Montana, Big-Sky Country, the U.S.'s 4th Largest State!

Yup, the Pacific Coastal States have their Sasquach (aka Bigfoot), and Montana has its own version of "cryptobiology"--the Flathead Lake Monster.

At 300 feet deep, 28 miles long and 7 to 15 miles wide--200 square miles of surface area--Flathead Lake is the largest US natural freshwater lake West of the Mississippi River. (The island of Guam would nicely fit within its shores!)

Over the past two centuries or so, there have been numerous sightings of a large creature in Flathead Lake in northwestern Montana. This creature has been called the "Flathead Lake Monster". It could be a creature similar to the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland.

Some folks have theorized that it might be an aquatic dinosaur left over from the last ice age, other folks have speculated that it is nothing more than a large sturgeon.

Whatever the case, occasional sightings of the creature in Flathead Lake keep the excitement going for summer vacationers at this beautiful glacier-fed lake in northwestern Montana.

The city of Kalispell sits at the northern end of the lake and the city of Polson sits at the southern end of the lake.

The resort town of Bigfork straddles the Swan River, which along with the Flathead River, feeds into the lake.

Just an update here: I have discovered that author Clive Cussler has written one of his adventure novels based on Trains and Montana--in particular Flathead Lake!.

Just east of Billings, Montana, is the site of "Custer's Last Stand"--the Little Bighorn River.

This is where U.S. Cavalry Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer got a bit too confident and unfortunately led his small group of men to an overwhelming defeat in a battle with the combined masses of neighboring tribes of Sioux Indians.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn

You can now visit the site of the Battle of the Little Bighorn by traveling from Billings, Montana, or Sheridan, Wyoming to Crow Agency, Montana.

In addition to being the largest city in Montana, Billings has some interesting attractions. The most prominent attraction is the wall of rimrocks on the northern edge of the city. In early times, the local Indian tribes would chase buffalo herds over the rimrocks to provide easier meat, leather, and other materials for their livelihood.

Buffalo (American Bison) have their eyes on each side of their head--they do not have binocular vision, so lack depth perception. They only see what's on either side of them. And, they have a strong herding instinct. If all their neighbors are running, they tend to go in that same singular direction.

So the Indians found it convenient to chase the herd in a group over the edge of the rimrocks, rather than wasting arrows. The buffalo would tumble en-mass over the 100-foot ledges to their death below. Some of the walls of the Billings Airport have painted murals depicting this event.

Western Art

Some consider Great Falls, Montana to be the Western Art Capital of the world.

Great Falls is the home of the C.M. Russell Museum. Charles Marion Russell was the first western artist to spend most of his life among the subjects he depicted in his paintings and sculptures.

Born in 1864 in St. Louis, he came to Montana when he was 16 to seek his fortune. At first he tended sheep, then shared a cabin with a hunter and worked as a wrangler. He worked with and watched the cowboys during the day and created his sketches and artwork at night. After 11 years, he retired from wrangling and continued with his art. Russell lived among and befriended the local Indians and gained great insight of their cultures.

My adopted grandfather, who lived near Flathead Lake and who had married a member of the Flathead Indian Tribe, was a wilderness guide for C.M. Russell for a few years. I remember sitting on Grandpa's bear-rug in the living room of his home by Flathead Lake and listening to his stories about his treks into Montana's wild forest with C.M. Russell and others.

One of the west's most famous artists, Russell died on October 24, 1926 at his home in Great Falls.

Tiki Bar. !?

In the wild west--namely Montana--you might expect a country-western, line-dancing saloon... but you would most likely not expect a Tiki Bar with Swimming Mermaids. However, you can find the Sip-N-Dip Tiki Lounge--named #1 Bar in the US by GQ Magazine--in Great Falls. Definitely a unique experience!

Lewis and Clark Expedition

On June 13, 1805, the Lewis and Clark expedition arrived at the Great Falls of the Missouri (thus how "Great Falls" got its name) on their way to the Pacific Coast. During their expedition, Lewis and Clark traversed the length of Montana and made many side-trips from their main route.