Hey Dave Hager...............

Thanks but I've really been holding out for this one in Ft. Benton:
http://www.grandunionhotel.com/

Actually, the Grand Union was for sale just a few years ago. As I recall a lot of the original furnishings were lost at some point when someone had the bright idea of converting it to apartments. It was closed for a lot of years prior to that. Nice to see it's back in operation as intended.
 
I drove by there when we had breakfast in a cafe that faced the river in Fort Benton. FB sure looked different last October than it did the first time I saw it as a chile in 1880. There were no trees back then as they had all been cut up for firewood for the steamboats.

Infact there was not much there except for the Fort.
FORTBENTON-1.jpg

The levee was a busy place back then as I remember.
FBLevee1880.jpg

We'd come up from Fort Union on this paddlewheeler.
FBSteamboat.jpg

Have you ever seen this keelboat before? Think hard, the movie starred Kirk Douglas and the name of their Keelboat was the "Mandan". The RKO movie was directed by Howard Hawks and called "The Big Sky" and adapted from Bernard De Voto's bool "Across the Wide Missouri". I think this keelboat was left behind in Fort Benton after the 1950's movie was made. I have always wanted a keelboat.
MANDAN-1.jpg

The building I would like to have in Fort Benton is the old Choteau building at the east end of Front Street. The only trouble with living in Fort Benton is the fact that the whole town is a Historical Registered area and that makes it tough to live with as far as doing much with your property. You just about have to get permission to mow your lawn. THe old county seat of Jacksonville is about 25 miles from us and it is a great place to see, looks just like it did in the 1870's, but you have to go through loads of paperwork and permits is you want to paint your house as it has to be a certain color and shade. And if you want tobuild a new fence, it has to be O.K'ed by the City and must be of a vintage design. It's like living in Disneyland.

Dave
 
Dave,
My son John has been reading a chapter book on the Lewis and Clark expedition written from the eyes of the captains dog Seamen. Very good stuff. I think of you every time we get to a new area along the route. Those pictures you keep putting up of the few areas left that have not been overrun are captivating. Boy, what nice country. Keep the photos coming for us guys out here on the east coast.
If that is how big that real keel boat was I can't believe how they portaged that thing with all the gear. Wow.
 
Bob, I got to see a lot of Montana last October and there is still a lot of it that is wild and un-inhabited. I guess that is one of the reasons that Judy and I are drawn to it. It did not take me long to realize why the Indians fought so hard to try and keep it. Even in the middle of no-where it has a serene beauty to it.

Here's a friend of mines website that you & your son John may like to see. Butch Bouvier is a boat builder that got a group of guys together to research, design and build a full size replica of the Lewis & Clack keelboat they took up the Missouru in 1804. As you can see, it was not little punt!
LCkeelboat.jpg

This L&C keelboat nor the smaller Mandan keelboat were ever portaged. They were either pused as in the photo above or they were cordelled (pulled by ropes or a combination of both in heavy currents. Once they were taken as far as they could go, they were usually dismantled and sometimes rebuilt further up river if needed. Only the smaller boats were used for portage.

Here's Butch's web-site showing photo's of the L&C keelboat's construction and launching. Enjoy!

http://www.keelboat.com/

Dave
 
That's the most amazing part of the L&C journey, in my opinion. Not that they were the first (because they clearly weren't), but because they pushed and pulled that pig UP-river and through some steep-walled country with fast current. As you probably recall, Ambrose spent a fair amount of time discussing their diet and caloric burn in "Undaunted Courage." "I'll give ya 20 salmon fer that dog." Holy crap, the heck with the Jenny Craig plan!!

Dave, you've held up pretty well for a guy 226 years old. What's your secret? High fiber? Fish oil? Skunk oil?

That actually is a pretty good price for that Yellerstone waterfront property. Once you get below Big Timber the river transitions from coldwater to coolwater, but there's still a few big trout in that stretch. And the really beautiful Stillwater River dumps in on the south side just up from Columbus. No doubt plenty o' turkeys and deer there, and my favorite antelope grounds are straight north.
 
Dave,

Of all the historians I miss Ambrose the most, he was so passionate about his subjects and was a great orator as well. He had a real feel for the subject.

My secret to longevity is a drop of skunk oil behind each ear. When you are cached in the brush along a stream it keeps the "Bugs Boys" from looking any closer, I find that most womens can't put up with the smell more'n a nite or two and I usually have the sweat lodge to myself :^).

