Frances Hunter

blog of the author To the Ends of the Earth

 

Frances Hunter's Journal
September 2007

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September 26, 2007: The White Cliffs of the Missouri

Mary and Liz with the White Cliffs of the Missouri

This was one of the biggest days we've had in the course of our Lewis & Clark travels over the past four years.

We awoke at the Virgelle Merc to a cool, crisp, beautiful day. The breakfast that Don served was amazing: a big poofy baked French toast with bananas and cream cheese, homemade whole hog sausage, and fresh fruit. Yum!

Don loaded us up in his van and took us to the Virgelle Ferry landing on the Missouri River, where we met Bill, our river guide for the day and the proprietor of the Missouri Breaks River Company. Bill is a rugged and straightforward man who appears to be in his 50s. He turned out to be extremely knowledgable about the geography, plants, animals, history, and politics of this region, and very easy to talk with over a long day trip together. Bill uses a small inland jet boat to cruise the White Cliffs and Missouri Breaks section of the Missouri. This trip was perfect for people like us and Roni, who want very much to see the region but perhaps don't have the time or the physical conditioning for a multi-day canoe trip.

A big Labrador black dog at the ferry landing, reminiscent of Seaman, saw us off. As we entered the national monument, we learned how the cliffs were formed geologically and how Lewis & Clark and their weary men must have found them to be a delightful novelty after traveling for days through the scrubby mud hills of the Montana badlands. As a national monument, this section of the river is governed by strict rules about its use, such as traveling at "no-wake" speed. We slowly putted down river (the opposite direction from how Lewis & Clark saw it) and enjoyed a clear, bright, and beautiful day.

 

I'd write my own description of the White Cliffs, but it's impossible to better what Meriwether Lewis wrote in 1805:

The hills and river Clifts which we passed today exhibit a most romantic appearance. The bluffs of the river rise to the hight of from 2 to 300 feet and in most places nearly perpendicular; they are formed of remarkable white sandstone which is sufficiently soft to give way readily to the impression of water; two or thre thin horizontal stratas of white free-stone, on which the rains or water make no impression, lie imbeded in these clifts of soft stone near the upper part of them; the earth on the top of these Clifts is a dark rich loam, which forming a graduly ascending plain extends back from ½ a mile to a mile where the hills commence and rise abruptly to a hight of about 300 feet more.

 

The water in the course of time in decending from those hills and plains on either side of the river has trickled down the soft sand clifts and woarn it into a thousand grotesque figures, which with the help of a little immagination and an oblique view at a disance, are made to represent eligant ranges of lofty freestone buildings, having their parapets well stocked with statuary; collumns of various sculpture both grooved and plain, are also seen supporting long galleries in front of those buildings; in other places on a much nearer approach and with the help of less immagination we see the remains or ruins of eligant buildings; some collumns standing and almost entire with their pedestals and capitals; others retaining their pedestals but deprived by time or accident of their capitals, some lying prostrate an broken othes in the form of vast pyramids of connic structure bearing a sereis of other pyramids on their tops becoming less as they ascend and finally terminating in a sharp point. nitches and alcoves of various forms and sizes are seen at different hights as we pass. a number of the small martin which build their nests with clay in a globular form attatched to the wall within those nitches, and which were seen hovering about the tops of the <broken> collumns did not the less remind us of some of those large stone buildings in the U' States. the thin stratas of hard freestone intermixed with the soft sandstone seems to have aided the water in forming this curious scenery.

 

As we passed on it seemed as if those seens of visionary inchantment would never have an end; for here it is too that nature presents to the view of the traveler vast ranges of walls of tolerable workmanship, so perfect indeed are those walls that I should have thought that nature had attempted here to rival the human art of masonry had I not recollected that she had first began her work.

 

It was amazing as we made our way slowly through this remarkable treasure, just me, Mary, Bill, and Roni. Aside from a couple of rangers at a pit stop and a handful of canoeists, we had the river to ourselves all day with just cows and cliff swallows for companions.

 

Most of the day we floated, looked, and talked (and ate a yummy lunch that was packed by Don). We stopped at Eagle Creek, a Lewis & Clark campsite, and took a short hike to the creek (fragrant fresh sage here). Another stop was at Hole in the Wall, a famous rock formation that forms an "eye of the needle." Bill and Roni hiked to the top, but since Mary had hurt ankles, we skipped the hot and grueling climb and just loafed around the boat. It was so quiet and peaceful that you could hear the beating of birds' wings as they flew overhead. We also had a cool and soothing swim in the mossy Missouri at the Lewis & Clark campsite called Slaughter River, and found some big river mussels that looked like giant clams.

