History Day in Great Falls

Joe and Bill started the rest day with breakfast from the grill:  pancakes, eggs and Spam. Normally breakfast is cereal and then a sandwich and cheese later on during the ride.   It was nice to have a slow start.  (FYI- I usually skip breakfast in favor of a little more sleep)

We went to First People’s Buffalo Jump State Park outside Great Falls, MT.  Like most places we’ve visited, we’d highly recommend it.  It was a very interesting and beautiful park.  From the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks website- the park is “an archeological site with possibly the largest bison cliff jump in North America and is designated a National Historic Landmark.  Native peoples used the site for at least a thousand years before Lewis and Clark passed through.  The bison jump consists of a mile long sandstone cliff, there are remnants of drive lines on top of the cliff and there are up to 18 ft of compacted buffalo remains below the cliff”.

Our pictures don’t do it justice, but you can see one of Joe standing and it looks like he is just standing with the rolling hills ahead of him. You can’t see that he is on the edge of a cliff until you get closer.  That’s what the buffalo saw, and by the time they figured it out, they were unable to stop and were being pushed by the animals in the back.  The next photo is Bill at the top of the cliff where Joe had just been and the cliff underneath him.  The next photo circles 2 people at the top of the cliff where we’d just been.  Again, you really should visit because our pictures and explanation are nothing compared to experiencing it in person.  Not only did it show the bison jump, but it also had information about staying there during that time.  You can see where the teepees were placed year after year after year.  The stone rings are still there and the circle where a teepee was placed is quite visible. 

Neptune enjoyed the walk. Especially when the whistle pigs/prairie dogs started announcing that he’d arrived.  He made the 3-mile hike today with no problems.  He stayed hydrated and remained in the lead the entire time.  He took a well-earned rest in the shade for a bit when we were done.  And he stayed behind in the air conditioned trailer for the rest of the day.

The three of us went onto Malstrom Air Force Base and did a bit of shopping at the PX.  It always reminds me of Christmas shopping for the kids when they were little.  There is a museum on the base with a lot of interesting planes, etc outside and a lot more detailed information and a great curator, Robert in the sasquatch shirt, working inside. 

Everyone had some down time after hiking and walking in the hot sun and were in bed early ready to start the ride again.