Links on Facebook, and the Range Riders Museum in Miles, MT

I have started to post links to my blog on Facebook, so that people who use Facebook can access my posts more easily. One thing I do not like about Facebook is it will pick up the first comment from a blog and use it as text below the link. A comment is not part of a post! So until Facebook corrects the way that their software follows links, I have to follow the example of other bloggers and include a dummy first comment containing the first few lines of the post. 

As we made our way east, we decided to stop at Miles City, Montana. It is just off I-94. 

When I checked in at the RV park office, I picked up a brochure for the Range Riders Museum in town.

It looked like a perfect Sunday afternoon activity, and indeed it was. We ended up spending over four hours there.

All of the items on display in the six buildings were carefully displayed and identified. I don't think there is any old stuff left in the Miles City area!  It is all in this museum.

Stuffed Golden Eagle, 42 star flag                Telephone switchboard          Fossil bones found nearby

     Some were displayed in room-size             Some in glass cases,                  Some in separate 
     dioramas without glass fronts.                                                                       buildings like this school


One of the deep halls in the main building was set as the main street of old Miles City. Although you could not go into the shops, there was no glass in most of the windows for a better view of the interiors.

How would you like it if your dentist still had to use this type of equipment?

Notice, the foot pump for the "high speed" drill power.


I guess it was an improvement over the barber with a pliers.

There were other medical equipment including this scary machine on display. I am just old enough to remember the polio epidemics of the early 50's. I have seen pictures of an iron lung, but have never seen one up close.

What a terrible time it must have been for mothers to see their children in such a thing, much less the suffering of the children.




I am a strong believer in the benefits of vaccines.

In a large barn-like building called the wagon depot there were many larger items and items that seemed to be in need of restoration on high overhead shelves.

Most had signs indicating what they were.

This building also contained some great old cars and wagons.

Overall this is a very good museum and we highly recommend it to anyone traveling through this area.

There are two RV parks in Miles. There is a KOA in town, plus the Big Sky RV Park which is just off the easternmost of the three I-94 exits.  It was easy to get to, and although just a simple gravelled park, it was fine for an overnight stop. 

WARNING: The main road through town goes under a bridge that has a 10' 5" clearance. We noticed it when we were going from the Range Riders Museum on the west end of town, to the Albertsons and Walmart in the central part of town. The Big Sky park is east of Miles City. We had no problem because we were driving the Jeep, but I could see trouble for anyone staying at the KOA who wanted to stop for groceries while driving their rig. I noticed no warnings other than the height markings on the bridge.