BILLINGS AND THE BIG OPEN - Montana and Wyoming - page 82

number of avian species. Part wetland, part prairie, Medicine Lake National Wildlife
Refuge is a spectacular place to see migrating birds at various times of year. Although it
is not a common destination, driving through this part of the state is a magnificent way to
enjoy the ride on the way from one place to the next.
SIGHTS
Prairie County Museum and Evelyn Cameron Gallery
Located in Terry are the adjacent Prairie County Museum (101 Logan Ave., 406/
635-4040, 9am-3pm Mon. and Wed.-Fri., 1pm-4pm Sat.-Sun. Memorial Day-Labor Day)
and Evelyn Cameron Gallery (105 Logan Ave., 406/635-4040, www.evelyncameron.org ,
same hours as the museum). The latter pays homage to a fascinating woman who captured
the spirit of the often hardscrabble life in eastern Montana with captivating photos and me-
ticulous journals. Thousands of Cameron's negatives were discovered in the late 1970s by
Time-Life topics editor Donna Lucey, who published them in her landmark work Photo-
graphing Montana 1894-1928: The Life and Work of Evelyn Cameron. The gallery is home
to many of Cameron's images, both originals and reprints. Her work is a striking testament
to the passage of time on the Western frontier, and at the same time a reminder of how much
remains the same in eastern Montana.
MM Makoshika State Park
Montana's largest state park at more than 11,000 acres, Makoshika State Park (1301
Snyder Ave., Glendive, 406/377-6256, www.makoshika.org , 10am-6pm daily Memorial
Day-Labor Day, 9am-5pm daily Labor Day-Memorial Day, $5/nonresident vehicle, $1 pp,
$15 camping, day use free for Montana residents) is literally at the perimeter of Glendive.
The park is an intriguing if not altogether beautiful place, made up of colorful exposed rock
layers that look like petrified anthills.
Makoshika (muh-KO-shi-kuh) was created in 1953 and named for the Lakota word that
means “badlands.” An impressive interpretive center gives an excellent overview of the
park's geological significance and helps visitors easily navigate the rock layers according to
color, distinguishing the Age of Reptiles (dinosaurs!) from the Age of Mammals. Millions
of years old, these badlands expose older rock layers than those in North Dakota and have
produced some important dinosaur fossils, including a triceratops skull. Hikers have been
known to find fossilized shark teeth and alligator teeth, but all rocks and fossils must stay
in the park.