On Friday, April 11th, we left Columbia Falls and
followed US Route 2 eastward across the Rocky Mountains and into the Great
Plain of Montana. It is remarkable how
suddenly the terrain changes. Within a
five-minute drive the landscape changes from mountainous to completely flat
with no noticeable transition!
When we emerged from the Rocky Mountains we found ourselves
in the Blackfeet Nation. The Blackfeet
Native Americans were well-known for their horsemanship and for being aggressive
warriors. Today they live in central
Montana on a large reservation.
In driving through the Blackfeet Nation we encountered the small town of Browning. In Browning we found
the Museum of the Plains Indians. Since
we were stopping for lunch anyway, we decided to pop into the museum.
The museum had an impressive collection of Plains Indians artifacts
which included clothing, tools, toys, pottery, weaponry… just about everything
that was involved in daily life for the Plains Indians tribes. Unfortunately photography was not allowed
inside the museum.
Best of all, because it was the off-season, we were able to see
the museum for free. Cheap is good, but
free is better! This museum was worth
stopping at, but we spent only about ½ hour to 45 minutes inside the museum
since it isn’t very large. Still, it was
a nice stop.
Afterwards we continued our trip through the Blackfeet
Nation and ended our day in Great Falls, Montana.
