Day 28, Tuesday July 5, 2022 ,traveling to Buffalo Wyoming

 Day 28, Tuesday July 5, 2022,  traveling to Buffalo Wyoming

We got a good start and remembered to put on the sewer cap before we left the campground in Billings. Don't like to lose them.  We were on the road at 9:20 and headed east and south to Buffalo, Wyoming.  A fill of gasoline ($4.89/gal). The route was on I-90 most of the way, and a turn onto US 25 a few miles before the campground.

A view of Southern Montana

Those rolling hills in Wyoming.

Some info of Native life, years past.

 

The ride was through southern Montana's rolling grass and as we entered Wyoming the land rises, (Buffalo is at 4,700 ') and has longer, downhills and uphills, some are three -four miles long. There are those necessary signs for the truckers in winter like..."apply chains at next pullout". We did see these three times on that stretch. The road rather parallels the Big Horn Mountains which were on our right side some 30 miles away.

One stop was for a stretch and gasoline in the heart of Crow country.The station run by two women needed some maintenance, but one of the two pumps worked. Gas there was $5.15/gallon ( regular) .It was in the town of Lodge Grass.

Beautiful every mile.

The Big Horn Mountains on our Right.

Looking toward the Big Horns

 

A stop at a view of the valley in the foothills of the Big Horns was very photograpeable. We did not see any deer, or Pronghorn today. We wondered about that and surmised that the 4 lane highway kept many of them further away.

One Historical site was just out of Billings  and that was the Battle site of the Little Big Horn where the warriors of the Native tribes massacred the US Cavalry and "U No Hoo" was killed there along with hundreds of his troops. We did not stop as we had both been there before when it was not a huge site that it is today. There were other Battle sites along that route, such as  Fetterman, Tongue River and Wagon Box. It is a veritable history of the loss if the Native tribes in this part of the country.

Our arrival at Indian campground was made about 2:30 and Nathan the proprietor met us, and efficiently had us in and out in a few minutes.The park has over 300 cottonwood and ash tree so thre is excellent shelter and shade.

Information about a near by town.

Our campsite at Indian Campground

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were in site B-2 the edge of the park. I completed a walk around before supper  and  found  a creek that runs along the north side of the park, and saw a Mountain Black Capped Chickadee getting food for young off a Willow Tree. Very few birds today.

Ruth cleaned the trailer as she said it was "messy", and it does look  better now, I am sure and she feels better about that, although we seldom have visitors  it always looks great.

Tomorrow we will explore the area around Lake DeSmet which we saw on the way coming in. Father De Smet (SSJ) was one of many Jesuits that were sent to the USA in the 1500's to the  1800's to explore and convert. One paragraph indicates he traveled over 180,000 miles on his missionary work.  

"De Smet saw his meeting with the Salish as the will of God. He joined the delegation on its journey to St. Louis and asked Bishop Rosati to send missionaries. Rosati assigned him to journey to Salish territory, to determine their nation, and to establish a mission among them. For safety and convenience De Smet traveled with an American Fur Company brigade. On 5 July 1840, Father De Smet offered the first Mass in Wyoming, a mile east of Daniel (near the Idaho border), a town in the west-central part of the present state. A monument to the event was later erected on this site. When De Smet arrived at Pierre' Hole, 1,600 Salish and Pend Orielles greeted him. He baptized 350 people and then returned to the eastern United States to raise funds for the mission."

 Catch you tomorrow.

Day 27,Monday July 4, 2022 “Fourth of July” Independence Day 1776 Last day in Billings MT

 Day 27,Monday July 4, 2022  “Fourth of July” Independence Day  1776 Last day in Billings  MT

After the rain and heavy wind , which lasted 15 minutes, yesterday evening turned pleasant. The rain did come but not heavy, nor long.

In the morning all was dry and the sun was shining with little wind. We had two objectives in mind.  The first was a State Park that surrounded the Cooney  Reservoir south of here about 45 miles, The second was the Pictograph Caves just 15 minutes from the trailer.

We set out for the former taking US 218 to to the little “town” of Boyd (not as small as Molt, MT.) There seemed to be few birds out ,but perhaps as we got off the highway that might change. It did not, although as is the case  many times those “quiet” places yield a bird or two we had not seen. This was true here as we saw two,  an Eastern Phoebe and a Wood Peewee.

