Have You Ever Heard of Havre?

Transition

 

Our crossing the border into the United States was quite uneventful except for the fact you couldn’t bring certain fruits into Montana. It was a good thing I was a bit hungry as I didn’t want to give up the one apple we weren’t allowed to bring in!

We arrived in Havre Montana in the early afternoon. We found a nice RV park a few miles out of town which was nice since the other one was next to the railroad tracks. We obtained a “things to do” pamphlet in order to figure out what we wanted to see while there.

The two things folks told us we should check out were the Buffalo Jump and Havre Underground. I wasn’t quite sure what a buffalo jump was since I didn't know they could jump, so we decided to find out for ourselves.

The Wahkpa Chu’gn is a prehistoric Indian buffalo jump and campsite frequently used from 600 to 2,000 years ago. Archeologists excavated this site which left artifacts exposed in the exact place in which they were left.  We were able to see bone deposits 20 feet below the surface, as well as a roasting pit in its natural state. We were told that the Indians would run the buffalo from behind and they would basically fall off a cliff with other Indians waiting at the base to complete the kill. Some of the Indians that used this location utilized a atlatl which is a long dart with a thrower. Now you would think I would be pretty good at throwing one of these things since the thrower is basically like Izzy’s chukit we use to throw her ball.  Steve was able to capture my technique in this picture. Good thing he didn’t show you the end result! Let’s just say I should stick with buying our meat in the store!

Getting Ready

Launch

 

The other fun thing we did was to see the railroad museum while waiting to go underground. No we aren’t running from the law, well at least I don’t think we are.

The museum is well done and provides quite the history of the railroad. In addition they have an old fire engine on display. It is pretty well equipped.

A Treasure from the Past

Equipped and Ready to Go

 

 



I also discovered this office equipment which might make your job more interesting these days! At least you don't have to worry about the power going off!

Spreadsheets Watch Out

Spell Check?

 

The “Havre Beneath the Streets” provided you with a picture of what some businesses when a fire came through the town and burned some of their establishments. Since many of them had basements they figured they would just go underground. Smart thing to do especially when the temperatures in the summer are in the 90’s!

The Sporting Eagle Saloon 

 

The tour guide was great and told us about all the characters and the businesses underground. They still have some of the original equipment and supplies from over 100 years ago on display. In addition she was able to share where Havre came from. There is a Havre France and the person that was able to name this spot liked the name. We of course don’t know French but Havre means bay which just makes you shake your head since it’s not on a lake or ocean! They think it was named that to draw tourists there on the railroad. Pretty smart idea if you think about it.

C.W. "Shorty" Young's Office and Game Room

Gourley Brothers Bakery

The Bordello

Blacksmith Shop

We left Havre and headed to the breaks of the Missouri. We had time and wanted to check out if the catfish were going to want some food so we stopped at a BLM campground in the James Kipp Recreation Area.

The Missouri River

 

The fish weren’t too hungry as Steve only caught one catfish so we decided to tour the wildlife refuge and give the rest of the fish a break. The country is pretty amazing and home to a lot of deer and elk. We didn’t see any but we did come across their prairie dog town. When you look on both sides of the road you know why they called it that!

A Good Thing Izzy Wasn't Close

A Stranger in Prairie Dog Town

Prairie Dog Village

 

We had planned to stay two nights at the campground however when the mosquitos were larger than your hand and as numerous as the motorcyclists are during the Sturgis event we packed up and headed out. We continued to deal with those pesky critters when we arrived in Billings as we had some stowaways!