Montana- A Land of Contrast

It's been a week of training for me that is not required for Larry. On Monday and Tuesday, he explored the loop ride that we have previously attempted in sections. On Monday, he rode as far as the boundary of the Deerlodge National Forest. On Tuesday, he decided to start in the opposite direction and completed the entire loop through a portion of the NFS lands. The route turned out to be farther than he thought, a total of 32 miles with 3,000' of climbing.
Since he will not accept my "invitations" to comment on his pics, I will again be speaking for him!

I found the loop in "reverse" to be easier than the direction Mary and I have gone before. Starting on the north side required a long climb, mostly on a dirt road with protruding rocks and loose gravel. Mary had a lot of difficulty on the climb because her back tire would spin whenever she stood in order to get up the steepest portions. Sitting in the saddle and spinning makes her heart rate go too high. That's the only limitation the cardiologist has given her on aerobic activity. We are hoping the southern direction with a smoother road surface and a more gradual climb will be better for her. The rough part will then be all downhill.

It's really pretty up here and the day is partly cloudy with a fairly calm wind...at least for now.

These are just a few views along Boulder Road.



This is where I make a left turn on Emory Springs Road. This will become the NFS road.


Looks like bike riding isn't the only activity around here!



Even the signs are convenient targets. I hope I don't become one!


Looks like the log company is still cutting "standing dead" out, but no one appears to be working today.


I've climbed above 6,000' and found the snow line.



It's been a long climb and I'm a little tired. Maybe I should take a break.


Nothing like a pile of snow to reve up the ol' engine!


I guess I had better head back. It's about time for my lunch stop at McDonalds...probably 18 miles from here. Good thing a lot of it is downhill.


One of the scattered ranches on the downhill side.


Hey, would you look at that...a genuine, Montana rest stop!

Complete with a place for target practice. I guess some people just can't get enough.


The local prospector told me that there are old, gold mines up here and placer gold can still be found in the cold water of streams running down the mountain.


Hey, this one even has a number. I'll be back with my pan when it warms up a little.


Had my $1.00 cheeseburger and iced tea. Feelin' good. Maybe I'll stop by the ranch to see Mary since it's on the way.


Yep, she was glad to see me in the distance and came a-runnin'.


Wednesday
We won't be calving here at the ranch for a couple weeks. However, our neighbors at the Rock Creek Cattle Company were out today where the properties meet. I happened to be in the area working on the irrigation and took a few pictures of their "big-time" operation.



Yep, there are still real, working cowboys...and cowgirls.




As the sun sinks in the west, I bid you adieu.


Thursday - A snowy trip to the Big Hole Battlefield Historic Site
Part of our training involves observing interpretive guides at other NPS facilities. Today, we traveled about 200 miles rt to Wisdom, MT to visit the Big Hole site which is one of several parts of the Nez Perse National Historic Site.
The weather was not that great, snow and lots of wind.
At the visitor's center, we were met by the park superintendent and two of the site's interpretive rangers. We had their complete attention since (for some reason) no other visitors were there. We viewed a powerful video presenting the heartbreaking story of what happened here in the late 1,800's. (I will be coming back later in the summer and will include more information at that time.) In short, about 200 Nez Perse indians, mostly women and children, were heartlessly slaughtered by a group of white soldiers and citizens.

Not all of our group wanted to brave the elements to visit the outdoor portion of the site. As it was, we elected to travel only the shortest of three trails leading that led to a bluff where the attack on the sleeping tribes was initiated.

We drove to a lower parking lot from the visitor's center stationed on a high bluff overlooking the sacred area.
L-R Ranger- Julie (my boss); Seasonal Rangers -Carmen , Ken and Dustin; fellow volunteer - Janet and our host ranger - Leslie, at the beginning of the trail.


We climbed the trail partway up the mountain side to the place the troops used as their staging area.
Far in the distance through the snow, you can see tipi pole structures restored in their historic locations. It is a sacred place since many people, both indian and white died and were buried here in unmarked graves.


Again, through the snow, on the horizon, is the shadowy form of the visitor's center.


Two years after the event, this granite monument was placed on the side of the hill to honor the white soldiers and citizens who died.
100+ years later, the descendents of the Nez Perse are working with the NPS to continue to share the story of this terrible tragedy involving both our history and theirs. Since the visitor's center is being remodeled, the goal is to provide information in a way that clearly tells the story from the perspective of both sides involved. After this visit, I am so thankful that, in part, people of our nation have come to understand that the fictionalized, movie/tv impressions we all watched are not an accurate accounting of what happened to thousands of "the people" driven from lands they had occupied for generations and often murdered when they tried to defend their families and heritage. The reason - greed. Please notice that I said "in part."


We did survive the cold hike and felt what we learned was worth a little discomfort.
We left the park and traveled a short distance back to Wisdom for lunch at a small restaurant. When we walked in and said there were eight of us, this lady (Joanie) got the biggest smile. I think it's the most money she's made all week!


Until next time....

Mail Call

Nothing like a package from home to make your day! The fact that it contained a bunch of the usual "junk" mail AND no bills was good.
We both spent about twenty minutes sorting into "toss and keep" piles. As usual, the first pile was much larger than the other. It's pretty amazing that we are both on the no-junk-mail list and still have so much.


