Boot Hill 10 km Volksmarch and the Flood in Billings, Montana - Tuesday, June 14, 2022

This morning we are going to Boot Hill Cemetery and the Rimrocks overlooking Billings, Montana. When I was here for a walking weekend in 2017 (see the link to that blog here), the trail was exposed to the hot sun for the whole distance and it was very hot. So, today we are starting our walk at 8:00 am. It is very chilly (50 degrees F.) with the wind blowing. You will see in the photos that we are in our warm coats.

After we parked in the tiny Boot Hill Cemetery lot, we walked up to Boot Hill Cemetery and walked around the perimeter. The name Boot Hill was given to this cemetery because people were buried so quickly, their boots were left on.

Bob is at Boot Hill obelisk.

The base of the Boot Hill obelisk has these inscriptions, one one each side:

• In memory of those who blazed the trail, and showed to us our west; in boots and spurs they lie, and on this hill find rest.
• Upon this rugged hill, the long trail past, these men of restless will, find peace at last.
• The stream flows on but it matters not to the sleepers here the world forgot. The heroes of many a tale unsung, they lived and died when the west was young.
• This monument marks a historic spot where thirty-five lie buried. They played the drama called life for fortune and fame; lost their lives, lost their game.

Hot-rock penstamon (Penstamon deustus).

One of the more well-known graves.

White mariposa lily (Calochortus eurycarpus).

I tried to figure out what this is. Is it 
rockworm lichen? It's not an exact match.

Swords Rimrock Park Trail. The surface of the rock here
is covered in shotcrete* to keep the cliff from eroding.

*shotcrete is sprayed concrete.

The walk had magnificent views of Billings, the Yellowstone River, and the rimrock. You can see the erosion that is happening in the sandstone. 

Walking along the Swords Rimrock Park Trail.

Why the Crow loved this area.

The rimrocks were sacred ground to the Native Americans and were used as a final resting place. The surrounding landscape was described by Lt. James H. Bradley in 1876 as "The Place of the Skulls," the location of several Crow (Apsaalooke) Indian graves. Dr. W.A. Allen, a resident of nearby Coulson, recalled bright-colored cloth hanging from the trees at "Skeleton Cliff," and "bodies were draped in bright blanket shrouds and bound to the trees with rawhide thongs." These graves were associated with smallpox epidemics that killed thousands of Crow Indians.

Basket evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides).

Magpies.

The rimrocks were once part of an ancient seashore. This
formation is called the Upper Cretaceous Eagle Sandstone.

Intercontinental Cretaceous Seaway.

Eroding sandstone.

A jet flies into the Billings airport.

A major development is going in along the road to the airport which is across the road from the trail. So far, only the preliminary groundwork is being done. But we enjoyed the trees, overlooking the valley, and looking at all the wildflowers in bloom.

Downtown Billings, Montana.

The Yellowstone River is very high. It is almost
level with the wastewater treatment plant!

Bob is working while we walk.

Montana is Big Sky Country!

Bourgeau's milk-vetch (Astragalus bourgovii).

Dehler Park Stadium, Montana State University.

Looking across the top of the rimrocks.

Looking down from the rimrocks.

Wildflowers, grasses, and cactus.

Roadside Gaura, Kisses, Wild Honeysuckle,
Beeblossom, (Oenothera suffulta).

Looks similar to a popcorn flower.

Barestem buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum).

The rimrocks of Billings, Montana, as seen from
the Swords Rimrock Park Trail.

Basket evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides)
growing out of the rocks.

I'm on top of the world.

Bourgeau's milk-vetch (Astragalus bourgovii).

Montana State University, Billings.

Swords Rimrock Park Trail.

A helicopter landing at the hospital.

These wildflowers love the sandstone!

The Tree (our turn-around spot).

Erosion will soon drop another part
of the sandstone rimrock.

Trees also cause erosion.

There is monument to Yellowstone Kelly
at the top of one of the hills. 

A field of yellow wildflowers at Yellowstone
Kelly's memorial site.

Zooming in on the mountains. I'm not sure
which mountain range this is.

Kelly was a member of Theodore Roosevelt's
famous "tennis cabinet."

Yellowstone Kelly's gravesite.

Bob is on the trail. He's dwarfed by the rocks!

When we finished the walk, we headed into town so I could get a photo of a sculpture we had been driving by every day. 

The Great Montana Cattle Drive.
Sculptors: Lyle E. Johnson & Dale E. Wood.

The Great Montana Cattle Drive.

On the way back to the 5th wheel, Bob wanted to show me places where the Yellowstone River was flooding just downriver from our campground.

The bike path is closed due to construction 
up ahead, but I don't think anyone could 
make it there right now.

The Yellowstone River is definitely over its bank!

Other people came to see the river.

Logs washing downriver are piling up at an island.

You can see the trees near the bank are
partially underwater. The river is still rising.

Below are photos from the KOA Billings Holiday taken June 14, 2022. The water is seeping in through the berm behind this trailer. It is not coming in over the top of the berm at this point.

The Yellowstone River seeping into the campground
through the bottom of the berm (6/14/2022).

Yesterday, the staff at the KOA Holiday Billings put two red lines on the side of the berm so they could measure how much the Yellowstone River was rising. This afternoon, the river was up to the top red line. There's still about foot to go to top the berm.

Note the water at the red line.

This is normally a path to
the river!

We are definitely keeping an eye on the river. We have two more nights reserved at this park. 

For dinner tonight, we went to the Montana Brewing Company in downtown Billings. The restaurant, the dinner, the food, and the ambiance were good. The service was a little slow, but I think they were short-staffed. COVID has impacted a lot of businesses.

Montana Brewing Company in Billings.

That's all for today.