Not far past Theodore Roosevelt National Park the traveler arrives at the Montana border. At this point it is only about 80 miles north to the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. At that river junction there are two tourist stops memorializing Fort Union, built by the Americans to establish territorial rights versus the Hudson Bay Company trappers in the area. I chose not to take the trip up to inspect these on this trip but will keep it prominently in mind for the next visit to the area.
Just past the border is Wibaux, a picturesque Montana town, worth stopping to see. There is a visitor's center where you can pick up current Montana and Wyoming maps and walk the streets a bit and absorb the Montana small-town atmosphere.
The town was named for Pierre Wibaux, an early settler and cattle rancher.
It's about 250 miles from Wibaux to Billings. That's only three hours of driving at Montana speeds but can make for a full day or more if you stop to browse some of the attractions along the way. I stopped for gas and coffee at Glendive and was disappointed to discover that their dinosaur museum was closed
Interstate 94 parallels the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana from Glendive to Livingston, just before reaching Bozeman. Starting in much earlier times, travelers passed through this area on foot, in canoes and on trains before the highway followed this path. Many interesting small towns appeared. Here is a 1968 railroad timetable showing the schedule for both the Northern Pacific's limited and local trains along this portion of the route.
There are many places to stop. I pulled off at Terry to see if the county museum and Evelyn Cameron Gallery were open, (previous visit blog post here) but unfortunately they were not. I was lucky to meet the museum curator, however, as he was just leaving after opening for a scheduled visitor. He mentioned that there is now an exhibit across the street of World War II bombing photography at the Legion Hall. Something to keep in mind for the next visit.
A few miles prior to reaching Terry, I saw a nice view of nearby bluffs along the Yellowstone as I-94 crossed the river. I took the next exit and backtracked along the frontage road to arrive at one of Montana's many fishing access points.
Walking down to the river's edge, I ran into a lady who works for the highway department and whose job description includes scraping bat guano samples off of the overpasses. (See college thesis here.) She suggested a spot near Terry for pictures of the red clay hills.
Next time I pass through the area I will have to bring a couple of fishing rods including my fly-rod and pick up a five-day fishing license.
There are several historical markers along this stretch of Interstate and a particularly nice one to stop and visit is the Rosebud and Cattle Brand site about an hour's drive west of Terry.
The parking lot, rest stop and historical marker give little indication of the spectacular view of the Yellowstone that lies just beyond the picnic table enclosed by a windbreak. (see red arrow in photo below) The visitor might be discouraged by the snake warning but walking out to the edge of the bluff gives a very rewarding view of the river valley and the grove of cottonwood trees on the far side of the Yellowstone.
Forsyth seemed like a town worth visiting briefly since it is marked with a large "F" and a cross on the hillside south of the highway. The town lies on the north side of the freeway and boasts two fishing access points on the Yellowstone.
I bypassed the town of Hysham this year. Intrigued by the sign a bit east of town we did take a brief tour on our 2020 trip.
More photos at this Flickr Album.
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