The best part of our package was from Larry's sister, Linda, who sent us a DVD of the Cartoon Network's "Bug Bunny Marathon."

Goooood stuff! We really enjoyed it since prime-time tv on our only channel (NBC) is not too great...even when we get a picture with no break-up. I guess we would be happy if we only received signal from TV land.

It was Junior Ranger Day at the ranch on a very windy day. We were supposed to have sun with some clouds and the first hour was pretty good. Unfortunately, the clouds won the battle and took over the entire sky. Dropping temps kept the three rangers and myself trying to find a place out of the wind. I was fortunate enough to be in a somewhat sheltered area. As it was, after five hours, I was ready to be in a warm place and happy to take over in the visitor's center for the rest of my day.
Here are a couple shots of the kids at my tipi (the correct spelling!) station. They were a lot of fun.

I took a couple pics of kids who had put on clothes from our "cowboy trunk," but they didn't come out. I think either my camera or maybe my fingers were frozen!



With that, we come to the END of our blog for today.

Larry thought I should take this picture since the girl was totally oblivious to the entertainment she was providing for everyone at the gas pumps in Missoula. Actually, a video would have been entertaining here. Just imagine the movement involved in cleaning those mats!

Another Lunchtime Mini-Tour

This was my lunchtime pick last time.
Today, I took a stroll down one of the many dirt lanes that wind around the many buildings and extend away from the ranch proper for several miles.
This little stream flows through the property and I believe its source is actually a spring. There are fish swimming here. I tried to get a picture, but there was too much glare.


My destination is beyond this gate in a pasture where the steers are currently grazing. I need to watch my step!


Here is a good spot.If you look closely near the last rail of the jack-leg fence, you will see why I need to watch my step.


This jack-leg fence is very useful because it is movable with X-formed legs that sit on the surface. At this point, the fence is protecting a piece of antique ranch equipment from the cattle.

The steers are actually pretty far away. I doubt that they will join me for lunch today.


This is the beautiful sight directly in front of my fence-rail perch. The willows in the foreground follow the path of the Clark Fork River in its lazy, winding journey through the ranch,


Just to my left is the Beaverslide haying machine (shown below). This piece of valuable equipment was invented in Montana around 1910. The following is a bit of history:
This device for stacking loose hay was supposedly developed in Beaverhead County, Montana in 1910, though there is some controversy over this among local historians. Some feel that it was dubbed "beaverslide" because the hay had to "slide" down a ramp in the stacking process. Most ranches in this area had one of these labor saving devices, as they were fairly simple to make. Early homesteaders soon realized though, that the relentless wind, that swept down the east slopes of the mountain front, raised havoc with loose hay. They slowly switched over to baling equipment and large, square haystacks replaced the loose piles on the landscape. Only a few beaverslides remain on the Rocky Mountain Front today. The old one in the photo is located on a nearby ranch.

I'll be sharing more about the beaverslide when they do the heritage haying in July.

To my right I can see several of the buildings near my last lunch spot.



Behind me a glimpse of the railroad trestle is in view.


You can see fire equipment at numerous spots around the ranch. The threat of fire is present from many sources including wildfires caused by lightning and careless people.





That's it for today. Things have been pretty busy getting ready for "Junior Ranger Day" this Saturday. I hope I'll have a bit more time next week to take pictures.

Views from The Ranch #1

This place is so huge and has over 80 buildings, so it's been difficult to decide how to introduce Grant-Kohrs Ranch to all of you. I decided one way might be for me to pick a spot to eat my lunch each day and let you see what surrounds me. Of course, there are days when I don't really get lunch because we are busy, so don't count on it being an every-work-day thing!

On Tax Day, I chose a picnic table in the farm yard to the West of the ranch house. What you see in the picture above is the Chuck Wagon used for demonstrations of how the cowboys got their meals during times they were moving the cattle to and from different locations. This wagon is actually a replica built from parts of various other real wagons. Ken, a seasonal ranger, is "cook" who shares his story with the visitors. He used to actually cook beans and rice and make coffee to the visitors to sample. Unfortunately, some administrative person decided someone might get sick and sue G-K, so now Ken just talks about the food. (sigh)

As I look to the right from my lunch table, I can see the little, play area where the guys have made some cows and horses for the kids. The building with the red door houses a DVD system that plays a continuous loop program during the summer months.

Further to the right you can see the corner of a small, white wagon shed that houses some of the numerous cart, wagons, sulkeys and other wheeled things preserved at the ranch.The fenced area is part of the large pasture area for our team of Belgian horses, Duke and Duchess. Beyond the fence are pastures and other building I have yet to explore. On the right closest to the fence is the ice house. I'll get closer to it another time and tell you about it then.


To my left, the red building was the Thoroughbred Horse barn. Now it is home to many of the family's carriages and wagons.
As you look down the lane running alongside, the white building was one of several used to house the stallions. It was necessary to keep them separate to avoid fighting. In the distance is my next lunchtime destination.


Last, but not least, behind me is the rear of the ranch house. You can see that this is no ordinary "ranch" house as typically seen in the old movies. I'll share its story at another time. In the meantime, imagine sitting on that back porch to watch the afternoon sun slide below the western horizon.


This would be a portion of your view from there.