Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Makoshika Dinosaur Museum
For visitors in search of more dinosaur bones and exhibits, Glendive's
Makoshika Dino-
saur Museum
(104 W. Bell St., 406/377-1637,
www.makoshika.com
, 10am-5pm Tues.-
Sat. Memorial Day-Labor Day, winter visits by appointment only, $3) is a good bet. In ad-
dition to nice displays of fossils, sculptures, casts, and painstaking dioramas, the museum
offers five-day dinosaur digs geared to aspiring paleontologists ages 16 and up for $750.
For younger dinosaur diggers, ages 6 and up,
Baisch's Dinosaur Digs
(406/365-4133,
js-
baisch@wb.midrivers.com
,
$100 pp, $75 half day, free for children under 12 with a pay-
ing adult) offers daily paleontological digs on a nearby private ranch in view of Makoshika
State Park. For visitors who want to take home their own fossil finds, this is really the only
legal way to do it.
MM
Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge
The Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a wetland oasis in a sea of prairie. It is a
startlingly beautiful place on a breezy afternoon when the grasses sway in watery waves,
or on a stormy night when lightning flashes across the sky, illuminating clouds that are 15
shades of blue and pink, or at any time, really—it is just that beautiful. And like so much of
eastern Montana, it is not what you might expect to see in a state known for its mountains.
The
Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex
(223 North Shore Rd., 406/
789-2305,
www.fws.gov/medicinelake
) comprises two wildlife refuges and a wetland man-
agement district. Established in 1935, the area provides a much-used breeding and stopover
habitat for an enormous range of migratory birds, including ducks, geese, swans, cranes,
white pelicans, and grebes. As such, the refuge is as much an oasis for landlocked ocean
lovers and wildlife photographers as it is for migrating birds. The sounds and smells and
even some of the sights can immediately conjure feelings of a favorite coastal haunt.
THE MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL
Before Montana had cowboys, Indians, ranchers, and homesteaders, even before
the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers were formed, this was dinosaur territory. The
world's first
Tyrannosaurus rex
was discovered in Montana, as were the world's first
baby dinosaur bones. Sites across the state are dedicated to celebrating this unique
and rich history, and the Montana Dinosaur Trail, created in 2005, consists of 14 dif-
ferent facilities in 12 communities. The stops along the trail include museums, parks,