Billings

We're on the road again! (Can't you just hear Willie Nelson singing in the background?) After sharing "so longs" with many of our friends at Red Rock, we headed north on US-20 toward Montana.

We weren't sure how the highways would be on this last day of the holiday weekend. But, we were blessed with beautiful weather, absolutely no road construction and not much traffic at all. With almost nobody on the roads, we kept our eyes on the beautiful Gallatin River, which was a popular spot for fishermen and brave float trippers today.

A quick 250-miles after leaving Island Park, we arrived at the KOA in Billings, Montana. This is the company's first campground, which opened in 1961. This nearly 50-year-old park is the company's flagship and is showing no signs of age. It's a beautiful spot on the edge of Billings and the shore of the Yellowstone River.

After an afternoon of stocking up on much-needed supplies here in Billings, we're looking forward to kicking back and relaxing in the world's oldest KOA. Tomorrow, we're planning a "close encounter" of some kind.

Ennis

It's been years since we've been to a small town, old-fashioned, fun-filled Fourth of July celebration. So, when Gordon and Juanita suggested we make the trip to Ennis to enjoy this small Montana town's Independence Day festivities, we were all over it! We were up and out the door early and our friends toted us some 80 miles to be a part of it all.

We arrived in plenty of time for the parade, and just barely enough time to find a prime spot to place our chairs along the route down Main Street. This is definitely the place to be in these parts today!

While we were waiting, look what we spotted! A very patriotic Montana Jayhawk! We exchanged "Rock Chalks" and had a wonderful conversation about the school we all love so much. While we were chatting, another Jayhawk overheard us and stopped by to chime in. The parade hadn't even started yet, and already the day was perfect. We had beautiful weather, gobs of red, white and blue and a flock of Jayhawks in small town Montana!

With the singing of the National Anthem, the parade was underway. With about 1,000 residents, Ennis is definitely a small town. But, it definitely knows how to put on a big-time parade.

There were lots of flags, horses and pretty girls...

...and not just one band of bagpipers, but two.

And, there were lots of kids! We watched a cute little girl walk her calf down the street. (Love those red boots!)

And herds of cute little ones on bikes. Every one was outfitted in red, white and blue, and a helmet, of course!

There were even dancing kids. These talented little ones were with the "other" bagpipers.

And, these colorful kids brought cool relief to the warming crowds. See that cutie on the right? Sure, she looks innocent enough. But, trust us, she's a dead eye with that giant soaker she's packin'!

Of course, no parade is complete without clowns. This guy was riding something that resembled a flying saucer.

And, this colorful clown took time to meet and greet with the crowd. She thanked everyone for coming and wished us all a Happy Fourth.

Smokey the Bear even made an appearance! With lots of rain this season, Montana hasn't had to worry about forest fires this year. But, remember, only you can prevent forest fires!

A gilded Albert Einstein made an appearance. The name of this frisbee-throwing sculpture is "Albert Einstein Between Theorems". The flag and patriotic bow tie were added for the parade.

The local medical center's entry was a hospital gown-wearing, IV-rolling kazoo band! Gotta love it.

It took the crowd a moment to figure out what riding in this car. Do you see it now? It's an ice cream cone!

The most flag-waving parade entry was the Bozeman Tea Party. They received a big round of applause from the crowd.

After the parade we made our way back through town to drop our things in the truck. We passed by a cute quilt shop where Juanita and I picked up a few things a couple of weeks ago.

During our shopping visit, Juanita chose some beautiful flannels for a special quilt she's making for Gordon. And, I chose the four fabrics of Nevada for our travel quilt. (Yeah, I know we're in Montana! But, I didn't find any quilt stores in Nevada.)

With our gear stored in the truck, we headed to the Lion's Club tent at the park. They were serving up a special Fourth of July lunch. After all of that parade watching, we were ready to chow down.

After a fun lunch in the sun featuring hot dogs, burgers and traditional holiday sides, we stuffed our satisfied selves in the truck and enjoyed the scenic drive back to Island Park.

Thanks, Gordon and Juanita, for the best small town, old-fashioned, fun-filled Fourth of July celebration ever!

Centennial Valley

The road from Highway 20 is nice and paved all the way to Red Rock Campground. Keep going down that road and eventually it turns to gravel. Take the first left and you'll find yourself on a rougher road heading toward Red Rock Pass and the gorgeous Centennial Valley. Like Sawtelle Peak, this is a drive that has been calling Rocky's name. So, today we treated the squirrel for an off-road trek over the Continental Divide.

We spotted this mom and baby pronghorn just past the divide.

