Last summer we visited Glacier National Park & now Yellowstone; 2 iconic and vastly different…read morenational parks. Yellowstone was our countries 1st designated national park, with 3% in Montana. In 1901, Glacier National Park was declared the Crown Jewel of the Continent by conservationists.
Before Lewis and Clark, fur traders, gold hunters, and homesteaders, the land that would become Montana was home to several Indigenous tribes, each with its own traditions, cultures, stories, religions, languages, and histories. Today, twelve are recognized as sovereign nations within seven established reservations.
Many historical Indigenous sites remind usof their ties to the land and the battles they fought to protect it. We visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Custer's Last Stand from 1876. This was an Indian victory and an Army defeat here. The Buffalo Jump State Park is where tribes chased herds over the edge of a cliff as a mass hunting technique. The Museum of the Plains Indian preserved thousands of artifacts; clothes, weapons, household items ...
In 1854, North America's first dinosaur remains were found in Montana . Since, 75 other dinosaur species , more than any other state, have been discovered here, the oldest dating back 155 million years.
Montana is a ranching & rodeo state. "A River Runs Through It" highlights fly fishing here. Tourism brings $750 million annually here. Montana has 32 million acres of public lands with more hiking trails than any other state. Monty is an outdoor paradise!
