Bozeman

As we drove to Bozeman, we passed the famous Anaconda smokestack which is all that is left of the huge copper smelter. Shortly after that we drove through Butte. They have a nice museum there and the town has been restoring old beautiful buildings for quite a while now. We were here about 10 years ago and you could take a cute wagon ride guided tour through the city. We are staying outside Bozeman right in the pass next to the train tracks. Oh happy day for John.

Anaconda smoke stack

Early the next day we drove back to the Missouri Headwaters State Park. This is the spot that Jeferson had instructed Lewis and Clark to find - the headwaters of the Missouri River. The Jefferson River and the Madison River confluence is the start of the Missouri and one mile farther downstream, the Gallitan River empties. These are the headwaters of the Missouri. L&C were later to follow the Jefferson to its source high in the mountains near Lemhi Pass. The Madison and the Gallitan flow south towards Yellowstone. The notion of a Northwest Passage was completely quashed by this discovery.

Confluence of the Jefferson and the Madison

The Missouri following the confluence

The Gallitan joins the Missouri

And the mighty Missouri rolls on

Right outside the park is the town of Three Forks. It is an old resort town with the beautiful Sacagawea Hotel that is still in operation.

Before we left we had to drive over the Bozeman Pass to the town of Livingston. This was considered the gateway to Yellowstone in the days of taking the train to the park. You enter the park at Gardiner where the famous entrance arch is located. The trains no longer run but the station has been restored and turned into a museum. Sadly it was closed for the season.

Livingston Depot

Depot Detail

Tourists

Lewis & Clark marker on depot grounds