(48) On the Road to Yellowstone National Park

July 12, 2017
On the Road to Yellowstone National Park

Tonight, we are camping adjacent to the highway and next to the Yellowstone River. We are quite literally on the road to Yellowstone. The campground is reasonably quiet and the highway noise is fading quickly. About all we can hear is a gentle sound of the Yellowstone River.

Driving on the Yellowstone, adjacent to the Yellowstone, on the way to Yellowstone

We began the day in Billings, Montana. From there we traveled to Laurel to take a look at that town and to photograph a couple of the buildings.

Laurel, Montana

Building in Laurel

Laurel Chamber of Commerce and Visitor's Center

dates from the 1930's

Yellowstone Trail Interpretive sign in Laurel

From there we proceeded on old Highway 10, which is the modern equivalent of the Yellowstone Trail. Highway 10 runs between Interstate 90 and the Yellowstone River. It is about as close as you can get to driving the old Yellowstone Trail.

We've reached the end of the road,

time to get back on the Interstate.

We drove it until the road ran out and we were forced to get on the interstate. It's hard to believe how much quieter Highway 10 is than Interstate 90. Most of the time I feel more relaxed on the old US highways than I do on the interstates. But this was particularly true today as I drove along the Yellowstone River.

N.P. Station, now a museum in downtown Livingstom

Livingston, Montana

We arrived in Livingston Montana which is an old railroad town. The old steam trains needed servicing more often than the modern diesels. For this reason stations and service facilities were spaced regularly along the line. The Northern Pacific Railroad ran through Southern and Eastern before heading to Missoula, Montana. Most of the towns that we have traveled through were Northern Pacific towns. Livingston was the big service facility.

Lobby of Murray Hotel in Livingston

Livingston's station was designed by the same architect that designed

Grand Central Terminal in New York City. 

With the increased efficiency of the diesels, a lot of the service facilities were not needed. For some of the smaller towns, like Marmarth, North Dakota, the Northern Pacific and its successors pulling out was devastating. Livingston, being a larger town and being the gateway to Yellowstone National Park seems to be surviving and perhaps even thriving. It has transformed itself from a blue-collar railroad town where people worked for a living to a town that takes care of a wealthy clientele that come to Livingston in order to enjoy the splendor of Montana's big sky country.

Livingston is still the gateway to Yellowstone National Park.

The truth be told, I would be more comfortable in the old Livingston than the new. But at least Livingston is surviving and not drying up and blowing away like so many other cities and towns across the northern Great Plains.

Gateway to the Park

We drove south from Livingston along Highway 89 towards Gardiner Montana and Yellowstone National Park. The scenery is spectacular and it's definitely worth the visit. But I hope when you visit here you'll spend a little time in some of the other small towns that need to find a way to survive and reinvent themselves.

The White crosses along Montana's Highways mark

the point where a fatal accident occurred and are an 

effective reminder to slow down, The more crosses,

the more deaths at that point. 

The survival of the small towns has been a theme that has recurred throughout our trip east on the Lincoln Highway and on our trip west on the Yellowstone Trail. It's not just the small towns and villages of Montana and North Dakota that need to be remembered, it's the small towns and cities throughout the heartland of the United States.

Marmarth North Dakota.

(47) Homeward!

July 10, 2017
Mobridge, South Dakota to Billings, Montana

Railroad Bridge crossing the Missouri

Earlier  Bridge at the time of the Yellowstone Trail

This morning we crossed the Missouri River at Mobridge, South Dakota. It was a bright clear morning and I took a picture of both the automobile bridge that we were crossing as well as the old railroad bridge. After crossing the Missouri we found ourselves once again in the arid West. We spent the remainder of the day traversing South Dakota, North Dakota and much of Montana.

Automobile Bridge over the Missouri

Missouri Bridges

North Dakota

In North Dakota, we found miles and miles of miles and miles. Our last stop in North Dakota was Marmarth.

The unusual name comes from the fact that the railroad engineer was naming it after his daughter, Margaret Martha. Apparently Margaret Martha would not work as a name of the town so it was shortened to Marmarth. Marmarth has the oldest motion picture theater in all of North Dakota. I believe it is still operating, although much of the rest of the town is not.

Mystic Theatre in Marmarth, North Dakota

At the western edge of the town of Marmarth is the Van Horn automobile Museum. Jim Van Horn has assembled quite a collection of beautifully restored vehicles. In addition to automobiles, Jim collects whatever suits his fancy. At the end of the tour we were treated to an ice cream. It was delicious.

Ford GP prepared for review by Army

                                             

Jim Van Horn and part of his collection

                     
                                         
Montana

We then proceeded into Montana. At the western edge of North Dakota and the eastern edge of Montana we found ourselves in the Badlands. The scenery was not quite as spectacular as that in Badlands national Park, but we appreciated it nonetheless, I'm glad that we don't live there.

Montana Badlands

Montana Bar, Miles City, Montana

Main Street, Miles City Montana

We stopped in Miles City Montana to have lunch at the Montana Bar. My last visit to the Montana Bar was in May, 1974. I went to Miles city with two friends from college who told me that if I wanted to experience Montana culture at its finest I needed to attend The Bucking Horse Sale which is held in May of each year in Miles City.

