Education and Fun at First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park

What a neat experience to see kids learning and having fun at the same time. I took my almost 5 year old granddaughter to First People’s Buffalo Jump State Park near Ulm, MT. It’s just about 15 miles out of town, at most a 20 minute drive from my house. As you enter the lobby at First Peoples there is a seating area which was filled with a group of people hearing the story of … Read more

Elk Bugling Time in Central Montana

The first time I ever went to the Slippery Ann elk viewing area was with a public tour organized by the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge folks from their Lewistown headquarters. We packed sandwiches and snacks for the evening tour, climbed on a bus and settled in. I’ve been lucky to go again on my own but I learned a lot about the wildlife refuge on the tour. The elk usually start bugling mid September and … Read more

Colors of Fall at Great Falls’ Waterfalls

I was touring some friends around Great Falls the other day and lamented the fact that the water levels in the Missouri River were so low. After I said that I realized that work was being done at one of the hydroelectric power dams on the series of waterfalls and that could certainly have been the reason for the water draw-down. We drove along River Road past Giant Springs State Park, then stopped at one … Read more

Memorial to Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School Team

It all started with a question – did I know anything about the Fort Shaw Indian Boarding School? Well, a few years ago I saw the premier of the film that was made about the Indian girls basketball team that went to the 1904 World’s Fair (and became the champions). And, the History Museum in Great Falls has a display about the team and a companion book to the film. I had to admit, that … Read more

Bird Watching in Central Montana

Wow, for once I had my camera handy as I was driving on a country road.  And I had some spare time AND I saw some wildlife. Two sandhill cranes were walking along in a stubble field, completely oblivious to me. I stopped my car, rolled the window down and took a photo. Not bad but I decided I wanted to be a bit closer. I changed to a more powerful lens ( the only other one … Read more

Montana Bale Trail: What The Hay Event

Each year I struggle to come up with something different for this incredibly unique event held between the communuties of Hobson, Utica and Windham. Then, I see what others have created for their entries and I think, darn, I could have done that! The time for the Montana Bale Trail: What the Hay 2013 got closer and I was simply blank – no ideas! The week prior to the event I worked on a 5 foot long … Read more