Aloha once more, as we continue our road trip through four western states and back home to Alberta. When last I blogged we had reached Lead, South Dakota. And now we turn west.
Buffalo,
Wyoming
As
we drove west from the Black Hills the scenery changed abruptly from treed and
pleasant hills to a landscape of vast stretches of dry basins and treeless
plains. Plenty of antelope but no livestock, no farms, no towns, and very few
signs of habitation. The craggy hills offered visual relief in the form of
sandstone hoodoos and eroded columns. Eagles, hawks and turkey vultures soared
in the hot and never-ending desert wind. We were happy to find our next
stopover, the town of Buffalo. And it really was just a one-night stop with
little time to explore.
The
following morning we left early going west on Highway 16 and discovered our
brand of heaven. The road climbed quickly to the 9665-foot Powder River Pass
and if yesterday was a trial of hot winds and sifting sand, today was our
reward. The mountain at the top of the pass has been dated at 3 billion years
old; the shale tumbles down from the heights revealing the area’s ancient
history. Stunted pines dot the rocky terrain and brilliant moss and lichens
cover granite boulders scattered like jacks from a giant’s hand. We hiked up a
hillside to the nearest collection of rocks and discovered open views for miles
around.
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| High above the Powder River Pass |
This day of discovery wasn’t over. A few minutes later, as we drove down the west side of the pass we spotted a structure high on a promontory off to the south. A small sign directed us to the St. Christopher Chapel so we turned off the highway, crossed a cattle guard and slowly made our way along a dirt trail. It was soon obvious that the building we saw wasn’t the chapel; another trail led off to the right. So we continued along, over another cattle guard and followed the steadily climbing trail through a herd of cows and calves and slowly approached the cliffs on the top of which our goal perched. We found a small parking area at the head of a hiking trail and a sign describing the CCC fire spotting station above. The hike was moderately easy, the trail winding through a forest of pine trees and boulders as it ascended 300 feet. And there it was – a simple wooden building, built in the 1930s with a 360ยบ view, a walkway all around, and air as fresh and clear as the top of Haleakala. It was magnificent.
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| Open-air St. Christopher Chapel |
Back
at the bottom of the mountain we turned onto the dirt road leading to the
chapel and, after a short walk we discovered a lovely open-air sanctuary with
rough-hewn logs for pews, a clever jack fence to keep out the deer, and a stone
pulpit. A doe and fawn joined us for a peaceful meditation under the pines.
Thermopolis, WY
The
great attraction for me to visit this town was the dinosaur museum. I was
curious to see how it compared to the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, and I wasn’t
disappointed. Although much smaller in size, the Thermopolis display seemed
more complete, with fossils of every critter from every corner of the world and
descriptions to boot. We spent a couple of hours in the museum, then another
couple of hours walking the thermal springs boardwalk nearby, and another
couple of hours enjoying the monthly Art Walk downtown. I would say we made the
most of our day in Thermopolis.
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| Fossils |
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| Legend Rock petroglyphs |
Legend Rock is about five miles off the road from Thermopolis to Cody, and
about 500 years away from today. The vivid petroglyphs are outstanding. Just
watch out for the rattlesnakes.
The
next morning we were headed to Lovell with a stop in Cody. By this time we were
about museumed-out, especially museums filled with the utensils and artifacts
of yesteryear; you know, the things we still use at the ranch! So we bypassed the
Buffalo Bill museum and headed straight to the Buffalo Bill Dam where – as
chance would have it – the once-a-year Dam Day was in full swing. The public
was invited to go through the gates and down the narrow road to the canyon
below where the Shoshone River flowed from the 100-plus year-old dam. This is
where the word “awesome” truly fits. Towering cliffs guard this narrow gorge;
we were glad it was late afternoon by the time we reached the bottom and the
sun was disappearing behind the cliffs. Volunteers from the Cody community had
stations set up to hand out iced bottled water and give cart rides back to the
top; I took advantage of both!
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| The gorge below Buffalo Bill Dam, Cody WY |
Lovell,
WY
Another
stop along our route to Billings. We had little time to explore the town,
opting for one of our “bed picnics” for supper and getting an early night after
a full day of adventure. Lovell is the sugar beet capitol of the area and
sports a huge multi-cylinder storage tower at the sugar beet co-operative.
Billings,
Montana
Yes,
we’ve been to Billings many times before. No, we have no clue how to get around
in the maze of streets, one-ways, railroad tracks, interstate highway,
overpasses and cloverleafs. In one place, six roads converge under a bridge and
only one road escapes on the other side! It isn’t Minot, but it’s close.
As
I was checking into the motel Jim phoned his daughter Gillan who was due in
from Boston that morning with our granddaughters. They had just landed, picked
up their rental car and met us for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It was a fine
reunion. They left for their home on the Lazy EL ranch, where we joined them a
couple of days later.
Jim
enjoys the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings; I enjoy the Marketplace – a
40,000 square-foot antique mall with dozens of individual stalls. During our
second day in Billings we parted ways and spent several hours doing our things
before meeting for lunch. And we were happy to get out of town the next day.
The
Lazy EL Ranch, MT
Michael’s
family has owned this sprawling ranch for more than 100 years. It lies in the
rolling grasslands just north of Yellowstone and has magnificent views of the
northern ranges of the park’s mountains. Charlie Russell was a regular visitor
to the ranch in the early 1900s and one of the cabins is named for him and
contains many of his paintings, tools and personal items.
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| View from the living room window, Lazy EL Ranch |
We
enjoyed one perfect day at the ranch and then the smoke from wildfires in
Washington, Idaho and western Montana crept it, hiding the mountains and
triggering my asthma. I ventured out occasionally but the breathing was
difficult and the view was nil. The day Michael arrived from Boston the three
of us drove back to Billings to pick him up and drop off the rental car. The
following day the air cleared a little so we ventured out in the truck for a
picnic on the West Rosebud.
Great
Falls, Montana
Now
THIS is a great town, easy to figure out, drive in, locate places and it offers
a casino on every corner. We spent two nights in a funky little motel on 10th
Avenue South (the main thoroughfare from points east, north and south) and made
several trips around the town, including a drive along the Missouri River.
Did you know the “great falls” of Great Falls was really a series of five
falls, none of them large but all of them an impediment to river travel.
Lethbridge,
Alberta
It’s
always a relief to be back in Canada. Of course, it’s always wonderful to be
back home on Maui as well. I guess it’s the border crossings that give me the
willies. At any rate, we left Great Falls early in the morning and by noon we
were crossing into Canada at Coutts. About an hour later we were checking into
the Quality Inn in Lethbridge. Now, if you ever have reason to overnight in
this southern Alberta city, I recommend you stay at the Quality Inn. It wasn’t
just the fine buffet breakfast included in the price, or the proximity to the
casino, or even the iced bottled water in the lobby. But when the gal told Jim
she was serving chocolate cake and cookies in the lobby at 7:30 that did it –
they have us hooked for life.
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| Yes, the mountains have had their first covering of snow. This is the view from our house at the Webster Ranch. |
Meanwhile,
back at the ranch
All
good trips come to an end. We had a great time, meandering through the West,
crossing the Lewis & Clark trail many times, visiting the haunts of Custer
and Crazy Horse, discovering ancient sites and historic places. We had no
schedule and no set route. Try it; you’ll like it.
We
have another couple of weeks in Alberta before flying home to Maui. The past three
months of summer have disappeared into memories of fishing, travelling,
reunions and family gatherings. There’s more to come and I’ll make one more
entry at the end of our trip.
