MT -- Billings and Hardin, 30 Apr-8 May 2015

Five days in Billings and then three days in Hardin, Montana…

Why we came…

To spend time with Arleen’s mom and check out Pompey’s Pillar while in Billings.  And to explore the Little Bighorn Battlefield and fish the Bighorn River near Hardin.

The campgrounds…

In Billings, population 167,000 and elevation 3,123 feet, we stayed at the KOA…the very first one opened in 1962!  The convenient location is about a mile off I-90 and along the banks of the Yellowstone River.  The campground is maintained very well and most of the sites are spacious.  Mature trees block satellite in many sites, but cell phone service is good.  Wi-fi was intermittent due to heavy usage.  Due to the location near the Interstate, there are quite a few late arrivals and early departures.  We were woken up a few mornings by folks pulling out around 5am. 

In Hardin, population 3,505 and elevation 2,907 feet, we also stayed at a KOA.  Hardin is a bit rough, but we were comfortable about two miles north of town.  The campground owners and their hosts were very friendly and always eager to help.  The sites were large and would be able to handle nearly any-sized rig.  Mature trees would block satellite in some sites, but cell phone and wi-fi were good.  Like the Billings KOA, there were quite a few one-night visitors, but most of them stayed close to the entrance and weren’t too noticeable when they came in late or left early. 

Adventures…

Time with Arleen’s mom, Ellen…

We spent three days hanging out with Ellen at her home in Roundup.  We did a few home improvement projects for her and she fed us a lot of ice cream!   

       

Ellen and Arleen  /  Doing a few chores  /  Arleen, Kathy, and Ellen

Time with friends…

Arleen grew up in Billings and Roundup and still has good friends in the area.  We spent time with Anne, her husband Ardie, and Linda.  Ardie treated us to some great meals and we treated them to s’mores! 

We also had a wonderful dinner with old friends Charlotte, Bob, Sondi, and Scott.  And finally, we had a fun lunch with our friend, Kathy.  We really appreciate all the travel feedback Kathy gives us.  She needs to meet us on the road some day!

We ate out way more than usual and had to leave Billings before we gained too much weight!

   

Linda, Anne, and Arleen toasting a good friendship  /  Roasting marshmallows for s’mores

Pompey’s Pillar National Monument…

On 25 July 1806, William Clark gouged his inscription into the sandstone of Pompey’s Pillar.  The prominent landmark is the only one of its kind on the south side of the Yellowstone River in the region.  His signature is one of many.  Natives began the tradition long before Clark arrived, and travelers kept doing it long after he left.  It’s an interesting and historic spot.

We arrived fairly early on a Sunday and lucked into a private tour led by Ranger Stan.  Not only did he educate us about the monument, but we wandered off the beaten path, and talked about all kinds of stuff.  We also got to hear three people’s opinions about Lewis’s controversial death…did he commit suicide or was he murdered?  Odds are that we’ll never know.

The visitor center is fairly new and has nice exhibits.  We had fun modeling clothes from Lewis and Clark’s era.

The Yellowstone River seen from the top of Pompey’s Pillar

       

Arleen & Anne by a teepee frame with Pompey’s Pillar in the background  /  Ranger Stan  /  The inscription

   

Wearing garb from Lewis and Clark’s era

Little Bighorn National Monument…

“The monument memorializes one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians to preserve their ancestral way of life.  Here in the valley of the Little Bighorn River on two hot June days in 1876, more than 260 soldiers and attached personnel of the U.S. Army met defeat and death at the hands of several thousand Lakota and Cheyenne warriors.  Among the dead were Lt Col George Armstrong Custer and every member of his immediate command.  Although the Indians won the battle, they subsequently lost the war against the military’s efforts to end their independent, nomadic way of life.”

It was sobering to walk the trails and learn the history.  Headstones, white for U.S. forces and red for Indians, are placed throughout the area where remains or personal relics were found.  After reading some of the stories, their dire circumstances were vivid to us.  They have reenactments each year near the anniversary of the battle.  We were pleased to learn that it also includes a ceremonial burying of the hatchet.

On the lighter side, we were thrilled to see two grouse putting on a show and a very speedy blue racer snake shoot across the trail.  Later research on the snake indicated that they are not venomous, but are known to be aggressive and will inflict multiple painful bites if cornered.  I’m glad we didn’t corner it!

   

“Last Stand Hill” where Custer and his men died in the final fight  /  A trail through part of the battlefield

Part of the Indian Memorial

Two headstones above the Little Bighorn River

       

Sharp-tailed grouse having a discussion  /  Snakes?  /  A two foot long blue racer snake

Fishing the Bighorn River…

By the time the Bighorn River reaches Montana and flows through Yellowtail Dam, it has gathered water from multiple mountain ranges and is quite big.  Average flows range from 2,500 cubic feet per second (CFS) in January and February to 7,500 by the end of June.  During our visit, the flow was low at 2,200 CFS which made it more accessible for folks on foot, like us.   The river is very popular for drifters…they outnumbered us by at least 10 to 1!

This section of the Bighorn River is a tailwater flowing through a dam.  That ensures the water stays cold and clear all year long which creates ideal conditions for billions of insects which feed lots of fish. 

We caught about 15 trout each of the two days we fished.  Nine out of ten were brown trout.  The others were rainbows.  Nearly all of them were 14-19 inches long and put up great fights.  They were feeding primarily on size 20 and 22 midges…very small insects!  It’s amazing to see good-sized trout rise to the surface and gently inhale such tiny flies.

Our fishing spot on the second day was quite memorable.  When we get to a new area, we have to learn where and how to fish.  To get educated, I read a lot of stuff online and talk to the experts at the local fishing shops.  I also use Google Earth to try to identify decent fishing spots.

This time Google Earth paid off!  I spied a specific section on a side channel that looked promising. 

During the one and a half mile hike to “the spot”, Arleen kept saying “this looks good, how about here?”.  I told her that it did look good, but it wasn’t “the spot” and we kept moving.

We arrived at “the spot” and it looked as promising in person as it did on Google Earth.  First cast…fish on!  There were times we hooked a trout on every other cast.  I’d hook a couple, take a break, and then Arleen would hook a couple.  We took turns for about two hours and had a blast.  The fish were stacked up in the small side channel and feasting on midges.  It’s very likely that most fisherman overlooked them too, making the trout gullible to us.  To us, the spot is now known as “Shawn’s Hole”!

The map is oriented with south on the left and north on the right

Fishing the Bighorn River upstream of the  “3-mile access” on 6 May

Hold onto that rod!

   

Two nice brown trout

Fishing near the “Bighorn access” on 7 May

Another good battle!

   

Two rainbow trout that put on a splashy show after they were hooked

Next…

Now we are in Custer, South Dakota and waiting out an impressive May snow storm.  We will explore this area for nine days and then head to the North Platte River, south of Casper WY.

Parting shots…

Lots of drift boats on Montana’s Bighorn River, and it’s the “slow” spring season!

                                    

Yummy ice cream at Ellen’s house  /  S’mores and beards don’t go together!

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