Hole in the Wall. Lewis and Clark probably never saw this; it is hardly noticable when traveling upstream as they did.

Lest it all sound too Edenic, let me state that this river is also host to the meanest biting flies I've ever encountered! These hornflies loved me and could only be deterred temporarily by frequent applications of a thick coat of Deep Woods Off or Cutters. Next time I'm in this area I'm going to wear lightweight pants instead of shorts.

Citadel Rock, made famous by the paintings of Karl Bodmer.

 

After about 9 hours on the river, we pulled in to Judith Landing (a spot named for Julia Hancock, who as Mrs. William Clark is one of the main characters in our book). Jimmy, Don's partner at the Merc, was there with Bill's truck, and they hooked up the boat for our trek back over miles of gravel roads. It was interesting to see the ghostly remains of abandoned homesteads and an old one-room schoolhouse. We also saw an antelope and a fox! Smoke slowly moved into the area as we traveled and cast an eerie haze over the scene.

With all the dust, the sun was quick to wane. I was a little anxious by the time we got back to Virgelle, because we still had to drive back to Fort Benton, and I didn't want to be caught out on those gravel roads after dark! Fortunately, we made it off the gravel before sunset. We arrived at Fort Benton and the Grand Union Hotel (built 1882, restored 1999) about 8:30.

We had an interesting and fun dinner with Roni at the hotel's excellent restaurant. I had a delicious white fish and Mary had duck breast. This place has great desserts!

Toppled into bed, exhausted but deeply pleased. A great day seeing a world-class natural wonder that is still almost unknown and untouched.

September 20, 2007: Giant Springs, Fort Benton, Decision Point, and Virgelle

Awoke this morning of our vacation to a red ball of a sunrise. Haze and ash from yesterday's grass fire swirled in the air and peppered our car.

Liz at Giant Springs

This morning we spent some time hanging out at Giant Springs, a beautiful site along the Missouri River that was encountered by Captain Clark in 1805. Giant Springs is a place of superlatives. Not only is the cascading water spectacularly scenic, it is also the largest freshwater springs in the world, disgorging over 150,000 gallons a day into the Missouri via an outlet called the Roe River, which is in its turn the world's shortest river.

The water, which comes from a aquifer that runs through the mountains, is rich in calcium and magnesium, making it a great place for a state fish hatchery. We took a look at the facility where rainbow trout are raised from eggs and planted in Montana's lakes, and viewed some neat display fish in the "show pond," including albino and blue variations.

Old Shep. Was it love or cookies that made him so loyal? The Grand Union Hotel is in the background.

After we had enjoyed bird-watching in the green shady park for a while, we said goodbye to Great Falls for now and headed north for Fort Benton, a drive that took us about 45 miles over low rolling hills covered in dry yellow grass, with nary a tree in sight. By the time we got to Fort Benton it was lunchtime, so we once again broke out the cooler and had a great picnic along the banks of the Missouri, near the statue of Old Shep, Fort Benton's faithful dog that captivated the nation in the 1930s by meeting every train for more than five years, supposedly in hopes of being reunited with his deceased master.

After lunch we had a great stroll along the river. Fort Benton has a classic view of the Missouri straight out of Ken Burns, and lots to see, including a wonderful Lewis & Clark statue by Bob Scriver, a replica keelboat that was used in the movie The Big Sky, and historical markers telling all about Fort Benton's roaring times as one of the nation's major inland ports in the 1870s and 1880s. Some of the landmark buildings, such as the Grand Union hotel (of which more in the next entry) date from this era. Fort Benton was not only the center of river trade, but was also the terminus of the illegal whiskey trading route to Canada known as the "Whoop-Up Trail." The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had their origins in efforts to stop this trade.

The amazing boom times at Fort Benton came to an abrupt end in the 1880s when the railroad put an end to the steamboat era forever. Now it's a sleepy place with very nice and friendly people eager to share the town's history with you and curious about visitors.

We decided to visit a new interpretive center for the Upper Missouri Breaks to get ready for our White Cliffs boat cruise tomorrow. The center is a handsome place where you can watch a film and look at some exhibits about the geography and history of the river. It was somewhat informative but a little light on content.

From what we gathered from talking to local people on the trip, Montana was overbuilt with expensive tourist attractions in anticipation of the Lewis & Clark bicentennial, but the hoped-for throngs of people never showed up. I couldn't help but wonder if this was one of those boondoggles. Next time I'm in Fort Benton, I think I'll spend some time visiting the reconstructed historic fort and its associated museums instead.

Decision Point. Which river is the true Missouri?

