Windows to My Life: Writing to Remember: August 2011

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Traveling on the Back Roads

Why am I taking pictures of Post Offices in Montana? It started when I posted a couple of pictures of Post Offices on Facebook and a friend suggested it would be cool to take pictures of all the post offices in Montana. I counted 351 Montana zip codes in the phone book. The US Postal Service wants to close 85 in Montana and 37 in Wyoming.

It sounded like a fun idea. I just wish she had thought about it earlier. I was over on the western side of the state in June. Oh well. Dan loved the idea of "Road Trips". We have been driving some of the "Back Roads of Montana" looking for Post Offices. Yesterday we stopped in 8 communities and took pictures.

Yesterday the first Post Office was at Pryor, Montana; a small town on the Crow Reservation. Pryor, Montana is in Big Horn County. According to the 2000 census there were 628 people in the Pryor community in 2000.

Pryor, MT 59066

Attractions in the area are the gorgeous Pryor Mountains. There are bands of wild horses still living in the mountains. There are also Ice Caves in the Pryors. Chief Plenty Coups State Park and museum.

The area was named for Nathaniel Hale Pryor, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Crow call the Pryor Mountains "Baahpuuo Isawaxaawuua (Hitting the Rock Mountains)"

The land and people of this area are dear to my heart. I had the opportunity to be on the board of the "Friends of Chief Plenty Coups State Park" for many years. Chief Plenty Coups built the first two story log home in the community. I was very blessed to learn about him and his leadership.