WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM

Well, technically they are Bison not Buffalo. The adventure today was a trip to the National Bison Range which was about an hour away from where we are camped. There was some talk last night about all of five us going together in one car. We doggies didn't want to be squished in the back seat with the Kathies for 4 hours, so we declined the invite.

The National Bison Range is a 18,766 acre refuge located near the center of the Flathead Indian Reservation. The Red Sleep trail that they drove was a 19 mile loop, one way gravel road that takes about 2 hours and gains 2,000 feet in elevation. There were lots of switchbacks and 10% grades along the drive. Good thing they were in a Jeep.

They kept looking and looking and didn't see any of the over 300 bison that are roaming the preserve. Finally, they were just a couple of miles from the exit when herds of bison started coming down the steep hillside to cross the road right in front of them. 

The two very large herds were crossing the road to reach the river. They walked within feet of the Jeep.  It was very cool, and of course everyone was snapping pictures. It was very exciting. They weren't supposed to get out of the car, but some one did to take this close-up!