Pompey's Pillar and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

My love of American history is huge and living in Montana helps feed the love I have for this great nation’s history. While there are not as many ‘historical’ places like back home and up the eastern seaboard, Montana is home to many historical events that happened during the 1800’s. Pompey’s Pillar is just one of those places because it has the only physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition – William Clark’s signature.

Pompey's Pillar and the Lewis and Clark Expedition

 In 1806, on the return trip from western Montana, William Clark and nine men along with York (his slave), Toussaint Charbonneau (explorer/trader) his wife Sacagawea and their son, Jean Baptiste stopped at Pompey’s Pillar. In his journal, Clark wrote:

at 4 P M arived at a remarkable rock Situated in an extensive bottom on the Stard. Side of the river & 250 paces from it. this rock I ascended and from it's top had a most extensive view in every direction. This rock which I shall Call Pompy's Tower is 200 feet high and 400 paces in secumphrance and only axcessable on one Side which is from the N. E the other parts of it being a perpendicular Clift of lightish Coloured gritty rock on the top there is a tolerable Soil of about 5 or 6 feet thick Covered with Short grass. The nativs have ingraved on the face of this rock the figures of animals &c. near which I marked my name and the day of the month & year.”

**Stard. Side would be the starboard (right) side of the boat.

Little Jean Baptiste was nicknamed “Pomp” by Captain Clark and so Pompy’s Pillar was named after him. The editor of the journals, Nicolas Biddle changed the name to Pompey’s Pillar.

The visitor’s center is pretty awesome, even with it being small. There’s a 10-minute video and there are several cabinets with pull out drawers with hands-on learning. You’ll even meet William Clark, Sacagawea, Jean Baptiste and York. I totally missed a picture moment with a hands-on hook of the type of clothing they wore. There is a shirt, dress and child’s shirt made from buckskin that you can hold or even try on if you’re inclined to do so. Believe it or not, there is a good amount of weight in the dress. Although the buckskin is very soft, I can’t imagine wearing one for too long and in the hot summer time.

You’ll also find a smaller replica of the bullboat Sgt. Pryor built on July 26, 1806. Can you imagine floating up the Yellowstone River in one of these? I can, and I would love to give it a try one day. Yes, the Yellowstone River flows north, how cool is that?

In 1882, the Northern Pacific Railroad saw the need to preserve William Clark’s signature, so they placed an iron grate over the area; the picture below is the actual grate. In 1954, a former landowner replaced the grate with a brass and glass case around the area.

When you leave the visitor’s center and enter the back of the park, you will see an old dugout canoe and massive cottonwood trees. I didn’t take any pictures of the trees because of some tree removal going on and the view was not that pretty that day. The stairs! There are roughly 215 steps to view the signature and many more to the very top. We didn’t climb all the way to the top because it was HOT - the weatherman really missed his temperature prediction that day!

Once you make it halfway up the steps, you see some amazing views of the land around the pillar and, of course, William Clark's signature.

My World War II era loving son who tries not to smile for the camera never lets me know if he is enjoying our early American history moments, but those dimples are proof of him enjoying his visit.

You can explore the National Park's Lewis and Clark's Expedition website. If you click on the little tent icon, it will take you to a page about that area. Free downloadable vacation maps of the trail are found at the Lewis and Clark Country website.

If you travel with man's best friend, the park is very welcoming for dogs except for the steps up to the top are off limits along with inside the visitor's center. The walking trails are open for your furry family member.

Custer National Cemetery and Little Bighorn

On Monday, we visited the Custer National Cemetery at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. We walked through the cemetery during our previous visits to the park, but Monday was special with it being Memorial Day. There were many veterans along with family members who have loved ones buried there. We even watched several families place small wreaths beside headstones of their ancestors who were scouts for the Calvary during the Indian Wars.

Custer National Cemetery Little Bighorn Memorial Day 2015

I’m not going to retell the story of the Battle of Little Bighorn since everyone knows this is where George Custer died while fighting the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne tribes. When you are standing on the battlefield and looking out across the plains, you have to wonder what exactly was going through Custer’s mind – there were thousands of warriors they were up against.

