my favor.

The departure was normal, I did lean the engines and the acceleration was not as good as sea level but with 10,518’ of runway, even the slight uphill slope did not concern me.   Everything worked and we were soon heading towards Bozeman.  I had decided to go VFR because the weather was excellent and I did not want to have to climb high enough for the MEAs.  We still had flight following so ATC would be watching us.

It was fun to be VFR, after liftoff it was 6BY, turn on course, contact departure.  I really enjoy IFR flying but when VFR you can be a bit more relaxed, dip the wing to get a better view of the scenery and be a bit more laid back.  This includes the route, we planned IFR, I follow roads, and would follow the highway through the Bozeman pass.  This would keep us over the lowest terrain and near people. 

It was a quick flight, 40 minutes and it seemed to go fast.  We talked to Billings, then Salt Lake Center, then Bozeman approach and finally tower.  After we slid through the Bozeman pass and headed down, I was hoping to land on 12 which is long and close to the FBO.  Tower wanted me on 11 which is shorter and farther out.  Tower also did not want us to be on final next to an arriving regional jet on final to 12.  This meant we got to fly an extended downwind to turn behind the RJ.

We landed 11, cleared and called ground who told us to call tower to get across 12.  Tower got us across and gave us instructions to the ramp.  Signature had it together and put us right at the front door.  Before I could get out, our car was positioned for us to load and the line guys helped us move our stuff.

Signature gets a bad wrap because some locations can be very overpriced.  I agree that some are but not all.  They publish prices online, and in many locations they are very reasonable.  I like the transparancy.  Avoid the outliers and Signature can be a good value.  The gas here is a bit high but parking is only $15/night and you just need to buy 30 gallons to waive all fees.

They have a nice facility.  When I went inside to check in, I grabbed a snack and they had a fancy coffee machine.  I had it make me a hot chocolate with a shot of espresso.  They also loaned us bear spray.  I had thought of buying some but carrying it in the plane seemed to be risky.  Yes it would go in the nose and not the cabin but those areas are not completely separated.  

This is Bear country though we never saw one. I had planned to go to Costco to grab some spray when we landed as it was nearby.  I had called a week before and asked if we could drop it for disposal when we left and the guy said they usually had some from people doing just that.  So when we landed I asked and they had some to lend us.

The weather had been great but we still had the rain coming around 6:00.  Our Saturday plan was hiking with Friday being museums and downtown.  Given the forecast we decided to hike Friday instead.  After dropping our stuff at the hotel, we were off to Big Sky.  Montana is called Big Sky Country but they also have a town by that name.  It is known as a ski location but right now it is more a fishing and hiking destination as there is not much snow yet.

We drove South alongside the Gallatin river and it was quite scenic.  We were heading to Ousell falls.  The falls are a 1.4 mile round trip on a well maintained gravel path.  It would be easy except for the fact that the falls are around 9,400’ and the trail dips down several hundred and then climbs back up.

Other than breathing heavier than normal we made quick work of the trail.  At the end you reach an observation area which has nice fall views.  You can then add on a climb to the top of the falls and a descent to the base of the falls.  We did both.  The falls were worth the walk and though I had the spray we saw no bears.  It was interesting to see that only about one in 5 groups had spray.

After the hike we drove back to town for a quick walk.  It reminded CC of Telluride in its architecture and feel but it was smaller and seemed more commercial.  We stopped by the visitor center to see if we wanted to do another local hike or head to Palisade Falls.  After looking at the options we chose to head on.  We did stroll the main drag and it does seem that this quaint small town had been fully gentrified into a luxury resort mecca for the ultra wealthy.

Our next falls were not far away but there was a big ass mountain in the way so we drove about 45 minutes around it to arrive at Palisade Falls.  As a bonus we drove around the Hyalite Reservoir which is known for its picturesque views.  These falls seem easy but...  The path is fully paved and wheelchair accessible from the parking lot to the observation area. So easy right?

Not really, the path to the falls is uphill and has grades as much as 13% and when starting at 6,900 feet, it seems steeper.  We powered through and made quick work of the .6 mile walk.  On both hikes we saw many people but while it was not empty it was not busy.  At Ousell, we must have seen 40 people heading back from the falls but when we arrived we had the falls to ourselves for a few minutes and just a handful of other people around later.

