Road Trip West of Helena to Grant-Kohrs Ranch

We stepped out yesterday and traveled westbound from our campground and moved deeper into the Rocky Mountains.  Followed Lincoln Road we are camping on to the town of Lincoln.  Very cute, very mountainous, timber galore.  We wonder what's going on with the trees - half of them look dead and I am not inclined to think it is because lack of rain.  Dead.  And, we said that a fire would very quickly destroy so many acres.  Traveled over the Continental Divide at Flesher Pass.  Wondered how far we could see.  Definitely in Big Sky Country - wide open skies and very very blue.  Imagine the stars?

2nd time on trip that we crossed the Divide

How far, do you think?

Notice the trees?

Followed the Little Blackfoot River

Needs some TLC

Stories it could tell

We did not see any deer, elk, birds - only the occasional cows.  Strange.  But, pretty.  Along the way we stopped and read about Beaver Stacks and hay.  Then we started noticing them more and more.  What a different way of storing/keeping hay.

That's how it's done!

We dropped down from the mountains into Deer Lodge and visited the Grant-Kohrs Ranch which is a National Historical Park, donated by the grandson of Conrad Kohrs to preserve the way of life of cattle ranching in the late 1800's.  We have been on working farms before but this farm is something else.  Everything the family owned from the ranch house and all its furnishings, stables, animals, equipment, acreage, carriages, barns, all records, bunk houses - everything - were donated to the Park Service.  At the height of the Grant-Kohrs Ranch era, over 10,000 cattle were shipped each year to Chicago on the railway.  And the brand that the ranch used on the cattle could be seen grazing in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Canada - over 10 million acres of grazing land.  That's huge!

Grant-Kohrs Ranch House

Chuckwagon with cowboy coffee 

Mr. Bashfull Belgian horse

We toured the grounds, I even got to scratch the nuzzles of two Belgian work horses.  Boy - are they big! Second largest horse every bred (the first is the famous Clydesdale's).  They had a chuck wagon setup with a cowboy attending who served us cowboy coffee. Dave loved it, bitter to me.  Lots of grounds on the bottom of our cups.  Took the tour of the ranch house, was not allowed to take pictures inside but it was very well appointed.  Electricity and indoor plumbing was brought into the house in 1893, years and years ahead of the rest of the country, upscale kitchen of that era, hand crafted furniture and imported knickknacks, big home.  2 bedrooms downstairs, 8 upstairs, 2 bathrooms, formal dining room that could seat 40 people, sunroom, music room, office, formal living room that the 3 children were not allowed in. Big.

Our return trip took us up and over the Mullen Road and pass through breathtaking scenery.  Dropped back down into Helena on its northwest side of town. Very pleasant day out and about.