Go East Young Man

On Saturday evening (May 30) I was invited over to Ed and Diane's for some excellent BBQ. Doug and Lauren (friends from Billings) had been so kind as to bring some BBQ from their favorite place in Billings. It was very nice Texas-style BBQ, though not quite as good as Rudy's in Austin. :-)

Sunday was to be my day catch up on my rest, take stock, make lists (I make a lot of lists) and recharge. It didn't take long for me to decide that the time had come to head east. From the beginning a trip to Hysham, MT had been part of my sabbatical plan. My grandmother lives in Hysham and she is a person worth visiting. Ninety-nine years old yet she always has something fresh and interesting to say. After looking at calendars and task lists and wedding schedules I decided if I did not take the trip east soon I might not be able to go at all.

It helped that the weather report was showing a few days of unsettled weather--a good time to leave the lake. I also wanted to stop in Bozeman on my way east to visit my father. I made a few phone calls to confirm that I would find everyone at home.  I tidied up a bit, packed a few clothes and headed to Bozeman, on the road by 4:30pm. I made good time--great travelling weather and pretty good roads. (US 93 between Ravalli and Missoula has major road construction from mile marker 7 to 20--it will add 8 to 12 minutes to your trip).

I pulled into the driveway at Dad and Carol's house just as the sun was setting.

Monday morning (after helping Dad feed the horses and mules) I pushed on to Hysham. I had a wonderful time visiting with my grandmother. It is really nice that she is still able to live in her house. She gets help and support from so many people. I stayed with her for only 24 hours, but in that time five different people knocked on her door--all part of the support network of a small town.

Hysham is where I went to high school. We lived on a small farm about 10 miles west of Hysham. It is slowly shrinking, modern agriculture needs not as many people to work the land, but it will likely never disappear.

On Tuesday, we ventured downtown to the newly re-opened cafe for a very nice lunch--prime rib sandwich was the lunch special.

After I said goodbye to my grandmother and left her in her house I decided to begin the reverse trip by way of the "Myers-Peasebottom Road" and cruise by the old farm. I also realized that I had hardly had my camera out of its case and so I resolved to snap a few pictures along the way.

Peasebottom is an area of irrigated bottom land in the Yellowstone River Valley. It was named for Fort Pease, a short-lived trading post and stockade built in the 1870's. Fort Pease figured in some of the skirmishes that lead up to the Battle of the Little Big Horn (aka the Battle of Greasy Grass Creek).

On my way through Peasebottom I stopped and took a picture of my elementary school. I attended Rancher school for grades 4 through 8. It was a two-room country school (1-4 in one room, 5-8 in the other). It is no longer used as a school (the kids ride the bus into Hysham), but it is still being kept up--I suspect it is used as a community center. Though the feed troughs in front of the school do seem odd.

I also stopped to take a picture of the irrigation ditch that ran through the middle of our farm. I didn't take anymore pictures of the "farm", since most of the buildings and corrals that I knew have been torn down and the roads and fields have been realigned. Only the ditch is still in the same place.

A bit down the road I stopped and took a picture of the sandstone and sagebrush on one side of the road and the view across Peasebottom on the other.

And then I pushed on west.