At Pallisade, less overall people and upon our arrival there were two small groups just leaving.  We had the falls to ourselves again until just before we headed out when 3 people showed up.  While the path is paved.  To go the last 200 feet you do need to walk across the uneven rocks.  The climb is steep but there are no shear drops, just watch out that you don’t slip or turn an ankle.

After the falls we headed to town.  It was not Tuesday but I wanted Tacos.  I had seen a Taco truck (actually a Taco school bus) with great reviews and it was on the way to the hotel.  On Tuesday we tried to get tacos and two places we tried were closed.   When we arrived at the parking lot the bus was not there.  There were three other trucks including a taco one that had good reviews so we went with it and ordered way too much food.  It was not the truck we read about but their food was very good and we were both stuffed.

The rain came at 6:45 but was not much, at least by Florida standards.  That said we are under a flash flood warning.  We discussed alternate plans for the morning and decided to wait and see what actually developed.

Last Stand

We started a bit later on Wednesday.  Our destination was the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.  It is South of Billings and we had another drive.  It was about 100 miles.  The drive started the same direction as Tuesday but then diverged East.  The drive itself is great scenery.  The terrain was a mix of hills and farmland.  In some places it reminded me of Idaho and other places the Dakotas.  

On the way, we stopped at the visitor center and picked up a map.  It seemed very quiet and we saw few people during our visit.  Our first stop was Sullivan’s Knob where you hike from the road to the canyon rim and look down on the Lake below.  Yes it looks like a river but it is actually a dammed lake.  The views are amazing and the drop is sheer.  We stayed a respectful distance from the edge.

As we were leaving we saw some bighorn sheep in the distance.  They were cool but were hard to see.  That would change soon.  After the first hike we visited a Ranch that ran from 1896 to 1968.  It was just part of the operation but it reinforced that 1800's ranch life was not for me.

We headed back to the main overlook and as we entered the drive to the parking area we saw a group of sheep.  We stopped and took pictures while they ate.  Occasionally they looked at us but mostly they ate.  

We then went to the main viewing area for more great views.  The drop off was even steeper here but they had provided a railing which we respected.  I read about an arch that looked cool and is a popular instagram spot but at the visitor center the ranger showed me where it was and then warned us it was not recommended due to the steep, loose terrain and 1,000’ drop.  He did add that no one had fallen off yet.  Given the yet, we decided to stay safe and in the yet category.

When we parked, I saw something in our left front tire.  At first I thought it was a rock but a closer inspection confirmed that it was a large bolt.  It was really jammed in there and when I first listened and felt, I did not hear any leak.  I decided to check the spare, it was present but devoid of meaningful air pressure. Thank You Avis.

We decided to go on the next hike.  On the way we checked the tire pressure and it was stable at 34.  We parked and took a quick hike on the Rangers Trail.  The views were not as good, maybe they would be better if we had more danger tolerance but we enjoy living.  Upon returning to the car, I felt a slow seep and could hear the air coming out.  This was less good.

We decided to skip the last short hike and head back to town.  It was 15 miles and as we started the pressure had dropped to 32.  Thankfully it held there.  It is a small town of about 2,400 people but surprisingly it has 5 gas stations.  The Sinclair station had a tire service business and we pulled in.  The manager asked us how it was going and I explained our issue.  He had me move the car to the repair area and in just a minute the car was up and the tire was off.  It was a freaky big bolt but the tire was fixable.  15 minutes and $24 later we were back in business. 

We decided that our next step was a late lunch.  I had read about a local Billings BBQ place, Montana Outlaw BBQ.  It is a BBQ grille business that makes BBQ three days a week.  We ordered the lunch platter and it did not disappoint.  I can’t imagine eating it myself.  It came with 1 lb of meat, we had a mix of pork, turkey and brisket.  You also get a half rack of ribs, macaroni and cheese, bacon potato salad, Texas toast, jalapeno corn bread and a drink.

 

We walked out with 2 large containers of food and the $40 price was very fair.  It’s at least 4 meals worth of food.  How did it taste? Delicious!

