Lewis & Clark Caverns

Near Whitehall, MT is Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. We stayed overnight in the park, and did the tour of the cavern. It's a half-mile hike up the mountain to the entrance, and we were the only ones signed up for the 4:30 tour, so we got a private showing, just the two of us and our guide. It's a really good cave, and worth the trip, if you're in the area. There are a couple of formations that look like people

and one that is Santa's elf

Lots of big rooms and big cave formations.

More pictures here.

The night we were there was a meteor shower, so we went on a short walk with a ranger to view them, but it was mostly cloudy and all we saw was a couple of satellites.   

National Bison Range

The National Bison Range is near Ronan, Montana. Besides the bison

they have pronghorns

bighorn sheep

deer

and elk, though the only elk we saw were the ones in this picture, and we didn't know we were seeing them until we enlarged it.

The animals live in a mostly natural habitat, as they did before we got here. Much more interesting than a zoo.  The bison like to wallow in sand pits, to remove bugs from their fur

Outside the park is a roadside restaurant where they serve – of course – bison burgers. Very tasty.

The park includes some small mountains, which you drive up and down and around, and some short walks to scenic views of the surrounding valleys and mountains. 

 In the visitor center you can learn all about the bison and their history in the US. It's pretty far off the beaten path for most tourists, but when you're on the way from here to there in your RV, it's not that hard to get to.

More pictures here.