Things heat up in Montana
Despite the sweltering conditions, we still managed to have a great time
Our next stop was in Fort Benton, Montana. This is where the steamboats stopped on the Missouri River bringing settlers and goods from St. Louis and further east. In the early 1800s the merchants supplied foods to the fur traders, the whiskey runners, the North West Mounted Police and the US Cavalry.
As long as they made a profit they didn’t care much who they sold goods to. The significance of Fort Benton to the opening of the Northwest is told in a series of display signs along a beautiful river walk. As we travelled to Billings and Miles City the temperature in the truck registered 39 C.
The heat on our drive was so intense that when we turned on the cold water in the RV it came out warmer than the water in the hot water tank. The campground pool was a very welcome relief and we spent a long time there before cooking dinner. After slowly getting up the next day, we headed out to see the Range Riders Museum.
Now we have been to our fair share of museums and have seen lots of old stuff. This one is with saddles, homestead artifacts, brands, spurs, clothing and lots and lots of guns. Each one has a history of being used in old Europe or to open up the North American west. At the end of the hot day we were glad our evening was still hot even after a dip on the pool. So ends our first week of meandering.
