Headwaters of the Missouri - On the Trail of Lewis & Clark

We traveled 289 miles south east through Montana to Three Forks. Along the way we saw some of the most beautiful parts of Montana; we continuously speculated on how beautiful this would be in the Winter with snow on the ground and mountains. We did not, however, have any intention of actually realizing this experience in the flesh. While at Three Forks, we visited the Headwaters State Park that contained the confluence of the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin Rivers, so named by Lewis and Clark. The park also contained their encampment site. Captain Clark was the first to visit this area on July 25, 1805; Captain Lewis and his crew followed two days later. It was Clark and his group of 12 who returned here on their way back east on July 13, 1806. The only remnants of their visits, as far as I could determine, were the names of the three rivers. And the only way to view the three rivers coming together to make the Missouri ( USGS says that it is the Madison and Jefferson which join to make the Missouri; locals say it is the three and only the three) is from the air if your local; otherwise, for USGS people, you can see it from ground level. Either way, the area is beautiful and peaceful, rivers, flood plain, and mountains for a backdrop.

Below, I'm standing in front of Lewis and Clark camp site, by the Madison river just above where the Jefferson River comes in. The sign shows the aerial view for those who are USGS believers.




To complete the picture, below right is the Gallatin River just before it goes either into the Missouri or the Madison-Jefferson rivers, while left is the Jefferson and Madison.












Millie is shown below tracking Clark's trail, using scents well over 200 years old. Yes, she is that good.












Another very interesting place we visited was the Madison Buffalo Jump State Park which was down a 7 mile gravel road about 25 miles from the headwaters. Millie had problems getting the scent of Bison, I think the Buffalo signage confused her. But, from that hill top, native Americans stampeded and funneled Bison over the cliff to their death; those that survived were killed the old fashion way. Bison were tremendously useful to native Americans, being used for clothing, tools, and food.





While we were here, we decided to visit Virginia City which was "only" 90 miles away. Man! That was a long 90 miles. What used to be a gold/silver mining "town" is now a dilapidated tourist trap. We had in mind to walk around the town and have dinner there. What a joke. In five minutes, we had time to see it twice. For food, the best they offered was ice cream. We tried it, it was delicious. Lill like the huckleberry. In fact, throughout Montana, at least in Glacier and in Virginia City, huckleberry is quite popular. Below are some of the interesting spots in Virginia City. I must confess, the museum was quite interesting and took more than 5 minutes to see - and it was FREE.












We found a nice restaurant on our way back to Three Forks, including a fixer-upper house, that with a little effort could amount to still not much. But, this is an example of the type of house 19th century pioneers made.





We left Three Forks on Aug 14th and headed for Terry Bison Ranch RV Resort in Cheyenne, Wyoming, 705 miles away.