Day 249 – Charlie Russell Country

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Day 249 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Livingston, Montana

We returned to Livingston this morning to visit an old train depot, to see world famous Dan Bailey’s Fly Shop, and to find a geocache in Montana. The old depot displayed a variety of old train paraphernalia and some fantastic western paintings and black and white frontier photographs. I just window shopped at Dan Bailey’s. It
was full of flies and rods and a variety of other fly fishing gear. The visitor’s center was a nice place for a geocache. I have now found a cache in 46 of the lower 48 states. Two more to go…then I’ll have to make a trip to Hawaii and Alaska.

Shields River Valley Roadside Marker

After visiting Livingston, we traveled north on Highway 89 which is surrounded by national forest; Helena National Forest to the west, Gallatin National Forest and
Lewis and Clark National Forest to the east. I hadn’t stopped at a roadside historical marker for a while, so since I had a long drive ahead before my next destination, I took a break near the Shields River Valley. The river was named by Clark (of Lewis and Clark) in honor of John Shields, a member of the expedition. The team camped at the mouth of the river on July 15, 1806.

As I continued the drive, I passed several turnouts for campgrounds and then ran across a sign pointing to a trailhead. The scenery around the trailhead, high cliffs
and a babbling brook was enough to peak my interest. I pulled VANilla into the parking lot and found out there was a short hike to two waterfalls…can’t beat that! I don’t recall the name of the falls, but we enjoyed a lovely hike which followed the creek with a steady ascent through piles of rocks resting on both sides of the trail.

Giant Springs State Park

After our hike we visited Giant Springs State Park, home to one of the largest fresh water springs in America and home to one of the shortest rivers in the world. Over 150 million gallons of 54 degree water flow from the springs into the Roe River. The Roe River, only 201 feet long, flows into the Missouri River, the longest in the country stretching 2,540 miles, 200 more than the Mississippi. The park also has a fish hatchery with some healthy trout swimming around in the clear water.

Great Falls

Nearby Giant Springs Park was the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail exhibit. The park service describes Lewis and Clark’s expedition. The exhibits include examples of boats and clothing and wall signs describing their trials and tribulations throughout their journey. Specific to Great Falls, Montana they had received word that there was only one waterfall and they would only have to portage their gear for a mile and a half. Instead, there were five waterfalls, many dams now, and they had to portage 18 miles across cactus covered land and ravines.

Charles M Russell Museum

From this museum we moved to the Charles M. Russell Museum. I’m not the biggest museum person, so I just wandered around the grounds surrounded with bronzes and didn’t even go inside. The complex with a grassy lawn that showcases the house as well was very nice.

Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge

It was a rather warm afternoon, so Petey and I found some shade and addressed real life on the computer for a while before taking an evening drive at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. I’ve been driving through the fields and by the lakes in the heat of the day recently, so this time I tried to improve my chances at spotting some wildlife. We saw a variety of birds, deer, and pronghorn…though the sunset stole the show. The pinks and purples reflected in the glassy water as ducks floated through the image! ETB

Map of My Road Trip Across the USA

Learn more about my road trip across the USA, or click the link below for the interactive map.

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