We headed out of town towards the town of Loma and the famous Decision Point, the confluence of the Missouri and Marias Rivers. Here, Lewis and Clark spent nine days making one of the most fateful decisions of their trip as they figured out which of the two rivers was the true Missouri. We were here once before, with a big tour group; today, as we hiked up to the lonely, windswept overlook, we were the only people in sight in a vast landscape. I wonder whether the isolation and remoteness we felt was akin to that weighing on the captains, or if the bustle and cheer of the men in camp made the place more like it was when we were here with the group?

I learned something new on this trip about Decision Point. When you look at Decision Point, it's a little bit puzzling why Lewis and Clark had such a hard time determining which river was the Missouri and which was the tributary. The two rivers are very different in size, though part of this is attributable to modern-day damming of the Marias.

But why were Lewis and Clark so floored to find this river? Why didn't the Indians, whom Lewis and Clark interviewed during their winter stay at Fort Mandan, mention anything about another major river? It turns out that the Marias happened to be in flood stage that June of 1805 when Lewis and Clark were here, swelling it to a much larger size than it normally appeared even back then. The Indians hadn't bothered to mention it, and if the river had appeared as it usually does, Lewis and Clark would not have been confused and the Expedition would have saved more than a week of travel time!

The biggest adventure of the day was trekking to Virgelle, a tiny ghost town eight miles off Highway 87 down a gravel road. Here a wonderful guy named Don Sorenson operates a bed and breakfast in an old general store that operated from 1912 to 1970. He has relocated a number of old homesteader cabins on the property that are also available for rent, and everything is crammed with cool antiques that you can buy. Besides the Merc and the cabins, the only buildings remaining in Virgelle are the grain elevator and the old bank building, where Don lives. The business caters to people like us who are going to canoe or float the Wild and Scenic Missouri.

The Virgelle Merc. This 1912 pressed-tin building is now a wonderful B&B in a truly remote spot.

On the inside, the Virgelle Merc is beautiful and homey, like a trip back in time to grandma's house. Don greeted us like long-lost friends and generously made up a plate of cheese and crackers, salami, apples, and great lentil salad for us when he found out we hadn't had any dinner. We had a great time relaxing and looking at everything. In our room, everything was cute and cozy and "just so." What a treat to stay here.

Before turning in, we had the opportunity to meet Roni, a very vivacious lady from New Jersey who will be our companion tomorrow as we explore the White Cliffs of the Missouri!

September 13, 2007: The C.M. Russell Museum and the Great Falls of the Missouri

Bob Scriver statue of Charlie Russell at the C.M. Russell Museum

Last time we were in Great Falls, we missed the Charlie Russell Museum out of sheer ignorance, and had to spend the whole trip listening to the other people on the tour talk about how great it was. The desire to see the museum was one of our main reasons for coming back to Great Falls.

While my expectations were high, I was even more impressed than I expected to be with the size and beauty of this first-rate museum, which showcases the life and work of Charlie Russell (1864-1926), the consummate artist of the American West. Russell arrived in Montana at age 16, the disaffected son of a prosperous St. Louis family. His folks figured a summer out west would cure their boy's restlessness and get him ready to enter the family business. Instead, Russell immediately fell in love with the people and landscapes of the West. He immersed himself in the life of a working cowboy. A few years later, he also awakened to a desire to draw and paint what he was experiencing.

The museum's numerous galleries showcase Russell's work from these early efforts through the flowering of his art and international success. Russell's career spanned decades, and it's safe to say that he created a unique and personal body of work that documents a way of life that was already vanishing when he arrived on the scene. Far from mere "cowboy pictures," the work of Charlie Russell is not only amazingly technically proficient, but full of deep humor, empathy, and pathos.

We spent hours viewing hundreds of Russell's great story paintings, as well as little sculptures, whimsical illustrations, and his wonderfully humorous letters (what a delight it must have been to be this man's friend!). We also learned about the critical role his wife Nancy played in his success (no businessman, he). In addition, we viewed the collection of works by O.C. Seltzer, temporary exhibits of the paintings of Blackfeet artist Gary Schildt and sculptor Bob Scriver, and a great collection of firearms.

Best of all, the museum also includes Russell's small but beautiful home and the log cabin studio in which he worked. His wife had the studio built next door to get him out of the house. His collection of Indian and western artifacts, paints, equipment, and the rustic space where he painted were much the same as he left them when he died. It was easy to feel very close to Russell here.

You could easily spend the whole day here, but we eventually tore ourselves away and headed north of town to visit Ryan Dam, the site of the Great Falls of the Missouri. Our drive took us through a featureless landscape of flat, dry, yellow fields. The rough, potholed road featured a road sign that made us laugh: ROUGH BREAKS AHEAD. Isn't it the truth?

