Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Biddle ...

I spent a winter in Missoula back in my college years, where I somehow got to know a girl who'd grown up in the town of Biddle, Montana. I don't remember the girl's name, or how we met ... all I remember is that she was from Biddle, which seemed like one of the most remote and desolate places imaginable to me.

After that, I was left with a lingering urge to go see Biddle for myself, though I didn't actually make it there until three years ago. I guess the town is more-or-less what one would expect, but I was thoroughly surprised by the countryside ... it's really quite lovely out there. Hills and trees and big ranches -- definitely none of the stereotypical bleakness that some people associate with eastern Montana.

Here's a shot I took a couple miles east of town, along a gravel county road ... I'm sure I'll post some more views later:

3 comments:

  1. Biddle, Montana!!!

    I've only known of about 3 other people who know of this place! We used to drive through Biddle on our way to Cheyenne, WY for allergy shots, 4 times a year when I was a kid. There's also a little burg called "Bill", and I can't remember now whether it was just south of Biddle or over the Wyoming line.

    In the 80's there were a quite a few ranches trying to raise buffalo in that area. Was that a passing fad, or are there still buffalo roaming?

    Wow. Thanks for the flashback. And this is a great prairie picture. It takes a special eye to see the beauty of grasslands. It looks like this where I live.

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  2. The pic looks like the opening shot of a Western epic.

    Hey, I found the pic of the stagecoach; email me a mailing addy and I'll send it to you.

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  3. I"m glad you both liked the photo ... I really love experimenting with photography out in that part of the world. I think it's some of the most evocative country there is.

    As for the town of Bill, I think it's way down in the coal-mine country south of Gillette, Wyoming. I have to confess I've never been down there. :(

    I didn't see any buffalo down that way ... just horses, cattle and a lot of antelope. Doesn't mean there aren't any there, though. (I can actually see buffalo displacing cattle in parts of the west someday, but I think it's going to be an awful long time coming.)

    And thanks, Angh! I'll send you a note.

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