Our travels today went from Montana to Wyoming and then back to Montana.  The hikes were all in Montana but the tire was fixed in Wyoming.  Cool fact, the border between the states is the 45th parallel.  Longtime readers will know we just enjoyed straddling the 45th in Michigan.  Another similarity with Michigan was that every small town we drive through has its own post office.  I was going to re-rant about this but the BBQ has mellowed me so I’ll leave it there.

On our last day in the billing area, we headed East for a change.  Our first stop was Pompey's Pillar.  This rock is famous because Clark of Lewis and Clark fame carved his name into the rock on July 25, 1806.  It made the rock famous, don't try it now though, apparently if you do, you go to federal prison.

It is a nice site, along the Yellowstone river.  They have a boardwalk and you can climb the rock and enjoy the view as well as stare at all the graffiti.  Yes, after Clark defaced the rock, others came along and repeated the violation.  The 1800’s must have been wild and not just becasue of the dysentary and typhus.  In addition to the rock, they have some nice paths that provide a river view.  We have seen a lot of the Yellowstone.  The river is notable as the longest free flowing river in North America (non dammed).  It is also quite scenic.

Our next stop was Little Big Horn.  We have all learned about Custer's last stand in school.  They made it seem heroic.  Standing there, reading the history, I was reminded of our trip to Vietnam where they tell you about the American war.  Just think, if things had gone a bit differently, it may have been called The Lakota and Cheyenne’s very good day.  

When you arrive there is a graveyard.  It is very interesting as it is for soldiers buried from the late 1800’s with the last reservation accepted in 1978.  This graveyard does not hold any of the soldiers from the famous battle.  From the graveyard you can look up and see Last Stand Hill.  Across the battlefield there are grave markers showing the locations of the fallen soldiers.  There are also markers for the fallen Lakota and Cheyenne.  

I wondered how they knew where to place them.  After the battle the Lakota and Cheyenne marked their graves with Cairns which were replaced decades later with the markers.  The battle was July 25, 1876.  Yes exactly 76 years after Mr. Clark’s graffiti. On July 28th the army returned and buried the soldiers where they fell.  In 1877 the army returned and marked the graves with crosses and in 1890 they were replaced with the white marble stones we see today.  They had looked newish on first glance but we were looking at 136 year old stones.

In addition to Last Stand Hill you can drive the entire battlefield.  There was another group of soldiers about 4 miles North East that also got beat badly but many survived.  They had retreated to a better position and were able to hold off the attacks.

One thing you never learn about in school is the horse.  This was the calvary but when they were cornered, the soldiers shot their horses and used them for cover.  It did not help though.  It was an interesting visit and I always like learning and seeing history.  

I was surprised at how busy it was. At the Pillars, we had it to ourselves and only saw one other person on the trails.  To be fair it wasn’t super crowded but it was not empty.  The last two days we had pretty much had the sights to ourselves.  At the battlefield we were seeing people at all the stops.  Small world moment, yesterday we had met another couple when taking pictures of the Bighorn Sheep.  He was a Delta Pilot.  At one of the pullouts, we stopped to take pictures of some horses and they were there as well.  

Our next stop was The Big Horn County Historical Museum.  It is a small local museum in Hardin, MT.  They have displays of local history and many artifacts from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  They also have many historical buildings and some new ones with historical stuff.  We wandered about, enjoyed the history and if I ever had any lingering doubts about living back then, they are gone, gone, gone.  Just kidding, I never ever wanted to live in the good old days.

We had one more important stop to make.  After all the history I needed a Blizzard and Hardin has a DQ.  I did show restraint and get the mini size.  After that it was time to head back to Billings and get ready to head to Bozeman.

Thinking about all we have seen, I am brought back to previous comments that I have made.  I think influencers have skewed the ratings of our national landmarks.   There are the big super popular ones but thankfully there are some of these non hyped gems left.  For example, The Bighorn Recreation Area was like the Grand Tetons combined with Horseshoe bend in Arizona.  The Beartooth Highway had such a variety and depth of scenery that every turn was a delight.  Montana and Wyoming are way underrated!  Don't tell anyone though, I really enjoy the quite solitude of  these parks.