I am sharing pictures from the museum and parts of the battlefield. I called and talked with the historian at the park yesterday and he was kind in answering my questions about the cemetery and the history of the battle.

There are almost 4,300 grave sites. He did tell me that count is only for the sites because at one time they stacked people for burial, so there is no known number of people. The cemetery is closed for new burials except for the last remaining reserved plots. The reason for this closure is encroachment lines for the battlefield. This cemetery is NOT listed on the VA website because it is owned by the National Parks.

The cemetery has 8 Medal of Honor recipients. Some of these have been newly found within the past 10 years because research is ongoing to verify and locate all recipients of this great honor. One recipient, Joseph Cable has a plaque, but is not buried there. He was wounded while fighting the Nez Perce and was being sent back to Ft. Keogh and died on the way. They believe he is buried somewhere along the Missouri River since wounded soldiers were transported by boat at that time. The historian did say, if Cable’s remains were found then he more than likely would have been labeled an Unknown Soldier and sent on to Ft. Keogh.

The next pictures are from inside the museum. I wish the sun would have been a little higher, because the two cases of Custer’s clothing and other items had a crazy glare for pictures. Elizabeth Custer donated the items in the museum, so others could enjoy them.

There were two cases with models of both battles.

Sitting Bulls' Bow and Arrows

These are the faces of the war. I have LINKED to a larger picture so you can see who each of the men were. When the link opens, click on the picture and then the + sign at the bottom.

The two political leaders behind the battle.

All the information about the attack is from the Indian warriors. The men who were with Reno did tell how everything looked and where everyone laid when they returned to the area; they were in complete shock of what they found. They are the ones who buried Custer and the other soldiers.

This monument is at the top of Last Stand Hill.  The remains of all the soldiers were reburied here in a mass grave and the names of the known soldiers are listed. Many do not realize that Custer and some of the other officers were transferred to other locations for reburial. Custer is buried at West Point.

The  remains of  the 7th Calvary horses were moved to a mass grave in 1881.

One of the many markers where warriors died. They are not buried here, they were given tribal burials.

I came across these graves when walking through the cemetery. I love her name - Pretty Medicine Pipe, her husband White Man Runs Him is pictured in the Little Big Horn Faces picture above, he is on the right side down at the bottom.

Homeschooling moms, be sure to download the teacher’s guide, so you can teach about the Battle of Little Bighorn.

I'd like to thank my husband for allowing me to share his pictures with you.

Glacier National Park Part 2

Of all the national parks our family has visited. Glacier National Park is by far my favorite for views. Seeing the work of God is amazing. It was hard for me to stand there and take everything in and not know God did that.

Wild flowers were in bloom ~everywhere! The white round flower is beargrass.

Something from the world of Dr. Seuss and The Lorax!

Yep, he is tall enough to rest his chin on my head. Boy, do I feel short!

People who truly know our family, know this is how we really feel about amusement parks.

I heart moose! We even saw one on the way from East Glacier into the village of St. Mary.

I caught a picture of my husband doing what he loves.

Breath taking view~

The above picture and the panorama was taken in the same area. My husband walked up a muddy hill while I stayed on the road.

There is a reason why the main road through the park has a name. While driving up the road you are literally driving what seems like into the sky towards the sun. A beautiful drive!

Logan Pass

We did a little bit of hiking at Logan Pass. We quickly learned, Jamie has a fear of heights. Who knew? I mean really, this boy will get on the back of a bull, but heights, he can't stomach. Right past the rocks there on the edge =  HUGE cliff!

 Just one of the many glaciers in the park. Bad lighting, I know. I snapped this when I took the above photo in the same spot.

While in the park, we saw a grizzly bear run down the hill across the road and continued running. We also saw big horn sheep, but they were so far up the glacier we really weren't able to get a clear picture. Then, there was this little momma mountain goat and her baby at a pull off.

See the heart? Jamie pointed it out first.

