In 1863, John Bozeman and John Jacobs discovered the Bozeman Trail as a shortcut to the gold rush in Montana. Called “the last great overland emigrant trail in the American West,” the trail passed through the Powder River Basin and into the hunting grounds of the Northern Plains Indians. For more than 10 years, the trail saw numerous struggles between tribes and the U.S. military, culminating in the Great Sioux War of 1876.
Today the trail is a major north-south interstate highway, with many historic sites open to visitors. These include Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Bridger’s Ferry and Fort Phil Kearny, host to the annual Bozeman Trail Days.
Deep in the Teton Wilderness, I have one foot in the Atlantic Ocean. The other is in the Pacific. I turn 180 degrees. The foot that had been in the Atlantic is now in the Pacific and the Pacific one in the Atlantic. I lift my one foot out of the Pacific and, springing off the one in the Atlantic, land with both in the Pacific. Another standing broad jump has both feet in the Atlantic. read more
During the Mountain Man Era (ending when the demand for beaver fur diminished around 1840), the annual “Rendezvous” brought people of many different cultures and languages together to trade, sing and share tales. read more
