PORCH PONDERINGS

Pompey's Pillar

So the good people of Southeast Montana Tourism met for the first time in over a year on Wednesday. We loved being back in good company. The town we chose for the meeting was Colstrip, MT.

Colstrip was founded in 1924 as a company town for the railroad. It provided coal, get the connection with the name? At one time there were at least 8,000 people living in the small town. Now the population is about 2,300.

It was a planned community from the start. The town has a lot of green space, nice walking areas and free recreation for the residents.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colstrip,_Montana

The meeting was informative, enjoyable, and a great getaway for the day. A fun surprise at the close were free gifts. I scored a very nice little jacket plus some other goodies I can give to friends.

I dropped hubby off at the Billings airport at 5 AM that morning for his flight back east. Then I made the drive east to Colstrip. After the meeting, I decided I'd like to stay there for the night. Being tired and all, it sounded like a good plan. I mean, how busy could it be? You have to drive 30 miles down a state road, off the freeway, to get to Colstrip. No dice. There are only 2 motels and both were full for the night. Ugghhh.

So I was faced with a drive of 2 1/2 hours home. Alone, and tired. But along the way I decided to stop for gas, important. And also at Pompeys Pillar. Have you heard of this national landmark? I have a national parks senior pass, so I decided to stop and take a walk.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeys_Pillar_National_Monument

The Lewis & Clark expedition came along the Yellowstone River in this part of Montana for part of their journey. At this one spot along the river, Clark climbed to the top of a sandstone formation to carve his name and the date.

The pillar is named after Sacajawea's son, Pomp. The date was July 25, 1806. It is clearly etched in stone, preserved by some sort of framing.

I love history. I especially love the story of the Lewis & Clark expedition. It amazes me to read of their journeys. To go off into the wild, with no way of knowing what or who you might encounter, well, that reminds me so much of our travels in our RV. It also reminds me of a Bible character, Abraham.

One display at this park is of two dug-out canoes made from trees. Holy cow, when I saw these I marveled. The men had to at times carry the boats over mountains, across barriers. Stronger men than I can imagine must have been on this trip. But if I remember right, only one person died and that man they think died of appendicitis.

After a quick stop at the national landmark, back in the car. I headed home, even though the thought of staying in a motel in Billings sure was tempting. But you know, if you get that far, you may as well bite the bullet and drive the remaining 50 miles. And in about an hour I was home.

Today it was nice to wake up in my own bed. Then I was able to water the outside plants. It is so dry, and after those hot days, all plants are just a bit thirsty.

The house next door is getting new windows. Some work is finally being done to that old place. It's only been about 2 years since the owners bought it.

There was another free food giveaway today. A friend called for a ride, she has no car. "Sure thing" I said. I forgot how much she likes to talk, and talk and talk... Well, anyway, 45 minutes of non-stop talking is enough for me. I came home with an abundance of food, some we cannot use. So I see my neighbor sitting outside. She has three little kids. It's tough now to feed a family, I would imagine. So Lydia got some free food.

My good deeds for the day are done. I think I'm going to go sit on my porch and read a book.