Lost in Montana

We went on the loop drive in Theodore Roosevelt National Park this morning. After Roosevelt lost his Mother  and his wife on  the same day....Valentine's Day, he went to his ranch here to  mourn his losses.  It is beautiful, desolate,  and awe inspiring.  We saw bison, wild horses, prairie dogs and a pair of bluebirds. The hoodoos and rock formations are amazing.  The view around every curve changes dramatically. After visiting the park, you can see how it influenced Roosevelt in his efforts to preserve our nation's unique natural wonders.

When we were at the park, we read about the Fort Union Trading Post, established by John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company. It was where the plains tribes (Blackfeet, Assiniboine, Crow, Mandan, Hidatsa, Ojibwa, Sioux, Gros Ventra and Aikara) traveled up to 600 miles to trade. Fred recently read Astoria, a book about Astor so we thought it would be interesting to visit. It is located at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. About 30 miles of the road to get there were dirt roads!

 You can understand why they call this Big Sky Country!

This is one of the gravel/dirt roller coaster roads we went on.

They were setting up tents for a Native Trade Fair Saturday & Sunday.