On the road to Cooney Reservoir

A beautiful hay field ready for baling

Ruth can't resist photgraphing those horses.

 

The Cooney Reservoir is football shape and has  4 camping sites at the corners of the lake so to speak.  It has been created by Red Lodge Creek which runs into Rock Creek and eventually the Yellowstone River and then the Missouri River. We drove around slowly to see what two of  the campsite might offer. There were a few birds, but not much activity. The fact there were speedboats and “Seadoos”on the lake did not encourage bird activity, even though they might have been around. On the way driving in there was a large valley that was a center of farming activity. The new mown hay was spectacular in its design (see). It is one of those canyons that had been turned onto a profitable industry with raising crops. Tall cliffs on either side and sloping down to the Red Lodge Creek.

We did not find many birds so decided  to return to the SE side of Billings and view the Pictograph caves. The road in was a very winding  one and filled with curves and beautiful rock formations. There were many warning signs not only for the rattlesnakes, but also for the bumps in the road. (It reminded me of the drive into the Chiricahua Mountains in AZ where the “pillars”of stone greet you.) When we arrived the parking lot was quite full, and there were picnickers , which we joined, as it was pushing one o’clock and time for lunch. It actually was the first time we had used an outdoor (table) for lunch on this trip as we always eat by the side of the road in the truck, or, when traveling to another campsite, stop at a Subway or eat our meal in the trailer.

There were two pictograph caves. One had no remaining paintings, and the other (Ghost Cave) did . Some of the inhabitants in those caves  had been very ancient, going back some 14,000 years.  There were few paintings left, and only 6 were visible and you had to look close to see them. They told of dances, hunting, weapons, and some animals. The cave has been found  to be the first in western USA  , east of the Rockies that has been preserved and worked with. )ver 100,000 artifacts were found on the cave floor and site. Interestingly the WPA work crews were instrumental in beginning the work that preserved the caves. A man by the name of Muller was the director at the beginning. Weathering moisture, and heat changes, gradually remove the paintings as the wall flakes off periodically.

The Ghost Cave entrance

The concrete walkway that saved a bunch of gravel walking

 

 

The walk up the long, switchback, gravel path would have not been possible for us, but the State had constructed an uphill, concrete walkway (wheelchair accessible) up to the second cave which had the pictographs.. There were benches every 100 feet or so  that helped  us “catch our breath”. The caves were magnificent (see). It males one really think about standing on the same ground that people did some 14,000 years ago, or even a mere 3,000 years ago.  The walk downhill was a “breeze”. We did see some birds there including  a new one to the trip…The Spotted Towhee. What a loud and forceful voice it has.

)ne of the few (6) draw9ngs that are still visible

The interior of the cave (120 X 80X 60')

I wonder if the cliff swallows have been doing this for eons?

 

I took time to stop at the Visitor Center ,where Noah took care of our needs. I did buy a book entitled “Montana Before History” (Hunters and Gatherers for 11,000- years.). That should help understand the life that ancient people here so lived so long ago.

We did take the time to “eat out” at the “Texas Roadhouse” complete with the “Bloomin Onion”.

Ruth had a great ribeye (no bone) that was the best. I settled for 1/2 rib slab and took 2/3 of it home. We both had their marshmallow/maple syrup sweet potato. Who needs all that marshmallow and syrup?   I took that home intact. It was great way to end our time in Billings  as we leave tomorrow for Wyoming and a town called Buffalo. Of course the campground is “Indian Campground”!

Day 25, Sunday July 3, 2022 At Billings MT

 Day 26, Sunday July 3, 2022 at Billings MT

One of the Wildlife Refuges we were going to see, was closed, so we chose an alternative target. In town there is a park (Shiloh Conservation Park)  that had potential (you never know for sure until you get there). It was just 15  minutes away so we headed there at about 9:30. We found a very “wildlife  friendly” park that has been created from the water overflow from the city and it has created a number of marshes and wetlands with bike and walking trails all throughout the Park. For us it meant only observing from the vehicle and the road was a very short one ,so just the “usual” birds did we see.

Many  long roads in Montana Range and crop land,

The Battle of Canyon Creek (Nex Perce) waas fought here in 1877.

How the Nez Perce escaped the Cavalry is shown here.

