I ran across this picture of wildflowers and an old house on Flickr today and it fit in with something I was thinking about before I went to sleep last night. This picture was taken by ShadowCatcher somewhere north of Flagstaff, Arizona - but it reminded me of Montana - north of the town of Columbus.
I was recalling the times in the Spring when my grandmother and mother, would take us on drives North of our home town of Columbus, Montana. We'd go out in the early evening to see the wildflowers that grew in that desert-like landscape, smell the sage, see a rabbit or two, maybe a deer, and be amazed that the prairie was in bloom with color.
You have to understand a little about that particular part of Montana to know why those trips were special. Columbus sits at the confluence of two beautiful rivers; the Yellowstone and Stillwater, which come together on the south side of Columbus.
As you head south from Columbus following the Stillwater River
you reach Absarokee, Fishtail, and then pass into the Absaroka Mountains. The landscape to the south is totally different than what you see going north. Driving north, and then hiking for a bit leads to Stillwater Lake high in the mountains.
As you drive across Montana from West to East, Columbus marks the point where you leave the mountains - or at least leave seeing mountains in the distance and start the long drive into what is thought of as Eastern Montana. I'm sure there is some argument about where Eastern Montana starts - some people would say Billings which is 40 miles to the East, but in my mind Columbus is the center of the East/West (and North/South) universe.
The wildflower drives to the North were unique because we rarely drove north. The town of Rapelje is the nearest town to the north, about 25 miles or so. In the twenty or so years I was in and out of Columbus I think I was in Rapelje once - maybe twice. There was just no reason to go that way - sorry to say that Rapeljeites; I'm sure it's a fine town, and I imagine at my age having lived in the sometimes seemingly overly populated city, and driving on our crowded highways for some time, Rapelje would be quite beautiful to me today.
Wikipedia says, "Rapelje is a small farming and ranching community in south central Montana. The high school is well-known for its successful six-man football team. There is a community cafe and post office in town."
Looking at the Yahoo map of that area I am guessing we drove North on the Rapelje road, then made a loop that included Meadow Muffin Road, Longhorn Drive and Sheepdip Road. I say I'm guessing because none of these roads were marked and as far as I know nobody ever called them anything. Directions would be more like - head north to the Smith's place, take a right at Keyser Creek and then another right at the fork in the road.
