Falls Along the Missouri

*Critters seen on 2009 trip so far: beaver, wild turkeys, groundhog, prairie dogs, big horn sheep, buffalo (bison), white tail deer, chipmunks, pronghorn, burros, osprey, Western Meadowlark, Mountain Bluebird

*National Parks/Monuments visited on 2009 trip so far: 13
*State Parks visited on 2009 trip so far: 2

(Here I was just about caught up on my blog entries, and we wind up in a place with very minimal cell and internet availability last week so once again I’m playing catch up.)

Each June the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center (http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/lewisclark/lcic/) in Great Falls, MT, holds the Lewis & Clark Festival, and it just so happened that we were in town that weekend. Saturday was Lewis & Clark Encampment Day as members of the Lewis & Clark Honor Guard held demonstrations of cooking, navigation, medicine, trading, and much more. The Honor Guard is considered the premier Lewis & Clark living history organization in the nation. The flag flying over the encampment was accurate for the times displaying 15 stars and being flown on a long stick like one the explorers might have found in the woods. Also included at the encampment was a program called Tribal Traditions where Native Americans from several tribes shared their heritage.

After touring the exhibits in the Interpretive Center, it was time to head back outside for traditional American Indian dance demonstrations. Several members of the Blackfeet tribe performed dressed in very colorful traditional dance attire (the point was made that the clothing is not referred to as costumes). A woman connected with the tribe introduced each participant, described the significance of each person’s outfit, and told a little about each dance before it was performed. Children begin learning these dances at a very young age, and a couple 6 year olds participated on this particular day. At the end of the performances she invited the audience to participate in the Friendship Circle dance. You know me, I’m always ready to dance! (That’s me below in the peach shorts, white tank top, and tan cap.) It was really quite simple...all holding hands in a circle, and basically side stepping a few feet to the left, then all would come to the center, move back out, and then repeat the process, all the while drums played in the background as one of the American Indians chanted.

There are five falls in the Great Falls area, and in a little over 18 miles the Missouri River drops 360 feet. Steps have been taken over the years to maintain much of the Missouri River as it was when Lewis & Clark’s expedition traveled its waters in 1805. At left is Black Eagle Falls & Dam, the uppermost of all the falls, which was dammed in 1891. Traveling up river is the Rainbow Falls & Dam (below left), and below right is Crooked Falls.

To reach the actual Great Falls & Ryan Dam we had to drive across the river and about 8 miles along some back country roads. Once you reach the turn off, it’s a downhill ride to the parking area. From there you can see the falls, but to really appreciate them, you need to walk across the suspension bridge to Ryan Island, a really beautiful little park. A sign at each end of the bridge reads: “Warning: Do Not Sway Bridge, Load Limit Six People”, and it’s very windy as you cross. Lewis & Clark wrote quite a bit about the area and excerpts are seen at the Center and the overlooks. However, the words do not do justice to the beauty of the Missouri River and the surrounding area.

We stayed at the Great Falls KOA, and the owners have done an excellent job creating a beautiful campground. Only drawback is that the sites are very tight. Every evening a couple known as The Rivertown Rounders performs in the Kamper Kitchen. They sing, play guitar and banjo, and tell corny jokes to the delight of all in attendance. There’s a lovely nature/pet walk and in fields adjacent to the campground, wheat is grown which is used in their homemade pancakes (though we didn’t purchase any). There’s also a nice (though shallow) pool that is actually more like a small waterpark, and chickens seem to roam freely. Firewood is free for the taking, and for the first time we actually built a fire in our site’s firepit, enjoying a cold one on a beautiful evening. Though our stay here was brief, we enjoyed the area and the chance to rest a bit before heading to St. Mary, MT.