Discoveries on a Country Drive

There was lots of smoke in the air from wild fires in Montana, but we decided we needed to get out for a drive on our day off. We'd been up the Bridger Canyon Road in the spring and were amazed by the beauty. At this time of year the green hills have gone to tans and browns, but it is still beyond gorgeous. We found the Bridger Bowl Ski Lodge, looking lonely on a hot summer day.

Coming down from the Bridger Canyon Road we spied a long, straight road, the Springhill Road, going north from Bozeman. Several miles up a turn-off said "Springhill Community Road". We wondered what could be up that gravel lane, since we knew there was no town there. We found an old, well kept historical Presbyterian church, built in 1886 and very obviously still being used, though there were no houses around.

 A picturesque barn along the road.

 And, here is a school, built in the same era as the church. We couldn't tell if it was still being used. The entire road was several miles long with each of these buildings spread widely apart. There were 2 or 3 houses along the way, also far apart, and at the end of the road, right up against the hills, was a bed and breakfast, quite out at the end of nowhere!

This is the view from the Springhill Community, the Bridger Range. Big round bales of hay dot the landscape. I think it's interesting how the prairie farmland is flat right up to where the mountains rise. There is no gradual ascent anywhere in the valley.

 Horses are abundant in Montana. I love these two mama horses with their youngsters!

Back out on Springhill Road heading south to Bozeman we drove past this beautiful sunflower field. All the flower faces are looking towards the mountains except for a curious one or two who seemed to be checking us out when we stopped to take a picture.

Madison Buffalo Jump

Our goal today was to explore the area between the I-90 freeway, and to the south, the Norris Highway, west of Bozeman. There is a large valley through which the Madison River flows, coming north up from Yellowstone. We ate lunch in Three Forks, then found the Madison Road heading down toward the Buffalo Jump. The valley is broad, and not quite as hilly and green as it is a little further south. We came upon this historic little cabin identified as that of George and Edna Wilcox, 1907-1940.

 The valley included several large ranches, populated by horses, cows, and crops. The backdrop here shows the cliffs rising up from the Madison River.

 We turned off onto the Greycliff Road hoping to get a look at the river. Free ranging cows looked at us reproachfully, seeming to claim the road as their own.

 The Madison River, wide and beautiful. I stuck my feet in and discovered it was almost warm, a surprise in this part of the country.

 After traveling for miles on a dusty, gravel road we finally came to the Jump.

 

From the State Parks website:

"Situated on the edge of a broad valley carved by the Madison River, this high limestone cliff was used by Native Americans for 2,000 years--ending as recently as 200 years ago. Native people stampeded vast herds of bison off this massive semicircular cliff, using them for food, clothing, shelter and provisions." I read at the Interpretive Center that Salish, Pend d'Oreille, Bannock, Crow and Blackfeet Indians all used this site.

 "Runners, highly skilled young men trained for speed and endurance, wore buffalo, antelope or wolf skins to lure bison to the "pishkun" or cliff. The buffalo jump was often the key to existence for native peoples. Although the introduction of horses led to the abandonment of this jump sometime after 1700, the rugged outcropping now serves as an inspiring monument to the region's early inhabitants." I was most impressed to read that the Indian women were the ones who skinned the bison, cut up the meat, dried it and also preserved the hide and many other parts of the bison, using almost the entire animal.

 Looking away from the "Jump" we gazed out onto the valley with a Montana mountain range in the distance completing the picture. The awesome landscapes all around us continue to amaze us. There is always something new to see in "Big Sky" country!

A Wyoming Country Drive

 A drive out in the country — no specific destination — just what we needed! We headed east, choosing our usual back roads. I didn't know there were any fields of sunflowers around here so was surprised and thrilled to find these. What could be more beautiful? The flowers' faces were pointed right at us!

 I love finding old, abandoned homesteads out on the prairie. It always makes me wonder why the residents left, and what their lives were like when they lived out here. It must have been a lonely place for them. This scene was near a tiny town named Hillsdale, around which were no hills, only almost flat prairie! Wishful thinking, maybe? And what did they do to make a living? Farming? Crops? Ranching? Cattle or sheep? Questions, questions!

 I love the way the wild sunflowers grow all along the roads for miles, here framing this house with its strange looking tower near Albin, Wyoming. We wondered why the skinny little house was built up so high. My first thought was a high-rise outhouse, but Mr. Keith thought it might be a well house. We didn't see anyone we could ask. Right near here, too, we drove a couple of extra miles to cross the Nebraska border, just because we could!

 For fun — we wondered if the old, rusty truck was actually the one that pulled this equally old and rusty mobile home into this field. They looked as though they'd both been there for quite awhile.

I love to take photos of horses out in their fields. I wondered about the sway-backed, thin horse, but the other two were fat and frisky (see that flying tail?) so horse number 3 must have been an elderly lady. It was a simple drive, but there is always something worth seeing and photographing. We have an awesome country, with great variety of scenery and other fascinating sights. Gotta keep the old camera handy!

