Miles and miles of cut grain fields. Not 100 acre fields, but 1000+ acre spans, as far as the eye could see. Golden colors still remained in the fields. I am sure that if we had been here a few weeks earlier, we would have experienced "for amber waves of grain." Ken drove through all of this, but he was able to appreciate the endless views.
The yield of these views must have been stored here, or at least some of it.
Huge grain elevators! We saw many of these scattered across the countryside. Big money in the "Golden Triangle."
In it's day, the Missouri River held many steamboats that traveled and carried their wares u and down the river, but only as far as here. This is where the river became too shallow for travel.
The flat land along the river was gorgeous, with a view of the river in the foreground, and the Bears Paw Mountains in the distance. That tiny set of buildings is a rather good sized farm, along the river, with vast fields of grain behind it.
My favorite guy....
From here, we took a side road, that led us to Fort Benton, a once booming town along the Mighty Missouri. It was known as the largest inland seaport for a while. We stopped at this place, and got some great information about the area, and the Lewis and Clark explorers through this area.
We have also learned that visitor centers are a wealth of information about the area. This was no exception. It was also on the national registry for historic buildings.
We also were treated to a visit at Fort Benton, much of which has been recreated, with some original sections. Some great artifacts, and a very knowledgeable worker that was a wealth of facts of the area.
As we left Fort Benton, we drove past Shep, the sheepdog that was forever faithful to his owner. In 1936, when the owner became sick and hospitalized, Shep stayed at the hospital door, waiting for his owner. When the owner died, and his body was put on the east bound train, to send back to his relatives, Shep was there, whining as the door shut. He set up a 5 and 1/2 year vigil, present at all 4 trains that arrived daily. People learned of his plight, and came to see him, even tried to adopt him, but Shep was a one man dog. He died at the station,deaf, old and stiff, not hearing the train's arrival. He tried to get out of the way, but slipped and fell to his death. Companionship. Faithfulness.
One more stop on our way, and it was worth it. Decision Point, where Lewis and Clark spent a few nights on their journey in 1805. They had to decide which river to follow, the Marias or the Missouri. Which one led to Great Falls. They made the right decision, as any other may have stranded them for the winter. We decided to hike up to the point and see what they may have seen over 200 years ago.
You can see we are a ways up, as that is our car parked.
We left this amazing point of land, and all you could see, and headed back to the car. We found that you should not always hold your head high......
...hard to see, but it was across the pathway. We think it's a gopher snake, not harmful, but kind of unnerving.
Almost into Havre, we got a closer look at the Bears Paw mountains, and yes, they are covered in snow, and about 10 miles away.
Once in Havre, it was time to find the one craft brewery, Triple Dog Brewery. Forgot the camera back at the motel, so no pictures, but we both had great beers. I tried the Duck Face IPA, amazing flavors, great finish. Ken had the Dumpster Diving stout, and was not disappointed. Not super sweet, great flavors, and a lingering finish. A cool tasting room, fairly new, but some great beers, another good stop.
Tired, many miles again, but also suffering from scenic overload. Not that that is a bad thing, but we saw some memorable sights, and just amazing vistas. They don't call it Big Sky country for nothing.
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