As we neared the dam, heading once more towards the river, we started to see more trees, as well as ranches and residences. At Ryan Dam, we parked and carried our picnic cooler across a narrow suspension footbridge that leads to a idyllic park at the base of the dam. Enjoyed sandwiches, bananas, and Cokes along with a light breeze, the roar of the falls, and the sight of other people having a good time here.

Mary at the Great Falls

A short walk takes you to a good spot to observe the dam and the falls. Meriwether Lewis loved this "sublimely grand" spectacle above all the things he discovered, and even with the dam and the power station here, the tumbling water is incredibly beautiful. It also caused the Corps to make a grueling 18-mile portage that took a month out of the precious travel season of 1805. In To the Ends of the Earth, we have a scene in which we have Lewis talk about his feelings about the Great Falls to some drinking companions, years after the expedition:

“Well, the Missouri River, as you approach its headwaters, culminates in five great waterfalls. I had gone ahead of the party, as a scout...I came upon the first one at about two in the afternoon. I could hear the roar, and see enormous clouds of mist rising from the river before I saw the falls itself.” Lewis shivered in the memory and blinked unexpected tears from his eyes. “It was truly the most perfect thing I’ve ever seen. As tall as the tallest tree you can imagine...it stretched across the expanse of the whole wide river. An enormous cataract, the water tumbling down in a veritable ocean, frothing white.”

He looked at their rapt faces. “And that wasn’t the end of it. There were four more just like it, not so grand but equally beautiful, over the next ten miles of the river. We had to tote everything we had, literally tons of goods, over about eighteen miles of rough and rocky country, just to get around ’em. At the time, I sometimes wished they didn’t exist — Lord, they caused us an awful lot of trouble! — but to me, those waterfalls are truly the most sublime thing on this earth.”

We soaked it all in for a while and would have stayed even longer had not a stiff breeze kicked up dust and haze from the area's wildfires. It was a good reminder of how Montana can be a wild place in which the land and weather should be treated with respect. Later, we found out that the wind caused a big grass fire quite nearby.

We headed back to the La Quinta and had a dip in the hot tub and pool, then a very nice dinner at Applebee's near the hotel. It was too smoky to sit out and watch the sunset this evening.

September 7, 2007: Great Falls and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center

Liz with the Missouri River in the background, at the Lewis & Clark Interpetive Center in Great Falls

Today I'll begin a series of blog posts about our recently completed adventures in Montana and Idaho, sharing experiences, thoughts, and photos about Lewis & Clark, the land they encountered, and what we encountered too!

We set out early for our journey to the westward country with Captain Lewis and Captain Clark. It was great to be headed back to Lewis & Clark country. Our flights and connections from Austin to Great Falls, Montana, our starting point, were all perfect and by lunchtime we had arrived to a spectacular sunny, crisp, and mild day.

Swung by the rent car counter for our way-cool Subaru Outback and tooled off to begin our long-dreamed-of vacation. The first order of business was lunch, and fast! We dined at Hardee's, where we got juicy hamburgers, read the local paper, and encountered the first of many flies that would share pretty much every meal we had in the Big Sky Country. Montana is still very wild, and the cities and towns are small. It is simply impossible to keep the critters from invading everything.

We decided to kick off our trip with a visit to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. We had visited here during our 2003 tour, and we were excited to return with the time to explore this fine facility at our own pace.

The center has a beautiful overlook and nature trail along the Missouri River. Inside, there are extensive exhibits about Lewis & Clark's journey and the Indians they encountered. I especially enjoyed the natural history exhibits that showed buffalo, bear, and other animals they encountered (and in some cases discovered). We also watched a good Ken Burns film summarizing the journey, and viewed a special exhibit of fascinating photographs of the Umatilla Indians by a turn-of-the-century photographer named Lee Moorhouse.

Full-size exhibit of the back-breaking labor of the portage

Mary getting in touch with Native American culture

The most interesting thing, though, was the opportunity to visit with local historian Jim Ray, who was at the center demonstrating and explaining amazing old weapons, both white and Indian. He showed us the use of the atlatl, an Indian spear-throwing tool, and explained how bullets were made in the field. It was all quite different from what we all think we know from watching old Westerns.

Our hotel was the La Quinta, a nice quiet place with a great location along the beautiful riverfront park. We ate supper at the adjoining MacKenzie River Pizza restaurant, then capped off the day holding our feet in the soft cool grass and watching the red ball of the sun sink into the wide Missouri. Glad we're back in Montana.

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