Wyoming Hereford Ranch

Keith and I like to sometimes take a quick ride into the Wyoming Hereford Ranch on our way home. The Ranch is just on the other side of the freeway from the KOA. Here we found a small herd of herefords near the ranch house. There were new calves amidst the big cows, though they don't show up in the photo. 
From the WHR website:  
Since 1883, Wyoming Hereford Ranch has been a major source of registered Hereford cattle. Superior seed stock has been marketed throughout North America and many other lands providing for efficiently produced tasty, healthy and nutritious beef. The location, the environment, the men and women and the Herefords involved here have made this hallowed Hereford ground.

And maybe these horses belong to the residents of the big house. I always love to see pretty horses in a green field, no matter where we are.

Arriving in the 1870s and utilizing investment capital from Scotland, Alexander Hamilton Swan created a literal empire, consisting of one million acres of land and over one hundred thousand head of cattle. However they were not the efficient kind, being slow to mature and gaunt of frame. To Swan’s benefit, an associate of his, british-born George Morgan, convinced him to experiment with native cattle of England, specifically Herefords. Swan decided to establish a large registered Hereford herd, which he did in 1882 under the name of Wyoming Hereford Cattle and Land Association.

A glimpse through the trees shows some of the outbuildings around the ranch. All the buildings are painted red, a beautiful contrast to the grass and trees. (Click to see this photo up close.)

This is the Ranch House, an amazing edifice. It sits on a little rise above the brilliant red barns and outbuildings.

My favorite part of the Hereford Ranch is this avenue of giant cottonwoods lining the approach to the complex. Our car is pointing away from the buildings because the light was better that way.  I read on the website that the grounds, the barns, and the avenue in the photo are frequently used for weddings and other types of gatherings. Horses and old-fashioned wagons are also available to make the event truly a western one. It is a beautiful place, one that we will visit again and again.

Chugwater, Wyoming

 Today we wanted a short trip that turned out to be about 160 miles round trip. The town of Chugwater beckoned because of the odd name. Though Chugwater is just off I-25 north of Cheyenne we opted to explore a back road, the Horsecreek Rd. becoming the Iron Mountain Rd. It was fairly desolate, with only a few ranches here and there. We were traveling through the Laramie Mountains, elevation up to 6400, a little higher than Cheyenne. Here is a ghost ranch with only the outbuildings still standing. I imagine the house was in the grove of trees to the left. I wonder what caused it to be abandoned?

 We loved this sign at the entrance to Farthing Ranch. When the kids and I lived in Vancouver our neighbors and friends were named Farthing. I wonder if there is any connection? We didn't see a ranch house or other buildings. They must have been down in the draw.

 The town of Chugwater has a population of 244 and the elevation is 5288 feet. We were greeted by this ruined grain elevator next to the railroad track.

 The whole town had an air of days gone by. I'm sure this bank is an old original from long ago, still being used.

 We had planned to eat lunch in Chugwater so we chose, of course, the only place to eat in the whole town. That's Mr. Keith out in front of the Buffalo Grill. We wanted to ask someone about the name Chugwater. We figured it had to do with some thirsty pioneers, but didn't know for sure. It's pretty dry around this part of Wyoming. Upon being seated, we found ourselves at a table next to an old codger who began to talk to us and continued to talk all the way through our meal! Sure enough, he knew the story, and it proved to be kind of gruesome, not what I wanted to hear.

 This is the same story the old codger told us, but copied from Wikipedia.
Some historians hold that the name "Chugwater" is derived from a Mandan account of a bison hunt. According to this narrative, a chief was disabled during the hunt and his son took charge of the hunt or "buffalo jump". Under his direction, hunters drove the bison over nearby cliffs; when the animals reached the ground below, a sound of "chugging" was heard by the hunters. The story concludes with an etymology: since a stream was near the base of the cliffs, the site of the stampede has been called "the place" or "water at the place where the buffalo chug." Could these cliffs be where this awful massacre happened? Or some like them nearby? There is a creek running through the area, as shown by the trees in the photo. I don't like the story, would much rather it had been about some thirsty pioneers or ranchers. But that's how it was.

 We saw many of these lovely wildflowers along the way, growing in the sandy hillsides. The last time I saw these I was in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I was able to find them on my iPad app, "The Audubon Guide". They are White Prickly Poppies. The flowers are definitely poppy-like, and the greenery is like a thistle. They are safe from roaming cattle and pronghorns because of the stickers!

  We traveled home the same way we had come, to see the land from the opposite direction.  We came across this tiny school house, dated 1919 to 1936 and labeled Capitol Vista School. Children must have come from far to attend here!

 Last, but not least, a common sight in Wyoming is a field with horses. After all, it is the "Cowboy State"!