Gates of the Mountain and First People's Buffalo Jump
Yes we are amazed for another day. We met at the Big Flag, a welcome center park downtown. I had a few minutes so a looked for a geocache which I found in a very clever hide. Off in a 15-person van. I sat in the back and could not hear a thing - poor me. We stopped at Tower rock on the way to the Gates of the Mountains. It was an huge formation jutting right out of the ground. I just wish I could spend hour here hiking it, but, no we are on the move. We come to the ranches around the lake where we will start our river cruise down straight up limestone cliffs down the wilderness area. It was a great trip with interesting birding and a great guide. We saw Bald Eagles, osprey, and a black bear. Plenty of lunch, of course. Liek everything else it was amazing. This is such beautiful country I see why people would live up here in the cold North. They even love their winters.
We made several stops and took the winding roads back to the city. The last stop was the Buffalo Jump. This is a state park where various tribes would meet peacefully to kill a small herd (75 head) of buffalo. They would run them off of a cliff. This was before horses or guns where they had no way of killing these big animals. It was unbelievable how they did this. It would take three months all together and would provide all they needed for the rest of the year. They would lure the herd up the cliff by a small boy wearing a buffalo headgear and skin acting like an injured buffalo cub. He would cry out and the lead buffalo would come to his rescue. they he would hide when the lead would come to him. Behind the herd small boys in wolf skins would be tailing them acting as threats. The herd would move up to the lead. they would repeat this over and over again until they got the whole herd up the ridge. then when they got them on top, they would direct them to a funnel of rocks behind where other men would hide. At one point they would all throw off their skins and rush the herd to the cliff where they would fall over and break necks and bones. The rest of the tribe would be down below killing the animals with arrows. The oral tradition said that all of the herd must be killed or else, the escapee would tell al of the other herds to avoid this area. I got to demonstrate the wearing of the wolf skin. It was the greatest honor to be the lead boy (seven or eight years old) leading the herd in the skin.
We went to a wine and cheese party directly from there and then off to a stake house where the smallest steaks were 14 ounces. Most were 22 ounces - they are called Montana sized steaks. How does one eat such big portions. I must be getting old.
Yes we are amazed for another day. We met at the Big Flag, a welcome center park downtown. I had a few minutes so a looked for a geocache which I found in a very clever hide. Off in a 15-person van. I sat in the back and could not hear a thing - poor me. We stopped at Tower rock on the way to the Gates of the Mountains. It was an huge formation jutting right out of the ground. I just wish I could spend hour here hiking it, but, no we are on the move. We come to the ranches around the lake where we will start our river cruise down straight up limestone cliffs down the wilderness area. It was a great trip with interesting birding and a great guide. We saw Bald Eagles, osprey, and a black bear. Plenty of lunch, of course. Liek everything else it was amazing. This is such beautiful country I see why people would live up here in the cold North. They even love their winters.
We made several stops and took the winding roads back to the city. The last stop was the Buffalo Jump. This is a state park where various tribes would meet peacefully to kill a small herd (75 head) of buffalo. They would run them off of a cliff. This was before horses or guns where they had no way of killing these big animals. It was unbelievable how they did this. It would take three months all together and would provide all they needed for the rest of the year. They would lure the herd up the cliff by a small boy wearing a buffalo headgear and skin acting like an injured buffalo cub. He would cry out and the lead buffalo would come to his rescue. they he would hide when the lead would come to him. Behind the herd small boys in wolf skins would be tailing them acting as threats. The herd would move up to the lead. they would repeat this over and over again until they got the whole herd up the ridge. then when they got them on top, they would direct them to a funnel of rocks behind where other men would hide. At one point they would all throw off their skins and rush the herd to the cliff where they would fall over and break necks and bones. The rest of the tribe would be down below killing the animals with arrows. The oral tradition said that all of the herd must be killed or else, the escapee would tell al of the other herds to avoid this area. I got to demonstrate the wearing of the wolf skin. It was the greatest honor to be the lead boy (seven or eight years old) leading the herd in the skin.
We went to a wine and cheese party directly from there and then off to a stake house where the smallest steaks were 14 ounces. Most were 22 ounces - they are called Montana sized steaks. How does one eat such big portions. I must be getting old.
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