A Lewis & Clark Adventure

When we left Gillette on Monday, we had no idea how far we wanted to go.  We just knew we needed full hookups so we could dump our tanks and get caught up on our laundry.  We had not even decided for sure if we would still go to Yellowstone since it was getting so late in June.  We also knew we might have difficulty finding a site because of all the RVers leaving the FMCA rally.

I first checked Deer Park at Buffalo and they did have one site; but we really wanted to go a little further than that.  I next checked at Peter D's in Sheridan but they were full.  I checked further down the road at Grandview RV Park in Hardin, MT, and got us a site for 2 nights. 

As we were driving along, I also started checking campgrounds around Yellowstone for availability and was able to get a week reservation starting June 26 at Rocky Mountain RV Park in Gardiner, MT.  We're heading to Yellowstone!

We arrived at Grandview Campground around 1:00 pm and started getting everything set up.  I turned the satellite dish on and left it searching the clear unobstructed skies while we went to Subway for a quick bite to eat and to the grocery store.  When we came back, the satellite still had not locked on.  Here we go again.  It had an error message saying it could not connect to the antenna.  Chuck got up on top of the motorhome and tightened down a cable that was loose.  I then tried stowing it and it stowed and decided to wait a little while before trying it again.  

Later that afternoon the clouds started getting dark and weird again...

...and it started raining and hailing again.  What's up with all the hail around here?  Fortunately, it didn't stick around long.  I tried the satellite dish again that evening and this time it worked.  Yippee!!

Tony and Barb Pritchard who we met at the FMCA Rally happened to be camping at the park for a couple of days also so we got to visit with them some more and made plans to hook up with them for dinner while we were at Yellowstone. 

On Tuesday, we decided to do a day trip to Pompeys Pillar which Tony had recommended to us.  I used Google Maps on my phone to determine the quickest route.  We headed west on I-90 about 17 miles to Fly Creek Road...

 

...which was a gravel road for about half of the way up to I-94...

 

...that traveled through the middle of "Beautiful Nowhere."

 

Some of the fields were full of these purple flowers that had a fragrant smell.

We drove by a couple of very old abandoned houses...

 

...and this old abandoned truck that watched us we drove by.  :)

 

When we reached I-94, I misread the directions and told Chuck to get on I-94 heading north to Bismarck, North Dakota.  We were supposed to go across I-94 and Pompeys Pillar was just a little ways down the road.  Instead, we got to see several miles of Montana along I-94 before finding a place to turn around. 

 

With our America the Beautiful Pass, we were able to get in for free.  That pass has really paid for itself.  The facility is very new just becoming a National Monument in 2001.  The museum had a lot of information and exhibits. 

Pompeys Pillar is a huge rock that rises above the banks of the Yellowstone River where hundreds of markings, petroglyphs, and inscriptions have been left by visitors.  One of those visitors was Captain William Clark of the famous Lewis & Clark expedition.

If you remember your American history, Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore and map the Louisiana Territory which the United States purchased from the French for about $15 million or about 3 cents per acre.  They traveled all the way to the Pacific Coast and on their way back, they split up into two teams with Lewis exploring the Marias River and Clark exploring the Yellowstone River. 

When Clark and his team reached this large rock along the Yellowstone River, Clark engraved his name on this rock on July 25, 1806, making this inscription the only remaining on-site physical evidence of their journey.  What is truly amazing, is that the two teams split up and then reunited where the Yellowstone met the Missouri River all without cell phones, GPS, or any form of communication.  We use our GPS, Google Maps, and a Wal-Mart app just to find a Wal-mart when we are in a new location!

After we left the museum, we walked up the steps ...

...and saw William Clark's engraving...

 

...now protected by an enclosed glass case.

 

Clark named the rock Pompy's Tower after the little son of Sacagawea.   It was later renamed Pompeys Pillar.   Lewis and Clark had hired Toussaint Charbonneau, a Quebec trapper and his wife, Sacagawea, a Shoshone Indian, as interpreter and guide.  Sacagawea's son was born during the 2 year adventure in February of 1805 so by July of 1806, her son was a little  1 1/2 year old toddler.   

There were other markings and inscriptions on the rock that had been made over the years as well as some petroglyphs.  The petroglyph below was slightly red with stick figures carved in the rock.

After looking at the engraving, we continued up the steps to the top of the rock...

We could see the Rocky Mountains out in the distance...

 

and the Yellowstone River.

 

Can you imagine what Captain Clark must have thought when he looked out from this rock?

 

We walked back down the 204 steps...

 

...and down the trail over to the Yellowstone River.

 

They had some canoes on display like what the Lewis and Clark teams would have made and used going down the river. 

Our day trip to Pompeys Pillar was very interesting and we were very glad that we went.  Thanks Tony for the suggestion!