Coming of Age in Comet

I am not sure that I could call myself a "history buff", but I do enjoy visiting historical places. Where I grew up in Michigan's "Tip of the Mitten" country, I had ready access to the pre-Revolutionary forts along the Straits of Mackinaw and Mackinaw Island. There were also plenty of little remaining pockets of remnants from the early lumbering and railroading days of America's infancy. 

Then last year, I was privileged to travel to Lisbon and Barcelona and visit what might be considered the place where America (as we know it) was conceived. 

For the last twenty-five years, though, I have called Montana home. With its legendary "wild and unruly" era, I tend to think of this period as America's adolescence. I love visiting Montana's ghost towns! We have been to Garnet and Granite, Colomo and Castle, Elkhorn, Bannack, Virginia City... well, you get the picture. 

On a recent camping trip, we added Comet to the list. While the town is located on private property, and access is limited, it is still easy to "explore" from the main road. With very little traffic on the road during the afternoon that we were there, it wasn't hard to imagine it as a bustling mining town. I could "hear" the pounding of the stamp mill, the honkey-tonk piano and brawling miners spilling out of the saloon, and I think I might have even heard a gun shot or two. ;)

I wasn't able to find much information on the town in its heyday, but that's okay. It means that I can interpret the photos anyway I want. (And so can you!)

PS. If you also enjoy ghost towns, you might want to check out Ghost Towns of Montana and Beyond, a magazine and Facebook page edited by Jolene Ewert-Hintz. 

I'm Goin' Back Someday

Come what may...

This might be the end of the line...
for today, anyway!

A week or so ago, I re-shared a past blog post. I was simply doing something -- ANYTHING -- to keep our Facebook photography page (Photography by Dan & Tammi Capron) relevant and active. The post that I shared was Life's a Beach in Weatherman Draw, and unbeknownst to me, it got Dan thinking. 

Dan has been working hard at getting some maintenance done on my atv. He is feeling a bit of pressure, since we have a big week of riding less than a month away. However, it has also been way too long since we have been out with the cameras! So I told him over breakfast that I was going to drive down to the Pryors to look for bluebirds, and he was welcome to join me. It didn't take too much arm-twisting to convince him that he wanted to come along. 

As we neared the Pryors, Dan asked if I really had my heart set on "Bluebird Wash" (see A Bluebird Bonanza), or if maybe we ought to go back to Weatherman Draw. That was okay with me, so we turned away from the Pryors onto Cottonwood Draw Road. As we crested a small rise where we could see the parking lot at the trailhead, I was dismayed to count eight vehicles! This was NOT what I had in mind! I wanted to avoid people, not join a hiking club! 

We turned around in the parking lot and drove back to Bobcat Pass. Having ridden over this road on our 4-wheelers, we knew we wouldn't get far in the Subaru. After just a couple of miles, we parked the car and started walking. The meadowlarks were quite vocal, and we were pleasantly surprised to find a photogenic one! When it finally took flight, we resumed our walk. 

I wanted to get to the top of the hill, but Dan's preference was to get down into the rocks and look for petroglyphs. (That's a switch!) We did something we rarely do ~ we went our separate ways. After a bit, we spotted each other, met up, and compared pictures. (I had a chipmunk and he had a bunny.) We walked together for a bit, ogling the strange shapes that wind and water have left in the soft sandstone. Oddly enough, we again drifted off in our own different directions, each drawn by different intriguing rock formations. Eventually, we reunited  once more and returned to the car. Dan was ready to call it a day and head home. 

The Weatherman Draw trailhead had cleared considerably by the time we drove back by, but it was too late in the day to start that hike. (It is about a mile to get to where the petroglyphs are.) Continuing toward home, I was watching the landscape roll by when I noticed a deep gash in the far hillside. I pointed it out to Dan, and his interest was piqued. This time I stuck close to him as we followed a dry wash to the base of the hill. 

We rounded a curve in the wash
and came face-to-face with Mud Man! 

 The canyon that I had spotted from the road looked like an ideal spot for petroglyphs, but unlike Weatherman Draw, this was NOT an easy hike! We scrambled up steep, sandy banks, squeezed between trees and the high rock walls, and even crawled under some fallen trees! We contemplated turning around a time or two, but we had come too far to give up! The area definitely felt like prime mountain lion territory, but despite evidence of occupation, obviously Kitty wasn't at home. (We didn't find any ancient art on the rock walls, either.) Having reached the end of the trail, we carefully made our way back out of the canyon. But we left much to be explored, so another trip is definitely in order! 

It's a LOT deeper and steeper than it looks!

This entire are is pitted with these cavities!

*** Bonus Pics***

I did find a solitary bluebird. 

Social Distancing ~ Montana-style

Arm's length, people!
Gloves? Check!
Masks? Check!

Are you as fed up as I am with the constant chatter about COVID-19, stimulus checks, and social distancing? I am always ready for an outing, but perhaps never more so than I was yesterday! 

We met a few of our friends in Bridger yesterday morning to go four wheeling near Belfry. The sun was shining brightly on the beautiful Beartooth Mountain Range 30-40 miles away to the west of us. The Pryors and the Bighorn Ranges in the opposite direction were equally gorgeous. 

The wind was a little chilly, but we had a great time riding under the nearly-cloudless Big Sky. No people, no "talking heads"! Just the wind and the chirping of birds! 

Ahhhh! Refreshing!

*** Bonus Pics***

While many people would describe this area as barren or boring,

I find the rock formations absolutely fascinating! 

 Stay healthy, my friends! <3