A rest day in Fort Benton, Montana

I am so happy to be back together with Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, Lewis’ dog Seaman, And the entire crew of the core of discovery here in the historic town of Fort Benton, MT.

I took a much-needed rest day here today to stroll around town, visit its fort and four wonderful museums, take a swim and hang out by the river.

About 10 miles downstream from here in what is now the village  of Loma, Lewis And Clark had a huge decision to make. There was a fork in the river. One branch headed north and the other south. For nine days they deliberated which way to go while taking expeditions along well with rivers to figure out which was the Missouri.Ultimately they correctly decided to take the South River, Which turned out to be correct.

I have a similar decision to make. I can either rent a car in Great Falls, drive home and be done with this leg of my trip or continue on to the ocean. Great Falls is the decision point because I don’t expect to have an opportunity to rent a car until I arrive in Portland. Clark (my wife, Sheila) And I just discussed the pros and cons of each option at length over the phone, Including a plan to finish with the final leg next year. Ultimately we decided I should continue on and get ‘er done.

This part of the river is the prettiest I’ve seen. One of the museums I visited today is called the upper Missouri River Breaksmonument. The Bureau of land management owns the river and shoreline for many miles downstream from here. It is the portion of the river that most resembles the river as it was seen by Lewis and Clark. The breaks are vertical cliffs along the river that I estimate to be about 700 feet in height. 

There are also ancient volcanoes along the riverbank, all of which make this little town a gorgeous place.

Fort benton has an intriguing history dating back to the fur trading days and continuing into the days when gold was discovered near here in the 1860s.Steamboats brought speculators and others up from St. Louis on a six week riverboat journey that landed them here in a bustling town full of saloons, brothels and outlaws. 

In the pre-statehood 1860s this territory and town were as lawless as any old west town. But for the most part The exploits that took place here seem to have escaped the attention of Hollywood movie makers of westerns.The spectacular gunfights, mysterious drownings, And colorful outlaws who frequented this place would make for a great cinema.