Missoula - Part 1

Heavy traffic on Hwy. 93 going south past Flathead Lake

Missoula is Montana’s second largest city with a population of about 107,000.  The Salish Indians lived in this area and nearby Hell Gate Canyon was the scene of battles between the Blackfoot, Flathead and other tribes.  Then, along came Lewis and Clark in 1805 (they seemed to be just about everywhere in the West).  Settlers followed, permanent settlements were established and, by the 1870s, the area had a school, a newspaper, businesses and forest and agricultural industries.  However, the settlers were still the newcomers and the native Salish residents weren’t too happy about their presence.  So, to provide added protection from the fear of possible Indian raids, Fort Missoula was established in 1877.  Six years later the city was incorporated, the Northern Pacific Railroad came to town and, by 1889, electricity had arrived and Montana had become a state.  That’s a little history in a nutshell.

Fort Missoula:  This fort was established to protect the settlers from local Indian tribes.  Before it was completed, the commander got orders to turn his attention to a group of Nez Perce Indians, led by Chief Joseph, that was refusing to settle on its assigned reservation.  The soldiers set up a barricade in nearby Lolo Canyon, but the Indians simply went around it and kept going.  The barricade was later called “Fort Fizzle”.  Chief Joseph eventually surrendered near the Canada/Montana border.

Fort Missoula had many uses over the years.  It was a military training center during World War I and the Northwest Regional Headquarters for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1933.  During World War II, it served as an Alien Detention Center and a prison for American personnel accused of war crimes or awaiting court-martial.

An interesting chapter in Fort Missoula’s history involved bicycles.  In 1896, the 25^th Infantry Bicycle Corps was organized to test the military potential of bicycles.  The Corps took several fully-loaded trips on bikes, including a very difficult 1,900 mi. ride from Missoula to St. Louis.  It was an impressive test, but the Army concluded that bicycles could never replace horses.  The soldiers of the 25^th returned to Missoula by train.

The fort site is now a complex of historical buildings as well as railroad and logging displays.

The one-room Grant Creek Schoolhouse was built in 1907 and later moved to this site.  We remember those blackboards and chalk, the old desks with the ink wells and the flag to which the students pledged their allegiance each morning.  We must be getting old.

This "tipi-burner" was used in 1946 to burn waste from saw mill operations.  Clean air regulations put most of these out of business. Today our air is cleaner and the wood waste is being turned into paper, pressboard and other useful products rather than smoke.

View looking straight up from the middle of the tipi burner.

An old Shay logging locomotive approaches the restored 1910 depot that was moved from Drummond to Fort Missoula in 1982 and restored.

The Sliderock Lookout was removed from Sliderock Mountain and brought to the museum in 1983.  It’s a little shakey, but visitors are allowed to climb the stairs and take a look around. 

Smokejumpers Center:  Missoula is surrounded by mountains and, since forest fires are routine, this is a good location for firefighting facilities.  The Smokejumpers Center at the Missoula Airport is such a facility and has been in operation since 1942.  With several fires burning and the valley full of smoke, we decided to stop by the center and see what goes on there.  We arrived to find a sign on the door saying it was closed after Labor Day.  As we were about to leave, a guy working inside saw us, unlocked the door and invited us in.  He called Ryan, one of the resident firefighters, who gave us a very informative tour.

In 1910, a series of wildfires burned through 4 million acres of the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains.  Most were in remote areas and there were few roads in those days.  Somebody came up with the idea of parachuting in to suppress small lightning caused fires quickly before they became large fires.  Thirty years later, the first smokejumping organization was established and practice jumps were being made in Winthrop, Washington.  In 1954, President Eisenhower came to Missoula to dedicate the first Aerial Fire Depot.

Today’s smokejumpers are highly skilled professionals.  The Smokejumpers Center provides the training, fitness facilities and dormitories needed by the firefighters.  When they’re not fighting fires, they manufacture their own clothing, repack and repair parachutes, take care of other business and keep themselves in top physical condition. 

Repairing and packing parachutes

Ryan explained that a smokejumper typically carries an 80-100 lb. backpack and another 110 lb. pack is dropped with food, medical supplies, tools and other equipment.  Whatever they don’t use, they have to carry out and, in many cases, roads are not close by.  It’s a lot of heavy work and these guys have to be very dedicated and physically fit.  Ryan also explained the procedures used to decide which fires will be fought and which ones will be allowed to burn naturally.  The politics of personal property and economics have a lot to do with it.  We learned a lot about this profession and were very impressed.

Some of the equipment that goes with the smokejumpers into a fire zone.

Beechcraft 18 cockpit

Museum of Mountain Flying:  We found this small museum tucked away in a hangar at the Missoula airport.  It’s mission is to preserve the legends, lore and historical legacy of the aviation pioneers of the Rocky Mountain West.  It’s a fascinating museum with lots of old photographs, historic documents, and several airplanes.

The centerpiece of the museum is the Mann Gulch DC-3.  This aircraft was involved in a local forest fire disaster.  During a 1949 battle against the Mann Gulch fire, 15 men jumped from this plane to fight the fire.  In this encounter, the fire won and only three of the fire fighters survived.

The Mann Gulch DC-3 (C-47)

National Bison Range:  A small blob on our state highway map showed the location of a “National Bison Range”.  We knew nothing about it, but friends Pat and Glen suggested that we go there . . . so we checked it out.  We packed some snacks and got an early start on the 40 mi. drive north of Missoula.  This wildlife preserve was established in 1908 for the protection of bison (buffalo) and other wildlife.  It’s not heavily promoted as a tourist attraction and we were happy to find very few people there.

After watching an informative video at the visitors center and getting some advice from the ranger, we set out on the 19 mile one-way loop drive through the preserve.

The road was narrow, crooked and gravel with some 10% grades and an elevation gain of about 1,800 ft.  It was a slow but scenic drive (no motorhomes allowed on this road).  At the top of the drive we hiked the Bitterroot Trail and the final half mile or so to the top of the mountain for some nice views of surrounding mountains and smoky valleys far below.

The Bitterroot Trail - National Bison Range

We saw white-tail deer, antelope, birds and lots of buffalo (bison).



A young antelope

Typically, 350-500 head of bison live here.  The bulls weigh around 2,000 lbs.  They are big, fast and can be short-tempered, so we were careful not to invade their “personal space”.  The bison seemed content, but they’re not totally free to roam the 19,000 acre preserve.  The range has to be managed to prevent damage and overgrazing of grasslands, so the bison are occasionally herded from one section of the range to another.

Where the Deer and the Antelope and the Buffalo Roam

Parts of the bison range include streams and riparian habitat areas.  We spotted a large black bear along Pauline Creek where the berries were most abundant.  Mission Creek (below) passed through the preserve and a large picnic area just outside the preserve.  It was a nice place to close out a very interesting day.