Bucking Horse Sale, May, 1974

My friends told me that we would probably end up drinking too much and might find ourselves in a couple of fights. To a 19-year-old college freshman this sounded like something I needed to experience. I did end up drinking a bit too much, but managed to avoid the fights.

Bar in the Montana Club

One of the bars I visited in May, 1974 was the Montana Bar. I well remember going to the Bucking Horse Sale. The Bucking Horse Sale is where all the saddle broncs come from for the rodeo circuit. It is basically a big rodeo with horse buyers then bidding on the broncs.

I have fond memories of the Bucking Horse Sale. I remember that Saturday night in May, 1974 that the Montana Bar was very crowded and very noisy. It was difficult to get from one end of the barroom to the other. It was a bit quieter today and today there were actually barstools in front of the bar. No trip to Miles City is complete without a visit to the Montana Bar.

I had a steak sandwich and I felt like they were staring at me.

The walls are decorated with mounts representing the cream of the cattle drives. There is also a bullet hole in a beveled glass window as you walk in the bar. How that window survived, I don't know. The bullet hole was the result of an accidental discharge that occurred when a patron was checking his gun. But it all makes for great fun and a colorful afternoon or evening.

Bullet hole in glass panel

While we were at the Montana Club, I struck up a conversation with Charlie who had spent most of his professional life as a cattle broker. Charlie told me that the Montana Club was a good place to do business. The booths had high walls and it was like being in a soundproof room.

Charlie, a Cattle broker from Miles City

Forsyth Montana to Billings

Thankfully, the road was better than this.

Split Rock, near Big Horn Montana

On the Yellowstone Trail

After Miles city we traveled to Forsyth, Montana and then on to Pompey's Pillar.

Pompey's Pillar along the Yellowstone River

Pompey is the nickname that William Clark gave to the son of Sacagawea. His full name is Jean Baptist Charbonneau. He was born in 1805 and died in 1861. Little Pompey was the youngest member of the Corps of Discovery. He had a front row seat to the making of history through much of the nineteenth century. William Clark saw to it that he got a good education. He died in the second half of the nineteenth century near Jordan Valley, Oregon. Earlier this year, I visited his grave and I'm happy to report that many people visit the grave and leave tributes to little Pompey.

Pompey's Grave near Jordan Valley, Oregon

After Pompey's Pillar we traveled west to Billings. We will spend the night in Billings before moving on to Livingston and Yellowstone National Park. We have debated on where to end this trip. At one time we had planned to go all the way to Puget Sound. However, the need to retrieve our car in California has made that original goal impractical. We decided to end the trip where the Yellowstone Trail originally ended. That is, Yellowstone National Park.

(46) Nobody ever told the bumblebee it couldn't fly!

Ipswich, Birthplace of the Yellowstone Trail

July 7, 2017
Lac qui Parle State Park, Minnesota
to Mobridge, South Dakota

We are spending tonight in Mobridge South Dakota on the banks of the Missouri River. Mobridge is so named because there is a bridge over the Missouri River at this point. The abbreviation for Missouri is Mo. Combine that abbreviation with the word bridge and the town at that point ends up with the name Mobridge.

Once again we "gave in" and are not spending the night in the tent trailer. It is 105° here and sleeping in our canvas tent trailer did not sound pleasant. I guess we're getting old.

We started the day battling mosquitoes at the campground in Minnesota. Minnesota is known for its mosquitoes, although the state's Department of Commerce does not promote that fact. The mosquitoes made us to break camp at Lac qui Parle State Park in Montevideo (pronounced "Mount video") quickly and gave us a few parting bites on the way out of the campground just to make sure that we would remember the place.

Ortonville, Minnesota
The first town we visited was Ortonville, Minnesota. Ortonville is the county seat for Big Stone County Minnesota. It is another Midwestern city that has been passed by, by the march of time. It appears that it was once fairly prosperous. It still looks pretty good, but there are a few vacant storefronts on Main Street.

The reason we traveled to Ortonville and went through the city is that I have an antique postcard of the Big Stone County Courthouse. The Big Stone County Courthouse was built in the first decade of the 20th century. Since it was only a block out of our way, I was curious to see if the courthouse was still standing and how it had weathered the passage of time. It was still standing proud and is being maintained by the county in good repair. Big Stone County, it seems, is proud of its courthouse.

While we were in Ortonville we stopped for breakfast at the Ligonberry coffee shop. A ligonberry is a Scandinavian berrry that is somewhat tart, but makes into a very good jam to be spread on muffins.

The coffee shop was owned by Khadija who operates it along with her sister Karina. Most of the pastries are prepared on site, although a few are purchased from outside vendors (yummy chocolate croissant).  Khadija was born in Ortonville, but left and has seen the world. She returned home to open the Ligonberry coffee shop. As much as we enjoyed our time there, we needed to get on the road and keep moving west.