 We adjusted our sights and took aim at a large lake some 25-30 miles NW of the Park. It was mostly on gravel roads , but did pass by one of my favorite hero’s Battle sites.We stopped of course.  Chief Jose[h and the Nez Perce on the flight away from the US Cavalry (Col.Miles)  met the US Cavalry at Canyon Creek  and defeated them so badly they had to stop chasing the Nex Perce.  While the Nez Perce were holding off the Cavalry , the women and children escaped through a side canyon as they eluded the Cavalry. (See diagram). For me it was an exiting time to think of Chief Joseph, in this place some 145 years ago. (Sept. 1877)

We continued on past the Canyon and into the plateau that the Nez Perce used to head north. This opens up into range land and more crops especially lentils with some wheat and dry peas. We reached the village of Molt MT,  (saw two occupied houses) and continued west from there. We had just started down a road that appeared to be the one we were on, and a rancher stopped  (few cars out here on Sunday), and he said “No, go back to where you turned and follow that to the Big Lake.”  We did and eventually we saw the lake. Thank you sir!.
 

Big Lake as it is today from the south

Big Lake as it was filled in 2018 (airial)

 

 There was no access from the south side and the lake was a 1/2 mile away, so we continued to drive around it on the west side, and found a trail (2 ruts) that led to the lake. Here we were able to make out a number of birds and especially the Eared Grebes that were nesting on the lake in what we might consider “rafts”of nests all lined up together.  Excellent birding.
I carefully turned around in the grass as the one side of the road had solid turf in the grass, but the other side was a ditch.

Single lane road to Big Lake shore.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pelicans on their "island". Big Lake.

A storm was brewing but we missed the rain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our map it appeared that the road came close to the lake on the north side so we traveled the 3 miles to see. It was true and we also were able to see the island that had Pelicans nesting (many young) ,with Cormorants, and different species of gulls (Ring Billed, Herring and Franklin’s). This certainly did make this  trip to “Montana’s outback” worthwhile.. We did Identify 40 birds today. At the last viewing place some 1,000 yards from us was a figure sprawled out on the shore. It was a  photographer getting down ,prone, to get good shots with his camera.  Great stuff

The small village of Molt, MT we drove through.

Why do they stack the hay like this?

These are dry peas which we saw much  of.

 

A bonus on the way out was near the town of Molt, a car stopped and wanted to know if knew the way to Big Lake. Yes we did and they wee happy to hear the directions.

We came back through the small village of Molt, again, and found some blacktop  to drive smoother on the way back. We probably did 40 miles of gravel road driving today.

More Pronghorns

Many of the ranches have bee hives. Clover honey?

Saw this guy by the fence. Couldn't resist a photo.

 

Ruth caught this Mule Deer with tail up in the grass.

 

This is truly Montana’s “core  land “with the crops we saw and the cattle and the rock land.
The view of the Rocky Mountains was a plus. They are some 60 miles away.

Tomorrow we will head for a Reservoir named Cooper’s Reservoir. Stay tuned.

Day 24, Saturday July 2, 2022, moving from Malta MT to Billings MT

 Day 26, Saturday July 2, 2022, moving from Malta MT to Billings MT

The trip to Billings down MT 191, 19 and US 87 is a 203 mile trip. I cut the speed down as the initial 1/2 of the highway is quite "rolling" and narrow with no shoulder to speak of. As we got to two counties north of Billings the road was better.

How vast the grassland of Montana is.

A few 'early in the day' riders heading out

The road stretches far and farther

 

The land is a complete combination grassland and range land. The crops here that we saw were wheat, alfalfa, and some beans. (Much of it is cattle range land)

 Again as far as the eye can see it was the same. There were some valleys between the ridges and long 1-2 mile downhill and the same up .Billings is 1,200 feet higher than Malta so there is an overall elevation rise. (see later in the blog). We stopped 4 times including one stop at "James Place"for gasoline. It was a "flip the handle" kind of pump, and had a sign on it saying "Use the other hose"  and another one saying, "Tell the store how many gallons you received". A do it yourself honesty system. It seemed to work.  James was cordial and his girls were merely observers.

The small gas station in the middle of the grassland and ranch land

 

At one point on the drive the traffic was piling up behind me and it was a difficult road to pass on with all the hills and curves. So I pulled over and let seven of them go by. In that 200 mile stretch there was only 25 cars that passed me total. I drove about 50-55 mph most of the way, as the rolling highway almost demanded that you do that.

