Montana Capital and Freezeout Birds

Tuesday, 11 June 2019

Camp Three Forks provided a quiet night where we didn't even have to run the heat. Dropping down to an elevation of 4,200' here from the 7,500' at Yellowstone made it 30° warmer, despite being further north.

By 0830 we were stocking up on day old pastries and bread at the headquarters of Wheat Montana we discovered yesterday. It is probably a good thing, for our waistlines, that we don't have one of these in North Carolina!

Driving two hours north had us in Helena visiting the Montana State Capitol building. The information desk distributes maps and information for free self-guided tours.

Dedicated on the 4th of July in 1902, the building is maintained in beautiful condition.

An impressive rotunda features balconies and artwork recalling the people that founded the state.

Looking up at the stained glass dome, it is flanked by four large "roundels" depicting an Indian Chief, Prospector, Cowboy, and a Trapper.

With the legislature on summer break, we were allowed into the Senate Chamber.

A viewing gallery on the second floor revealed the Montana Supreme Court. Maintaining the theme from the rotunda, large oil paintings flanked the ceiling. As large as 7 by  11 feet, they depict the history and natural beauty of the state.

Crossing the street, this huge sculpture of a bison scull attracted us to the Montana Historical Society Museum. Called "Herd Bull" the two-and-a-half ton bison skull was welded of recycled sheet metal by two local artists; Benji Daniels and James Hadock.

The $5 admission fee was well worth it, if only to introduce us to the work of artist Charles Russell. His paintings, sculptures, models and sketches from the early 1900's were all fascinating.  This one example is titled "When the Land Belonged to God."

Ink and watercolor art depicted scenes from his Montana travels. Some show a fine sense of humor.

Russell also made miniature models like this stage coach diorama.

The museum has many more exhibits, one of which included this photograph of the first Montana State Capitol. The 1864 building is significantly more modest than the building we just toured across the street.

One of the last exhibits was the taxidermy of Big Medicine, a rare White Bison that lived from 1933 to 1959 on the National Bison Range.

We would highly recommend scheduling time to visit this excellent museum.

Next up, we drove a few blocks to the 1888 Governor's Mansion for a half-hour tour.

Used as the official governor's residence until 1959, it underwent a ten year renovation before opening to the public in 1969.

Of all the furnishings, this chair with longhorn ornaments was the most unique.

I could be quite content to live in the carriage house out back! If you can't get here yourself, the historical society has a virtual tour on-line.

The neighborhood around the Governor's mansion was a good place for a walk. Streets were lined with lots of restored homes including this one re-purposed by Montana Democrats.

We left Helena a little after 1:00 and drove north through small towns. Sandbags in Augusta, Montana were still on the street as the town cleaned up after flooding from the Sun River. This would be a good subject for a model railroad storefront.

Small towns like Fairfield welcome travelers. RV's are welcome to stay,  at no charge, around the town park for up to two nights and the town operates a free dump station. We stopped and washed the van at the combination laundromat and car wash.

Hoping for something a little more scenic than grain bins, we consulted our dashboard travel gurus. They weren't helpful, but Beth found a Wildlife refuge on Freezeout Lake.

We were the only people there as we wandered down to the lake where we found White Pelicans. These big birds were a long way from Florida.

Lots of birds were here that we aren't used to seeing back home like this Yellow Headed Blackbird,

a Western Grebe,

a pair of Northern Shovelers,

and an American Avocet.

The view over the lake was delightful as we made dinner in the van.

Screen windows are important here as the bugs were out in force at sunset.

From the comfort of the van we watched the white pelicans settle in for the evening on a sandbar...

as the sun set behind the western mountains.

It would be fun to come back in the spring when as many as 300,000 Snow Geese and 100,000 Tundra Swans descend upon the lake.

Today's travel map