Travel in the Rocky Mountain Region: Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Idaho
Prepare to shiver in the winter because Cut Bank, Montana, is often the Lower 48’s coldest spot. Some places might try to hide that status, but Cut Bank embraces it. On Cut Bank’s east end, a 27-foot-tall penguin welcomes visitors. The 10,000-pound concrete bird even announces the frigid fact. Cut Bank’s choice of iconic cold animal is ironic because Cut Bank is far […]
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Manitou Springs lies northwest of Colorado Springs at the base of Pikes Peak. Plan to spend at least a long weekend there. Here’s two reasons: The town offers the relaxed vibe of a mountain resort town with easy proximity to a metropolitan area’s services. Escape summer’s heat at 6,000 feet and enjoy Manitou’s milder winter
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Enjoy the relative solitude of Colorado National Monument’s otherworldly formations. “The Monument,” as locals call it, is the Colorado Plateau’s eastern gateway. The plateau’s Red Rock Country is full of colorful rocks. They include domes, fins, hoodoos, reefs, natural bridges, and slot canyons. The National Park Service has nine properties in the Colorado Plateau. Except for
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The Rockies are calling. There’s gold in those mountains, and you can find it—not just the yellow metal, but gold aspens in the fall and daily casino winnings. Sign up for a high-altitude adventure in Colorado’s former mining country. Parts of the historic drives are white-knuckle experiences through North America’s greatest gold camp. The famous
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Three weeks after Colonel John Chivington and his troopers slaughtered non-combatants at the Sand Creek Massacre, they triumphantly entered Denver. They waved Cheyenne and Arapaho scalps and other body parts on December 22, 1864. The Rocky Mountain News gushed, “Among the brilliant feats of arms in Indian warfare, the recent campaign of our Colorado volunteers will
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Camp Amache National Historic Site reminds visitors of the courage of Japanese Americans unjustly confined during World War II. After Pearl Harbor pushed the United States into World War, the War Relocation Authority forcibly removed the Japanese Americans from their West Coast homes. The wind-swept former camp is now a pale shadow of its 1942-1945 self. A
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Pictograph Cave State Park, 15 minutes south of Billings, Montana, has some unexpected drawings. Seven red rifles decorate a shield on the back of Pictograph Cave. The rifles are obviously the newest art, but a black 2,000-year-old turtle is the oldest drawing. The startling red ochre rifles alone make the park worth visiting. Then add
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A perfect day at Bighorn Canyon Ranger Tanya Plainfeather Gardner pointed to a hole on Bighorn Canyon’s rim in Montana. “That’s where the stepfather threw his stepson over the side of the cliff.” Then she explained. Evil spirits overcame the man when he shoved the boy. Then he left the boy to die. Instead, some
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Explore Pompeys Pillar National Monument William Clark carved his name onto Pompeys Pillar during the Corps of Discovery’s 1806 journey home. Meriwether Lewis and Clark had separated to explore more territory. Nearly 200 years later, President Bill Clinton preserved the Montana formation as Pompeys Pillar National Monument. Pompeys Pillar is on Montana 312, half an
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Kansas geography: 5 flags, 4 corners, and 3 centers What do Haiti, Florida, and Texas, and a piece of cardboard have to do with Kansas geography? Everything. Before Old Glory reigned over all of Kansas, four other flags waved above the state: Spain, France, Mexico, and Texas. Even after the United States gathered the entire
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