We left Lewiston this morning, bright and early. We knew going into the day that it was going to be a long one. We really only had one stop in mind, before reaching our destination. Don’t let me get ahead of myself.
We took Hwy 12. If anyone ever tells you that this is a scenic Highway, listen to them. It took us almost three hours to go 99 miles. When the sign says “winding road” it means it!!!
This Highway follows the Lewis and Clark trail. There are hundreds of historical roadside signs. We saw all of them.
Did you see that? I didn’t say that we stopped at any of them. This is a first hand view of what they look like at 70 miles an hours. We would still be out there if we stopped to read the descriptions. You know how it went down. Lewis and Clark came West; hence, there are now people living in Oregon.
The one place we had on our list to stop today was the Grant-Kohrs Ranch.
This is the only Montana Cattle Baron Ranch that exists today. Started in the 1860’s, the last of the family sold/traded what was left the National Park Service in the 1960’s. The ranch offers an up-close view of what cattle ranching in Montana was like 100 years ago. We signed up to take both the Wagon Tour and the House Tour. Heck, we drove all this way, why not.
While waiting for the Wagon Tour, Scott made friends with the local chuck wagon cook. He treated Scott to a real cup of coffee, made just the way a cowboy likes it. (I am pretty sure that Scott is still spitting out the grounds from that cup of coffee.)
The Wagon Tour took us around the property. There are still 90 original buildings left on-site. In addition, the park service still raises cattle on this ranch.
After the Wagon Tour, we waited a few minutes for the House Tour to begin. The original part of the house was built in the 1860’s, with the back part added on in the 1890’s.
There is so much more to the history of this place than I have time to tell you tonight. We spent almost two hours walking around the site. It is definitely a must see for anyone passing this way.
I can just imagine Augusta Kohrs sitting on her back porch of the old brick house watching the cowboys do their work (I know that’s where I would have been!)
From the Grant-Kohrs Ranch we continued East to Yellowstone. We made it here just in time to check in to our little cabin and catch dinner in the dining room. We saw a few elk and a mountain goat but it was too dark to take pictures.
Trust me, I am sure you will be sick of these pictures before we are done.
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