My decision to go east then south worked great, because it took me to a Lewis & Clark milestone I didn’t even know existed! Actually, in this case it was just Lewis, no Clark. On the return journey they split the expedition and explored separate parts of Montana. Clark headed south to find the Yellowstone. Lewis headed north to find the Marias River.
Recall that on the way west when they got to the confluence of Missouri and the Marias, they were unsure which way to go, i.e. which was the real Missouri? They made the right choice at the time, but they remembered that so on the way back Lewis cut northward to see if it was as interesting as it looked. It went nowhere interesting it turns out, but at least now they knew that. Their charter was to discover things after all.
They were on horseback, and on their way back to the Missouri to rendezvous with the others they got into it with a party of Blackfeet. At that time the Blackfeet had a pretty good thing going. They had an exclusive concession on guns from the Canadians (British), and thus were dominating the region. The Americans, promising new alliances with different tribes were a big threat to their good thing. Shots were fired, and a couple of warriors were killed, and the books say the Americans rode for 100 hours straight to get the heck out of their territory. (Note: a single Blackfeet is not a Blackfoot)
But back to me! I was very happy to eventually get to the town of Valier with a little daylight left and even more happy that the campground there was as placid and stress-free as I hoped it would be after my trying day.
WHUFU page for: Lake Frances Recreation Area
A very nice campground between the town of Valier and the edge of Lake Francis.
tonight:
I got a nice site facing the lake with shade. They all have electrical hookups, but I said I wouldn't use it and he charged me tent price
Approaching Valier, Lake Francis was on my right. Take the first right after the lake and wind around the lakeshore for a while to a large, mostly empty campground at the boat ramp. Take you pick of the 50 mostly empty campsites and finally … park it for the night! Aaahhhh… The host puttered over on his ATV after a while. He let me stay in an electrical site but pay the tent site rate if I don’t plug in, That’s all the drama for tonight! Boy did I need that.
Today looked like an easy day on paper, but most definitely was not for some reason. I am wiped out sitting here at my picnic table. The peace and quiet and simplicity of this place is a godsend after a day of National Park tourist mayhem.
Friday (Sep 7)
My last shower was five days ago in Idaho, and this morning I feel so grimy I can hardly think straight. I had given myself a middle-of-the-night washcloth bath back at freezing cold North Creek. That made an amazing difference at the time, but three days later the magic has worn off, and I seriously need a shower. Another washcloth bath ain’t gonna do it!
Camping around Great Falls doesn’t look very good anyway, so I decided to treat myself to a night at a motel. Turns out there are a couple of places downtown under $70. I can do that! The one that really looked good on the web wouldn’t answer their phone, so I tried the other and reserved a spot. Now the day is looks really bright! I still hate being in my itchy, oily skin, but I know that by mid-afternoon it will all be better.
Valier has a place called the Panther Cafe. Actually it’s not “a” place, it’s the only place. So I go there. The food was un-memorable, but what was memorable is that it is the official ice cream shop and all-around hangout of the Valier High School Panthers! A couple of trucks full of teenagers rolled up and got cones while I was eating. In case there was any doubt what was going on, the boys wore Valier Panther football jerseys cut off at the midriff to show their ripped teenage abs. The girls were clearly homecoming court-level cuties. All the grown-ups perked up for a few minutes, because the young blood, rising stars of the town were in the house! It was pretty neat.
The campground dude had told me about a place called Rock City. I asked at the cashier, and a couple of old gents confirmed the place … It is allegedly an area of very interesting rock formations. Somewhere north of town the Marias River cuts a canyon through the rock to make hoodoos and all kinds of neat stuff, evidently kind of a poor man’s Bryce Canyon/Badlands. They both agreed on the directions. At the next block, turn left (north) off the highway and just go straight till you run into them. Sounds simple, but I failed … because I didn’t have the faith to go straight forever. After about 12 miles of pretty good wide and graded gravel road, that good road took a left and the road straight turned into a nasty field road that I didn’t want to drive on. I followed the nicer (but not straight ahead) another eight miles or so, then it petered too. By the time I got back to that intersection I’d had enough gravel road and didn’t care any more.
So the end result was that I drove 35 miles of gravel road for no reason at all. There’s a lesson there … It somehow reminds me of the old story of the drunk looking for his keys under the streetlight instead of where he lost them, “because the light was better”.
Time to get the heck out of here and make a beeline to Great Falls and my date with a shower.
WHUFU page for: Midtown Motel
Modest motel with a Perkins restaurant in downtown Great Falls. Checkout time is 1 pm!
tonight:
I needed this. I took a shower when I walked in the door, and another right before I left. Nice to live like a civilized city person for an afternoon and evening.
Midtown Motel turned out to be pretty awesome. Shower, then head out for some errands and sightseeing. The thing I came to Great Falls for, the one sight I want to see, is Giant Springs, a large freshwater spring along the river somewhere around here. I am sort of a collector of big springs after my Missouri trip two years ago, so I’l looking forward to it.
