WIDOW COULEE to FORT BENTON
June 12th
Putin at Widow Coulee; departure at 9:20 am On way to put-in, passed where the Corp of Discovery pulled boats up hill from Belt Creek at start of 18 mile portage Crew change at Carter Ferry (11:00 am; 10.5 mi./16.8 km) Took out at Fort Benton Campground where we camped (1:50 pm; 14.9 mi./23.8 km) Distanced canoed: 25.4 mi./40.6 km Explored Fort Benton
Wednesday, June 26, 1805. The party set out very early from this place*, and took with them two canoes and a second alotment of baggage consisting of Parched meal, Pork, powder lead axes, tools, bisquit, portable soupe, some merchandize and cloathing. Meriwether Lewis. *"this place" is at the beginning of the Great Falls portage near present day Belt Creek.
Road to putin before crossing Belt Creek	Diorama at Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center showing ascent of hill	Widow Coulee putin in distance.
The confluence of Belt Creek and the Missouri River is shown above. The magenta line is the route we drove to the put-in. Day's route
The drive to the putin today was not the usual "can't wait to get there" drive. It wasn't that we didn't wanted to get on the water as soon as possible, but rather that the drive took us to where the Corp of Discovery maded there ascent of the hill at that start of the Great Falls Portage. Stops were made to take in the area and try to imagine the difficulties they endured. Days off are nice, but it is always good to be back on the water. Beautiful scenery continued to prevail and a good current helped us down the river. Pelicans were abundant and before long, we were at Carter Ferry crew change where we ate lunch.
Beautiful birds	Carter Ferry crew change	Home for the night
Long day, Richard?	Fort Benton history	Cleanup time
Today we had the luxury of taking out AT our campsite. This along with the early arrival allowed us to setup camp with plenty of daylight to head into Fort Benton. Each of us had the opportunity to explore what interested us. But first things first...ICE CREAM! Sharon, Bill and Kris took advantage of the time to do some geocaching. Timing turned out to be important for two caches located at either end of the pedestrian bridge over the Missouri River. Wedding preparation were well under way, but fortunately the finds were made before guests arrived. Attractions visited included the old hotel, the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument Interpretive Center and statues commerating Decision Point and Shep. Shep was a sheep dog that waited at the train station for five and a half years for its owner to return. The sheep herder who owned Shep died in Fort Benton and his body was crated and taken to the train station to be shipped to relatives back east. Shep followed the crate to the station and after that, greeted trains daily looking for his owner to return. By late afternoon, we all made our way back to camp where supper was cooked and we spend an enjoyable and relaxing evening.		Shep
Day's Coordinates Putin Widow Coulee FAS N 47 37.702 W 111 01.929 Crew Change Carter Ferry N 47 45.664 W 110 53.189 Takeout/Campsite Fort Benton N 47 48.289 W 111 40.383
Introduction, The Crew, June 2, June 3, June 4, June 5, June 6, June 7, June 8, June 9, June 10, June 11, June 12, June 13 Return to Website home page.