Khadija and her sister Karina

War Memorial on Courthouse grounds

From Ortonville we immediately crossed into South Dakota. While we had seen some Yellowstone Trail signs in Minnesota and Wisconsin, we began to see more and more in South Dakota. South Dakota is the birthplace of the Yellowstone Trail, but more on that later.

The first town that we came to in South Dakota was Milbank. Milbank is home to the Milbank mutual insurance company and is also the birthplace of the Super 8 motel chain.

At a park across the street from Milbank Mutual's headquarters there is a windmill. It turns out that this windmill was a gristmill when the town of Milbank was first settled. As the town grew with houses and other commercial structures going up, along with the planting of trees to line the city streets, the owner the gristmill found that it affected the wind. The wind power had to be supplemented in order to grind wheat into flour.

Eventually, operating the gristmill became uneconomical and it was suffering from neglect. Some public spirited citizens, recognizing the importance of the gristmill to the town's history purchased it and moved it. Later it was restored and moved once again. The Milbank Mutual Insurance Company takes good care of the windmill. From what I read they maintain it for the city, its citizens and visitors to enjoy.

Competing claims are just part of the fun!

Prairie Pothole Country

We moved on from Milbank to Ipswich, South Dakota. On our way to Ipswich we passed through the Prairie Pothole Country. The Prairie Pothole Country is a remnant of the last Ice Age. As the ice receded from the northern Great Plains, it left a relatively flat countryside, but not one that is perfectly flat. As the ice sheet receded, it left potholes as well as moraine. In the spring as the snow melts and with spring rains, these potholes fill with water. Some are so large and deep that they are also fed by springs and remain a standing body of water for the entire year. Most of the potholes dry up during the year. Farmers and cities have eliminated most of the potholes, but those that remain are now guarded as productive wetlands which are the breeding grounds for most of the waterfowl in this country.

These Prairie Potholes proved to be an immense challenge to the railroad engineers and to the road builders of the early 20th century.

Ipswich South Dakota and the birth of the Yellowstone Trail

Vintage scene of Ipswich. It doesn't

look so different today.

 Ipswich is the birthplace of the Yellowstone Trail. Joseph Parmley was a lawyer and owned a land office in Ipswich. Parmley was a product of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

Parmley was urged to run for Congress

He was caught up in the progressive movement. He joined the prohibition movement and his wife was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Parmley was also active in the reclamation movement, which turned the West into productive farmland. But most of all, Parmley is remembered for his advocacy and hard work in the "Good Roads Movement".

Gathering of Good Roads Advocates outside of Parmley Land Office

Parmley sought to make his city, his state, and the region a better place to live. He was a strong advocate of the Good Roads Movement. Initially Parmley sought a road from Ipswich, east, to Aberdeen, South Dakota. It is from this seed, that the Yellowstone Trail grew. Very soon Parmley and others envisioned a road all the way from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Yellowstone National Park. The goal was later expanded to include Chicago, Illinois to Yellowstone. That eventually grew to include the goal of "A Good Road from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound."

Tire Cover from the car Joe Parmley drove to

promote the Yellowstone Trail

One wonders how Parmley and others from South Dakota ever thought they could build a road from Plymouth Rock to Puget Sound? What is even more amazing is that they did it. They did it in a manner different from the way that the Lincoln Highway accomplished its goal, and if the truth be told, the road probably was not quite as good, but they did it nonetheless. The story reminds me of

the movie I once saw where a character in the movie said that aerodynamically there was no way that a bumblebee should fly. He then added that nobody told the bumblebee that, and so the bumblebee flies. I guess nobody ever told Parmley and the other businessmen and farmers from South Dakota and Minnesota that they could not build a transcontinental road.

A Sign on the Ipswich Memorial Arch

Parmley is held in high esteem in South Dakota and particularly in Ipswich. He was a remarkable man.

Livingroom fireplace made of stones and shells collected by Parmley

Parmley was known to be a very good public speaker. As I noted before he believed in prohibition, at least initially. Before the Prohibition Amendment to the Constitution was ever passed prohibition foes are suspected of setting fire to Parmley's house. Parmley built another house which was also burned down. The next house he built was built of concrete, brick and stone. Even the floors on the first and second floor, and the stairs are concrete. Today, Linda and I toured that house. It will last another 100 years.

Parmley's  house built of brick, stone and concrete.

It won't burn down.

Joe Parmley, by his hearth.

I wish Joe were here so we could talk.

Joe Parmley was really a remarkable fellow. While I know he wouldn't join me for a drink, I would like to sit down and have a long chat with him. What he and others from South Dakota and Minnesota accomplished, even without the resources and public relations know how of the Lincoln Highway Association is really quite amazing.

Tom is a volunteer docent at the Parmley house and Museum.

Tom, a volunteer docent at the Parmley

museum, in front of the Parmley Land office

For him it is a labor of love. He led Linda and I on a very informative tour of the house and then a tour of Joe Parmley's land office. We felt bad that we had to keep moving on as Tom had much more information to share with us.  For someone like me, I am very grateful for people like Tom, who desire to keep these local museums going for the next generation. Many times this is where the history lies.

Today is a day I will long remember.

Joe Parmley, outside his land Office