Motocaching the Top of the Big Sky – Day 4

The next morning I got my usual early start (no breakfast again) and headed east for Wibaux County which borders North Dakota.  The first cache was in the town of Wibaux at a beautiful old Catholic church built in 1895 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  It was a wood structure that was covered in stone by local parishioners at the direction of their priest.  I looked for another cache in town at a boardwalk that I couldn’t find.  I did find another one at a rest stop near the border.

That took care of Wibaux County so I headed south into Fallon County.  I had only two caches lined up in this county so I was a little anxious.  I was considerably more anxious when I couldn’t find the first one at an old water tank on a hill in Baker.  I was very relieved when I found the second one at the little town of Plevna.  Now on to Miles City and Custer County.

The next cache was called “After the Roundup” and was in honor of D.J. O’Malley a cowboy poet who published a poem in the Miles City STOCKMANS JOURNAL in 1893.  Some verse from this poem follows:

 

After the roundup's over, after the shipping's done,
I'm going straight back home, boys, ere all my money's gone.
My mother's heart is breaking, breaking, breaking for me, that's all;
But with God's help I'll see her when the work is done this fall.

The next cache was at the Interstate exit overpass where a County Patrolman was parked.  I fished out a nano cache (smaller than the end of your pinky) that was stuck by a magnet to the top inside of a culvert and went up and showed it to him.  I think I scared him at first maybe thinking I was attaching a small explosive to his car.  He was friendly enough when I explained what it was.  Check off Fallon County.

 

Now I turned north toward Prairie County where I had only two caches lined up.  The little town of Terry sits in the southeast corner of the county and that’s where the caches were.  The first was a travel bug hotel (where trackable items called Travel Bugs are exchanged) located at a local museum.  The coordinates took me to an old caboose and for the life of me I couldn’t find that ammo box cache.  Out of desperation I went into the museum and asked for help.  The museum lady wasn’t sure she was supposed to do that (I told her I was desperate, which was true) and she come out and showed it to me.  It was in plain sight but it was pained yellow the same color as the undercarriage of the caboose and I had army green fixed in my mind and just overlooked it.  I felt like a dummy but what’s new.  There were no Travel Bugs there but I left one I had picked up in Spokane.  I had no trouble finding the other cache there which was on a rural road by a sign that listed all the families in the area.

Next was McCone County and if I didn’t find the one cache on my route I would have to travel a considerable distance out of my way to try to find another.  On the map there was a paved road that went northwest up to Highway 200 where the cache was located but my GPS wanted me to go north on the Interstate almost to Glendive before hitting 200S – about twice the distance.  I stopped at the one gas station in Terry and asked a local about that road.  He said that was it right in front of the station.  I gassed up and had the rest of my Sub sandwich for lunch before taking off.

This one cache was called “B.S. Club” and was on private property.  The hint was “Whoa Stop” (see picture).  Would you believe I could not find that cache?  I was so intent in looking down I couldn’t see the forest for the trees.  Finally I asked the barkeeper/waitress in the B.S. Club and she helped me.  That was kind of embarrassing.   Well, anyway, McCone County was off my to do list.

Next was Garfield County and I had two caches on my list there.  The first one was at a rest stop and not too hard to find.  The other one was “Stage Road” which was a gravel road that made a loop off the highway.  It was out in the woods a little ways hidden under an old weathered log.  It was a neat place but by now it was super hot.

I was really sweating the next cache called “Musselshell River” because it was the only one I had in Petroleum County.  It was a neat cache hidden under the Musselshell River bridge.  The river is the county line so it was just barely in the county.  You can bet I was glad to find that one.

Fergus County was the last for this day and the first one was a few miles east of Lewistown.  I suppose there are lots of these but it’s the first one I’ve seen.  It was a Pet Cemetery with quite a few graves but room for lots more.

I checked into the Super 8 in Lewistown and after unpacking I went out and got a couple more in town caches.  One was at Pacific Recycling like the one in Glasgow.  However, it was much easier to find.

After another good Subway meal I gassed up and lubed my chain to be ready for the next morning.  I didn’t get rained on this day but my bike did that night.  I traveled 440 miles this day.  [To be continued] M/W