  I could post pictures from now until Christmas and I still would not post all of what we took.

If you missed the first part of our trip to Glacier, you can find it HERE.

Glacier National Park Part 1

For our anniversary, my husband took our family to Glacier National Park in western Montana. When we lived in the Bitterroot Valley, we wanted to visit, but never seemed to have the time. It's kind of funny when I think back to how we thought three hours was too much for travel time to visit. We drove almost 10 hours from the other side of the state for this trip. Brace yourself, because this post is picture heavy. But when you see the scenery, you'll understand why I had to limit myself in sharing pictures.

I'll never forget the sensation that ran through my body at the first sight of glaciers when rounding the curve in the road. It was feeling of speechless awe.

Don't you just want to run, twirl around and belt out "The hills are alive with the sound of music" at the top of your lungs?

Yeah, me too!

Don't forget to add your musical singing voice.

 Do it quickly, because if you have family like I do, they will tell you to SHUT. IT. UP.

No really, they didn't. But they did tell me to stop singing.

It was said the singing was unpleasant.  I might have to agree with them on this one.

Really, who cares how unpleasant my singing is when you are looking at these?

 

These are just a few of the many, many, many photos taken. Some are being used to sell and for the fair next month; once I know which ones I can share; you will all be the first to know.

Now you see why I stood in awe when we visited the park last week.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

On Saturday, we visited the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The weather in this area has been beautiful for the past several days, and Saturday was no exception.  When we came through North Dakota and saw Painted Canyon and a couple of the bison in September, I said then I wanted to visit.

This national park is not like many others with a lot to see. If you've been to the Grand Canyon, or Yellowstone you know what I'm talking about. There are still some ooh and aah moments you won't want to miss. There are two parts to the park the North Unit and the South Unit. We visited the South Unit and are planning on visiting the North Unit in a week or so.

Many people think South Dakota is the home of the badlands but in reality, they can be found here in Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and several other western states. TRNP is home of beautiful scenery from badland canyons, to grassland with the Little Missouri River flowing through it.

The park entrance is right outside of the tiny city of Medora. A rather cute western city that has preserved its history over the years.

This is the Maltese Cross Cabin where Theodore Roosevelt lived when he came out for his hunting trips. This is not the original location of the cabin, but can you imagine living here? I know I can, even with only three rooms; kitchen, bedroom, living room area. Actually, a bathroom would be nice and maybe one more bedroom. :)

Just a few pictures of some of the items in the museum.   

If I remember correctly, the writing desk in the middle and the trunk(which I did not get a picture of) are the only original items to Theodore Roosevelt in the cabin.

Being goofy in the President's house.

In the park are many small herds of wild horses. The next two pictures are of a group with one stallion and the rest are mares with colts and one more on the way. The stallion in the first picture is "lip curling" an act that he does because she is in heat. They did the deed and I have a picture, but I didn't add it.  :)  Don't shake your head at me... how many people can say they have seen wild horses mate?

The above wild stallion has a harem of 8 mares. The one on the far left almost missed out on being Frog's Lilypad famous because she and her colt moved.

                                 There were lots of nursing mothers and babies.

This was the only baby bison we saw.

These little guys were all over the place in the Prairie dog towns throughout the park. Jamie waited patiently for this one to stand up it's not very clear, but since he did wait, I wanted to show you.

We got to see the aftermath of a horse and bison knock down drag out. We saw this young stallion limping and saw the gaping wound on his leg.

After we drove past the horse, the bully bison went running after him again. Yep, I was hanging out of the truck window so I could get this picture.

Wind Canyon, oh my! This place was beautimus and we quickly learned why it is called Wind Canyon. Let's just say, my hair was standing straight up and out because of the wind. I have pictures of the horrifying scene, but I think you can use your imagination .

We didn't get to go up to Painted Canyon because their visitor center is closed until Memorial Day. But we did find out we can walk through the gate and go and see the canyon. We'll be doing that when we head up to the North Unit.

This is how we spent our Saturday ~ enjoying the amazing work of the Lord.