Heading southwest across the high plains of south-central Montana brings travelers to a dramatic rising curtain of mountains in the Absaroka Range with eight summits above 12,000 feet.
This is the backdrop for Red Lodge, Montana, elevation 5,553 feet, a town that got its start mining coal in 1884. Tourists have replaced miners, with travelers drawn to these mountains and the astonishing Beartooth Highway that runs 65 miles from Red Lodge to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
"We're the first mountains you hit," said Sherry Weamer, Red Lodge chamber director. "It's flat, flat, flat and then-BAM!-there's Red Lodge Mountain and the Absarokas."
Red Lodge is the eastern terminus of the Beartooth Highway, which Charles Kuralt called the most beautiful drive in America. But by no means should travelers leave Red Lodge without sampling the town's many attributes.
There's unusual fare including pig racing at the nearby Bear Creek Saloon and Steakhouse, plus the Beartooth Rally and Iron Horse Rodeo for motorcyclists.
More traditional attractions include the Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary.
The elegant Pollard Hotel, dating back to 1893, has hosted copper barons, Buffalo Bill Cody and Calamity Jane.
Denne historien er fra June 2022-utgaven av True West.
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Denne historien er fra June 2022-utgaven av True West.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
From the Basin to the Plains
Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.
Ride that Train!
HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Saddle Up with a Western
Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.