 We did see three deer and one Pronghorn along side the of road but they did not run. There is such a vast openness to the land I am sure there are thousands more "out there". We did see more cattle on this route than before and the large tracts of alfalfa  prove that.

Getting into the foothills north of Billings

Can you see the road in the distance?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Within sight are three mountain ranges. The  "Little Rockies" are about 40 miles south of Malta where much gold fund in the 1920's, and the "Judith", "Little Snowys" and "Big Snowys" are not far away.  It is a wonderful contrast to the plains and grassland that we have been seeing for the last two weeks.

We arrived driving through town to get to the Billings RV located on the SW corner of town. Billings has 180,000 people so has a large infrastructure. It is the largest city (pop.) in Montana. 

We had trouble getting the WiFi set up but finally were able to manage that. Our campsite #15 is at the back of the campground  and we like that as it is away from the entering and exiting of the park. Usually there are more "resident" birds back there as well.

Our site #15 in Billings. Busy weekend (July 4th)

 

Supper was  eggs and some LO's (leftovers). It was sufficient.

With the temps in the 80's the A/C was turned on right away and now at 6:30 ( I can hear that it is no longer on, so the temps have equalized.)

Tomorrow we will examine a Conservation area that looks good and save the NWR for Monday. We are here just three days, and leave on July 5 for Douglas WY. There are 4 NWR within 1.5 hours of here.

Day 24, Friday Juy 1, 2022 Last day at Malta , MT

 Day 24, Friday Juy 1, 2022, Last day at Malta , MT

Well, we did get back to Bowdoin NWR a third time.This time we did as we had planned and went it the "wrong way" exit to get to the water a bit sooner than traveling around the dry lake beds on the NE side of the Refuge. It worked quite well as we did see a few birds we had not so far and did count some 45 birds today. 

One of the surprises was to see a single Pronghorn Buck in one of the grassland areas, that was quite indifferent to our appearance. Not like the group with two young that we saw two days ago. They scooted as soon as they saw us and we were 1/3 mile away. This buck was  only a few hundred yards away.

Lark Bunting

That Burrowing Owl Adult again.

The Pronghorn Buck that wandered in the grass.

 

We saw no Eagles or Hawks, but yesterday evening we did see the first Turkey Vulture we have seen in a while. Lark Sparrows and Lark Buntings were abundant once again, but we did not drive the area that had the 100's of Meadowlarks.  (Although we did see many.) We stopped for lunch at the bridge where the water flows through from Beaver Creek and noticed that even in one night the water levels had gone down noticeably. There were fewer birds as a result.

Plumless Thistle

Prairie Thistle (sic)

Prickly Pear Cactus in bloom

 

We had some tense moments with the camera as when the camera has too many "buttons" they can be a nuisance if touched when operating the camera. That happened to me and it took Ruth's sleuthing to get it straightened out. We have three cameras that we use. Ruth's "Big Gun" that had a doubler at 500, and we each have a smaller one tat has 200 zoom and wide angle. Good for close ups as well.  Ruth likes to take flower photos out the window and both cameras work well to do that. Not many flowers here in the Refuge, besides the milkweed, sunflowers (a few),  and the  Prickly Pear Cactus , that are abundant.

More on cameras tomorrow.

The Burlington Northern Santa Fe RR. 20 trains/day

There were over 150 cars on this train.

Where there was water, the birds gathered, but far out!

 

So it was a good day , and I loved to watch the trains go by and actually took a video of one ,before Ruth asked me to end it! There are , as I indicated a day ago, 150 cars in most  trains, loaded with double stacked container shipments, , cattle , auto, grain, and those huge wind generator blades all filling one train.

One of the ponds on the Refuge

There is some private land to cross through!!!

A serene look atone of the ponds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we head for Billings as we begin the trek easterly, and start toward home.  We are about 1/2 way on the journey. Again it is a short haul  to Billings,   Three hours)which takes off  the pressure of long driving and long days riding in the truck.  Ruth and I am thankful for that.

So again  tonight more photos ,and less chatter!

Billings is Montana's largest city at about 160,00 people, but we will only hear the fireworks from there if they have them,... as many cities are not having them out here,  as the conditions are too dry.