The town of Ten Sleep marks a camping site along a trail used by Indians during the 1800s. They measured the distance of a trail by how many nights the journey took. This camp was the tenth night and therefore labeled Ten Sleep. This is a refueling and restocking location for anyone using our route along the Outlaw Trail. There is a campground with showers at the edge of town. From Ten Sleep, we continued north along the Indian Trail. That route is designated as a BLM Backway. It crosses barren country with no facilities until the dinosaur tracks historic site.
Wandering around the site takes a good imagination. The tracks are difficult to distinguish from other markings. In fact, even when looking directly at a designated track, we could not make out enough of it to make a good photo. There are numerous markers with excellent drawings describing the site. Pit toilets and picnic tables are also available.
Red Gulch dinosaur tracks...
Red Gulch dinosaur tracks site.
Continuing north took us to Highway 14 near Greybull. We then followed a gravel road along the banks of the Big Horn River. Before reaching Highway 14A, we came upon the historic ranch site established by Henry Clay Lovell. The nearby town of Lovell is named in his honor. Mr. Lovell is credited with bringing cattle ranching to the area, but the largest industry in the county is now sugar.
The Lovell Homestead has been preserved and is open for public inspection, but watch for rattlesnakes. A brochure is normally available at the gate describing the buildings and the history of the ranch. From Lovell in Wyoming to Belfry in Montana, we continued using backroads across open range and through oil fields. From Belfry to Red Lodge, we used the paved highway.
At the time the outlaws attempted the robbery in Red Lodge, the primary purpose of the town was to support the coal mining industry. There are historic markers along the highway describing the history of the area. One such marker is beside the remains of the Smith Mine where in 1943 74 men died in Montana's worst mining disaster. That tragedy doomed the mine and some of the smaller towns that supported it.
Red Lodge was originally settled by a band of Crow Indians. They used red clay to paint the council tepee which was called Red Lodge. Some historians claim the area was inhabited long before that by prehistoric man, but of course there are others who disagree. By the time the outlaws rode into town, Red Lodge had been a thriving mining town for more than 10 years. The bank building they intended to rob was only a couple of years old. It still sits on the same corner but is no longer a bank. At the top of the building is the word "Bank" along with the year of construction.