On our way to Great Falls, we made a quick stop in Missoula, Montana, to pick up BBQ at The Notorious P.I.G. for dinner that night. The place was packed on a Tuesday afternoon and when they sell out, they close. We were lucky to get the last rack of ribs! The BBQ was excellent and well worth the diversion. Paired with the ice cream down the street at Sweet Peaks this made for a perfect afternoon. Sue ordered the GOING TO THE SUN ROAD ice cream, described as “House-made honey sponge candy swirled into sweet caramel cream, a  mountain ride to the sky during a summer sunrise.” If you are ever in Missoula, we highly recommend the Notorious P.I.G. and Sweet Peaks both on W. Front Street.

When we arrived in Great Falls, we especially enjoyed the very well done Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. The exhibits left us with a much greater appreciation for the many challenges faced by the 1804 expedition, not the least of which was communicating with the many indigenous tribes encountered along the way. As one example, when Clark needed to trade for horses, the translation would have occurred from English to French to Hidatsa to Shoshone and back again, requiring the participation of five different individuals. The physical challenges of different modes of transportation (boats to horses for example) and the difficulty of traveling upstream past the five “Great Falls” along this section of the Missouri River, also impressed upon us the fortitude and persistence of the expedition.

We enjoyed being able to experience the river on our bikes. There is a very nice paved bike trail leading from the visitor’s center along the water’s edge with public art placed periodically, as you can see below.

On our way to Billings, Montana we discovered via an Autio broadcast (great app that provides info about the locale as the car passes by), Pompeys Pillar National Monument where Captain William Clark carved his name in the rock on July 25, 1806. “.…this rock I ascended and from it’s top had a most extensive view in every direction….The nativs have ingraved on the face of this rock the figures of animals &c. near which I marked my name and the day of the month and year.” (From the original journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. BTW, lest you think it’s my typo, Clark was a notoriously poor speller.)

Pompey was Clark’s nickname for Sacajawea’s son and he named the rock for him. Our visit to this site made the expedition all the more real to be standing exactly where Captain Clark was 216 years ago, almost to the day.