First stop is to pick up some stuff at Target [I got a little doormat for outside the van that has REALLY upped my camper van game – very pleased]. On a whim I go to the Mongolian BBQ place in the same shopping center, and really enjoyed it. I’d never been to one, so it had to be explained to me: grab a small, medium or large bowl and fill it up with whatever you want out of a long buffet of ingredients. Then the dude cooks it on a giant hot stone. Tasty!
It turns out there is a big, nice Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center along the river on the way to the springs. It’s near to closing time, so I went there first. Looking back, it was the best Lewis & Clark Center of the trip. It got me much better oriented for the journey. As it turns out, it was infinitely more interesting than Giant Springs. The springs is part of a state fish hatchery, and it is so unassuming I drove past it. A few miles of nothingness later I realized that the place I thought was just fishery employee parking must have been the famous Springs!
They wanted you to drop $6 in a slot just to walk down the hill and look at it. Meh. I am still annoyed with Montana State Parks from last night, so I sure the heck wasn’t doing that. However … worrying about it did affect the quality of the experience. The spring itself was kind of a disappointment after all the spectacular Missouri springs I saw in 2016. This one basically pops out of the ground and merges with the Missouri River 60 feet later. There is a walkway between the springs and the river that is the coolest feature of the place. You’re two feet above the big, swift, muddy river on your right, and the spring water is burbling over the mossy limestone on your left. But the actual springs itself is completely undramatic. Ground water phosphates have made it pretty dowdy looking. The limestone rocks that should be pure white are all slime-covered. Like I say, … meh.
On the way home I stopped at a couple of river overlooks and learned a lot about the grimy, industrial past of Great Falls. The signs were quite proud of the giant copper smelter that used to be right across the river! It didn’t sound so awesome to me.
Saturday
The Mid Town Motel has checkout at 1 pm! How very civilized of them. So I walked down the hall and up the half-stairs to breakfast at Perkins (meh), returned to my room and had another shower, and was out of there by 1:02. I decided that a little town up the road called Fort Benton would be my stop for tonight. It’s less than an hour away, so I puttered around Great Falls a bit before I left.ZXZ-44667192381-ZXZ
Back to Target to return a battery pack. Last night I got one pack of AAA rechargeable batteries as planned, but somehow the other pack was AAs – not planned :(
Then because it’s on my way out of town, after crossing the mighty Missouri, I drove around the “working class community” I was looking down on from the bluffs last night. It didn’t look special to me, but I did discover a nice little road down to the foot of the hydroelectric dam.
The highway runs on the bluffs high above the river. Fort Benton is down at river level, so it’s effectively about two miles over and 600′ down from the highway. If you’re just barreling along US 2 you barely know it exists, but it is a very interesting and historically rich place that I am glad I lucked into experiencing.
WHUFU page for: Canoe Launch Campground
A real find, right on the Missouri River. Right next to the fairgrounds, where there are a bunch of horse trailers with horses. Most of the other people here are with the horses.
It's about a mile walk to town, and there is a very nice river walk for most of the way.
tonight:
there are a couple tent sites on the river side of the campground that are the best views in the house, even some small shade trees.
You get to the campground by driving through the Fairgrounds on the west (upriver) side of town along the road to a BLM river access point called Canoe Launch, appropriately named since canoes and rafts are the only thing you could launch here. Hookup sites are on the fairgrounds side of the road (closer to utilities I’m guessing) and tent sites are on the away side. Towards the end this access road turns left to run parallel to the river for about 40 yards, and there are a couple of primo tent sites right there on the river! They are unoccupied, which seems too good to be true, so I pounce on one!
There is clearly something going on at the fairgrounds. There are many, many horses and horse trailers. I marvel at the sights and sounds for a while then start thinking around dinner. Downtown is 1.3 miles away. I decide to be healthy and walk it. Also, I am afraid to to move my van out of my perfect spot!
I cut through a field along the river to the dead end of a street, and I am on town! After a couple of blocks there is a river walk with an info-sign every 200 yards. Fort Benton has a lot of history! It was a really big deal river port before the railroad came. In addition to the local Lewis & Clark tidbits it turns up in the Nez Perce saga. The whole tribe was just trying to make it to Canada, and they were attacked by some dumbass local militias right here. Such a sad story.
Anyway, I got to town, and the fancy restaurant was closed for a private party. It had a patio facing the river, and the party looked all the local movers and shakers were there … with nametags on a Saturday night. The old railroad bridge has been turned into a pedestrian bridge. This is really a cool town. Lots of “Tester for Senate” signs! I ended up at the Banque Club. The bar on the corner with the sign advertising “teaks” didn’t look too promising (sorry I didn’t get a picture, it was “Steaks” without the “S”), but there was a restaurant behind the bar with it’s own entrance on the side street, and it turned out to really hit the spot. I decided to treat myself to the local favorite, an $18.75 rib-eye steak that was just great!
By the time I got back to the fairgrounds there was a full-on event going on. It was a rodeo! As I was told at the restaurant, it was some kind of minor league event to identify the best broncs and bulls for the major league rodeos. The competition was not to find the best riders, but the best animals. This was the first they’ve had it here. I just watched from the edges, but it looked pretty cool. They were flying American AND Canadian flags, which was a reminder that we’re only about 100 miles from the border up here.