Conni – 08-13/17-14 Banff Trip –Buffalo, WY

Well, we’re staying in Buffalo again. Nice camp ground and this time we spent enough time to go into town. Even though we’ve stayed here several times, that was a first.

So here’s some shots of a home for sale that really looked interesting and pretty and some of the town.

 

 

 

 

While here, we took a day trip and drove over a Powder River Pass to Ten Sleep. Ha, it really is a sleepy little town. But, the drive over and back was certainly a worthwhile trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next day excursion was to find “Hole in the Wall”, a hideout for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They apparently frequented Buffalo and used "the hole" as a hideout. We took the trip in the Jeep and we made it all but about 200-300 yards or so. I don’t see how they ever found it in the first place. Very hard to get to, but easy to guard, I guess. Sorry we couldn’t make it all the way, but it was a very interesting drive. If you didn’t have 4-wheel drive, you couldn’t have made it nearly as far as we did. Saw a little wild life on the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, then we spotted something whimsical - a '57 Chevy motorcycle!

 

 

Conni – 08-11/12-14 Banff Trip –Yellowstone

We spent a couple of nites in Livingston, MT and drove to Gardiner for a little day trip into northern Yellowstone. Even though we’ve been to the park several times, I don’t think we had taken this northern loop before – ha, or maybe old age is just letting me forget? I must admit that other parts of the park are prettier and also have more animals, but it was a nice outing. We also stopped for lunch and then made our way back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, this time we stopped in Gardiner and had some ice cream and added to our t-shirt supply.

 

 

 

 

Conni – 08-10-14 Banff Trip – Helena, MT

Helena, the capitol city of Montana, has a population of approximately 30,000. One of the first things we noticed was how clean the city is. The main street is Last Chance Gulch, named after the gulch where gold was discovered in 1864.

One of the most beautiful buildings we saw was the Cathedral of St Helena. It is Gothic style and opened in 1914. Unfortunately, it was closed when we were there, so our only pictures are from the outside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next most significant building we saw was the state capitol. Again, it was Sunday, so we were not allowed inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited the West Residential section, known as the Mansion District. There are many tree lined streets with stone walls. Most houses in this area were built in the last quarter of the 1800’s. As you can see from the pictures, the architecture is varied.

 

 

 

Check the architecture of the Original Governor’s Mansion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conni – 08-09-14 Banff Trip – Gates of the Mountains, MT

Today we drove about 20 miles north of Helena to take a 2 hour boat trip on the Missouri River thru the Gates of the Mountains.

 

 

The area was explored by Lewis & Clark in July, 1805. Lewis named the area “Gates of the Mountains” since each bend of the river seemed to be closed off by stone walls, only to open like giant gates to reveal more passage on the river. 

The whole area is pristine and should stay that way since the only entry is on the river. The guide talked just about non-stop, so there was much to learn and see.

We sighted several bald eagles and ospreys.

 

 

 

 We also saw a huge osprey nest that has been in progress for many years. In August, the ospreys leave for South America, then return and continue to build on the nest from the previous year.

We also saw pictographs from Native Americans, but really couldn’t tell what they were depicting.

 

 

Sir Bentley joined us on the boat ride.

 

 

 

Conni – 08-07-14 Banff Trip – Great Falls to Helena, MT

This drive is one of my 3 most favorite in North America. It’s around 90 miles between the two cities, with approximately 70 just being gorgeous.  Most of the trip follows the Missouri River and some of it goes between narrow and high canyons.

Here’s some pics to give you a taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was also lucky enough to see a bald eagle flying near its nest (with a baby atop).