The Falls at Ryan Dam

The area known today as Great Falls, MT was noted in the Lewis & Clark journals as having five waterfalls. There are now four because one became submerged in the early 1900’s when hydroelectric power dams were installed. The most spectacular of the falls (in my opinion) would be the great falls at Ryan Dam. The other day we drove out to Ryan. Of course, I was yakking, playing tour guide, and drove right past the turn! … Read more

Early Morning at First Peoples Buffalo Jump

I’m going to say that I was at First Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park at sunrise but I was probably about 30 minutes late. That’s early this time of year! You do capture some beautiful light at that time of day though. I always say there are two distinct parks within First Peoples. The visitor center at the base of the cliff is my history lesson portrayed in a series of well-done displays. It shows … Read more

Tower Rock State Park

It’s a very small state park but incredibly significant to the Lewis & Clark expedition that viewed it over 200 years ago. The expedition had finally portaged the series of waterfalls near present-day Great Falls. They had expected one waterfall, then encountered five. For those of us who like to travel with a schedule, well, you can only imagine what this did to Lewis & Clark’s plan. In Meriwether Lewis’ journal, he wrote “This rock … Read more

A Fish Is Caught

We had seen several drift boats with fishermen moving downstream on the Missouri River near Cascade, MT the other day. Most boats had a guide rowing and two people fishing. But, no fish were seen! Our weather had finally turned pleasant for fishing (my opinion) with no rain, lots of water and some bright sunshine. I had heard that the Missouri was fishing good and that other rivers in the state weren’t producing. I stood … Read more

One More Fishing Photo

I took so many fishing photos so I’d sure like to share them! Here’s a different angle where it seems like the drift boat is coming straight towards me. These fishermen had been in a holding pattern close to the edge of the Missouri River. Evidently, that location wasn’t producing any bites because they just started to move as I got ready to take the photo.

First Day of Summer

Wow – it really was a summer day for our first official day of summer. We had temps just above 80 degrees, pure Montana sunshine and blue sky. I was lucky to be out along the Missouri River this afternoon near Hardy Creek and the Missouri River. We saw several drift boats with fishing guides and fly fishermen (and women). First of all, it was a gorgeous scenic drive. Even the rock outcroppings had large patches of … Read more

MyBrother’s Gone Fishing

On just about any given day of the week it seems like my brother finds some time to go fishing. His gear is always ready, usually in his pickup, and he has quite a few nearby fishing spots in northern Montana. Yup, you guessed it, he is retired. I will add, he has always found time for fishing, even before he retired so I guess it’s just a matter of priorities. We talked the other … Read more

Let’s Talk Food

It’s late afternoon at Rocking Z Guest Ranch near Wolf Creek, MT. There’s a fairly good sized group of guests and I suspect they, like me, are all thinking about the next meal. OK…maybe I’m the only one thinking that! Maria is in the kitchen of the lodge, busy with food prep. There are a LOT of potatoes to peel and dice, salad to prepare, steaks to organize, etc. And, she seems to do this … Read more

Learning to Rope at Rocking Z

Late afternoon at Rocking Z Guest Ranch last weekend saw a group of guests watching as Patty and Zack Wirth’s daughter Maria and her husband Ben did a roping demo. Maria was actually driving a 4-wheeler and pulling a mechanical steer while Ben was on his horse (a beautiful horse I might add). Ben is the type of guy that looks like he is as comfy on a horse as I am in my favorite … Read more

Horsemanship at the Rocking Z

The Rocking Z Guest Ranch is located between Great Falls and Helena, just off I-15 a little less than two miles. Typically, you’ll travel quite a distance from the main road to get to some of our ranches but this one is easy access. When I got to Rocking Z the other day a trail ride was just coming in to the ranch yard. There were great smiles all around! Our weather had been a … Read more