This little creek caught our attention. It's name is Hell Roaring Creek, which is an awfully big name for such a cute little creek. The even bigger news is that creek is the "utmost source of the Missouri River" and its headwaters spring from just up the hill. The water you see here has a mere 3,745 miles to go before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean.

Centennial Valley is sparsely populated, which makes this drive a bit feel like you're exploring the Wild West. We came upon an abandoned ranch that reminded us that life in this little corner of Montana can be rough.

The abandoned property has a stunning view of the Centennial Mountains and Lower Red Rock Lake.

Our plans to make the drive past the lakes and up to a wildlife reserve were axed by wind. See how that grass is slanted? That's the wind! Oh yeah, and see the dust blowing in the background? We were starting to eat that stuff! So, we cut our trip short and headed back to camp.

Of course, we had to to stop just a couple of more times to enjoy the beautiful view.

Madison River Canyon

Blessed with a break between morning and evening showers, we made a midday trip to the Madison River Canyon Earthquake Area. Along an 11-mile stretch of US Highway 287, we learned the story of what happened along these peaceful shores 50 years ago.

On the evening of August 19, 1959, the area just west of Yellowstone National Park experienced an 7.5 magnitude earthquake. At the time, it was the largest earthquake recorded in the United States. The property damage is still visible today. Here are the remains of one of two cabins along Hebgen Lake.

Although all of the surrounding structures were destroyed, this outhouse remained in one piece.

A woman in her 70s and her dog were sleeping in this cabin when the quake struck. The occupants survived, but the cabin ended up in rapidly rising Hebgen Lake.

A neighboring cabin is submerged several feet below the surface at this peaceful spot on Hebgen Lake.

The temblor caused a landslide of some 80 million tons of mountain onto a Forest Service campground below. The tumbling rock buried 19 campers alive and dammed the Madison River. The rapidly rising water killed another nine campers. The resulting lake was dubbed Earthquake Lake. More than 50 years later the evidence of that tragic night can be seen in the immense pile of rock at the far end of the new lake and the skeletal trees poking up on the lake surface.

In 1967 the US Forest Service opened a Visitor Center near the landslide. The building serves as an interpretive center about geology and the events of that fateful night and a memorial to its victims. The view from the Visitor Center is stunning, in an eerie sort of way.

On the other side of the debris pile, the Madison River and Highway 287 wind gently to the West.

As we emerged from Madison River Canyon, one of its current residents posed for a photo. We enjoyed a scenic drive through the valley back to Red Rock, arriving just in time for the showers to return on this last day of Spring.

Virginia City

After several days of chilly rain here at Red Rock, we decided that today we were going to ignore the weather and head out on a road trip. Gordon and Juanita invited us to ride along with them to visit a bit of Montana history. Along the way, we stopped to enjoy a scenic overlook of the Madison River Valley. Don't these two look cute?

Virginia City is a living history museum. It's a labor of love of the Montana Heritage Commission, which is committed to preserving this 1860s gold mining town. Many of the more than 100 buildings around town appear as they did "back in the day". Others are home to modern shopkeepers.

These old post office boxes attracted my attention.

After a visit to the post office, Virginia Citians of yesteryear may have stopped by the courthouse to take care of their town business.

The home of the Virginia City Artisans and Grower's Guild is housed, aptly enough, in this sod-roofed cabin.

This truck looks a wee bit out of place in this gold mining town in the Old West.

Now, this mode of transportation fits right in!

Simeon R. Buford opened the region's largest grocery store here in 1878. Much of the items on display in the store came from Buford's inventory.

A mile and a half up the road is Nevada City, another project of the MHC. Like its neighbor, Nevada City offers visitors a chance to step back in time. You can almost hear spurs on the boardwalks around town!

Nevada City was the birthplace of the Vigilantes, a group of men who favored lynching over jury trials and hung 22 men in 1864. Thankfully, the streets are quiet these days.

The arrival of the railroads transformed southwest Montana from wild frontier to booming communities. This Great Northern railcar is aging not so gracefully here in Nevada City.

Wandering amongst charming building like this one was a delightful trip back in time. If only these walls could talk!

We returned to the 21st century via Ennis, Montana. The four of us enjoyed a tasty lunch at the Ennis Cafe, and Juanita and I checked out the local quilt shop. After a quick stop at Resvedts to stock up on steaks, burgers and brats, we returned to Red Rock. We're planning to return for more fun in this quaint little town soon.

We picked a great day to ignore the weather. We stayed warm and dry all day while we stepped back in time to enjoy an interesting bit of Montana history.