Monday, May 18, 2009

Capitol Rock ...

Believe it or not, one of my favorite places in Montana is Carter County, in the far southeastern corner of the state. It has mountains and prairies and forests and badlands country ... and the county seat of Ekalaka is a surprisingly cool little town, with a good museum. But few people ever go there, and it's too bad.

This is a shot I took a few years ago of Capitol Rock, one of Carter County's sights. We're nearly within spitting distance of South Dakota here.


5 comments:

  1. Actually, I would love to check out this area. I've never been to South Dakota or this part of Montana, and it seems pretty interesting geologically. (Isn't Devil's Tower nearby, too?)

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  2. Yeah, it's a really fascinating area, both geographically and culturally ... the topography is diverse, and there's lots of John Wayne-style ranch country. And though the central Black hills is overrun with tourists, get just a few miles away and you have the world to yourself.

    Devil's Tower is a little over an hour south of this spot, in a landscape that's equally interesting but very different-looking.

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  3. I too have been to Ekalaka and can confirm the museum is great. The town started [according to the locals at the watering hole] by an early pioneer whose wagon of whiskey broke down and he set up shop at that location. It truely is in the middle of no where, but great country.

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  4. Heh ... I probably went to the same watering hole. :)

    I'd wanted to visit Ekalaka for years, I think partly just because the town has such a cool name. I hadn't expected all the great country around there, though. Took lots of photos, so there will be more posted here later.

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  5. My family first settled in Ekalaka when they came to Montana in the late 19th century from Indiana and Ohio. My namesake was the curator of the Ekalaka Museum for years (Marshall Lambert). It is an out of the way place but there are so many things there to see. You should do a day hike in the Chalk Buttes south of Ekalaka. Some of the only Ice Age relicts of paper birch are there.

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