BTW do you happen to know who the "Bugs Boys" were?

That 20 acres west of Columbus is about 1/2 way to Reed Point. You are right, the price is pretty cheap for property right on the Yellowstone. I don't know about Montana, but around here a lot is something small you buy in a town. The ad described the 20 acres as a lot and to me that's a damn big lot!
I'm still going to look around LT first.

Rick Ketcham's friend John lives in Billings and he is currently in Huntington Beach, Ca. visiting friends. John dropped by Rick's the other day and he had his 91 year old mother with him. Rick said she was as sharp as a tack and she told Rick that her and her late husband homesteaded in Montana in the early 1930's. She has lived in Billings nearly all her life. When he asked her about LT she smiled and told him it was the nices looking town in Montana.

As fot the fishing there is some pretty good areas around LT and it's not a big drive to get to the upper parts of the Yellowstone. What is the skinny on those lakes off of 80 between FB & Geraldine? I found a nice place for sale near Geraldine and it's not far N/W from Coffee Creek.

Are you back in Helena or still in Colorado ar present?

Dave
 
"No they were Crow Goddammit"....."Blackfoot"....."Crow...I know Crow when I smell em"....

Come on Dave.....you can make em harder than that....

Turkey pictures look great.....still trying to figure out when I can make it down. Hope to know tomorrow...I'll call ya when I know...

Steve
 
Interesting spot? "meander" down to the river??? Looks more like you'd have to"rapel" down to the river...like the "lady in red" had to climb down that bluff to bitch at us. I figgered if she went up and down that rope a few times every day..she could kick my ass!
 
Dave, I'm still in Helena and will be (other than a couple of short trips) until Memorial Day. I'm heading down to Golden the weekend of Apr. 27 to do a little house hunting.

When they have water, those lakes and nearby stubble can be pretty good waterfowling. Can't imagine the fish have survived the recent drought years. There are a number of lakes near LT that are regularly stocked with trout. Ft. Peck Res. has some hog walleyes but you need a fairly decent craft to deal with the winds up there.
 
Rain off and on here yesterday and today. Ketcham is in Reno at a company meeting for a couple of days. He is bringing up my harliquin mount, can't wait to see it. Rick will be here until monday for R&R&T&B.

You know you are going to have to do something about your work habits, you have been spending way too much time away from the fields, ponds, lakes & streams..........this crap can not continue! Where were you on opener? The answer better be "over on the east side"..........WAGH!

Dave
 
The "lady in red" should have fallen off the embankment, that way she would have been more entertaining. But as you remember she lost in the end, but not before you took her photo.

Dave
 
Cool! So, it all worked out for you on the last trip? Are you sure you are just going there to look for a house? It would not have anything to do with Coors Brewery being in Golden would it? :^)

I was thinking the same thing about those 4 lakes after seeing how dry the potholes were north of Hwy 2. last October. This years rainfall in the MC area is almost up to the normal average for them. Of course the MC average is only about 3.85". What MT needs is some of that rain that New York keeps hoging.

Judy's oldest daughter just moved to Denver, so I imagine we will be visiting her on our way down to Arizona from time to time. Also a friend just bought 15 acre just outside Pueblo, and that would be another stop for us on the way to AZ.

Dave
 
Funny you should mention rain cuz all of that beautiful crap is headed our way. I actually set a personal record late this afternoon on my daily trail run over the top of Mt. Helena as I got chased all the way down by a big black cloud. Got a nice shower in the last quarter mile. Can't remember the last time we've had a multi-day soaker as is in the forecast for the rest of this week. I don't think we're too far from average annual precip now but the high and low months have definitely shifted since I've been here. But central MT, especially around Harlowton, has been stuck in a rut for the last eight years or so. I used to have some outstanding potholes to hunt that have been dry for several years.

I'm confess that I've pretty much become a beer snob since I started homebrewing. I'm not one to sit down and drink a six-pack of Pete Coors' swill when I can sip a couple of home-brewed Scottish ales and call it good for the evening. However, the homebrewing has definitely preconditioned me to tolerate the smell of hops in Golden. I have several house viewings lined up for next week so I'll let you know how it goes.

I think Lowell (in LT) has been out of town but I'll get you his contact info as soon as I can. As an added bonus, he has his FFL and has been my gun runner for a number of years.
 
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