The
Two RV Gypsies: Full-Time RVers
drove through Big Muddy Badlands
in Saskatchewan, Canada
and explored Castle Butte
July 4, 2013 |
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The Big Muddy
Badlands region is located just north of the international boundary
separating northeastern Montana from south-central Saskatchewan, and
a short drive to the south east of Willow Bunch in Saskatchewan. The
badlands are punctuated by the Big Muddy Valley, a cleft 35 miles tall
and up to 500 feet deep. Carved by melt water during the last ice age,
the valley runs in a southeasterly direction into Montana, where it
meets the Missouri River basin. The valley is 34 miles long, 2.0 miles
wide and 520 feet deep. |
In the nineteenth and early
twentieth century the Badlands formed the northern end of the Outlaw
Trail, a series of trails and stopping areas utilized by outlaws
in the American West spanning from Canada to Mexico. Outlaws such as
Dutch Henry and his brother Coyote Pete, Sam Kelly, the Pigeon Toed
Kid, and the notorious Sundance Kid turned up in the area. Today ranching
and tourism are important in the sparsely populated area.
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Below: The two RV Gypsies
saw for miles and miles ahead, and seldom saw other cars. |
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Below: But the two RV Gypsies did see
cows wading in the mud puddle, |
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Below: Castle Butte is a 200
foot high outcrop of sandstone and compressed clay which protrudes from
the flat prairie. At its highest point the butte is only 3,584 feet
in elevation. Still, that is more than 200 feet above the prairie below.
The circumference is 1/4 mile. |
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Castle Butte is dotted with
caves. |
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Below: Karen Duquette looked
smaller and smaller as she approached Castle Butte |
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Below: As the two RV Gypsies
reached Castle Butte, they came to a steep hill and a cave. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies
took a quick peek into the cave, but they did not actually go into the
cave because that would be dangerous. There was no telling what could
be in there, or if they could get stuck and not get out again. |
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Below: The steep hill next
to the cave. Footprints show someone has climbed up the steep hill,
but the two RV Gypsies did not. |
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Below: More Caves |
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Below: Lee Duquette saw a
rope in the cave and pulled on the rope. It was tightly secured to something.
Apparently someone actually had been inside this cave. Even with the
rope, it is NOT a place the two RV Gypsies wanted to go. |
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Below: Karen Duquette loved
the variety of texture and colors in Castle Butte. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies
took the 1/4 mile walk around Castle Butte. One area had a land slide.
That is another reason why it is NOT safe to go inside any of Castle
Butte's caves. |
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Below: Karen Duquette relaxed
while Lee Duquette photographed the view around Castle Butte. |
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Below: From
this high place on the plains of Eastern Montana, the two RV Gypsies
could see for a long distance.
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Below: Castle Butte varies
in shape and texture |
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Below: Karen Duquette liked the silky,
feathery plant - whatever it is called. |
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Below: Lee Duquette liked
the pointy topping seen from this angle, but as he walked just
a few steps, it no longer looked pointed. |
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Below: The two RV Gypsies
headed back to where they started their walk around Castle Butte. |
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The two RV
Gypsies really love their life on the road. They hope it never ends. |
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Below: One last panorama of
the surrounding area. There is a farm down there, but it does not show
up in the photo very well. Everything is much further away than it looks
in the photos. |
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Below: This is actually
a DIFFERENT rock formation across from Castle Butte. |
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Below: As the two RV Gypsies
drove away from Castle Butte, Karen Duquette quickly took a photo of
Castle Butte because the shape of it looked totally different than the
shape of it from the other side. |
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Below: Driving away from Castle
Butte on the dirt road, their truck kicked up a lot of dust which could
partially be seen in the mirror. As they drove by, Karen Duquette quickly
snapped a few photos of some large, colorful rock formations. |
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