“The most harrowing aspect of technology arrives in waves, each one exceeding us.” – Old Sean
Montana Rides
Leaving Yellowstone with my party, Krone, Evan and I drove north, plunging into the state of Montana for the next leg of our journey.
We found the drive a peaceful one during the afternoon. We exited the wild lands where animals ranged freely, and found ourselves back amongst farms, where herds of cows blanketed the hills and herds of horses dotted the plains.
Montana, of course, wasn’t a simple straight shot. As with all my journey’s I pressed to stop and visit the odd and unique corners of our route, and this one was no different. I was on the usual hunt for roadside gems.
Veering into Bozeman, Montana brought us to the American Computer and Robotics Museum, one of the most unexpectedly fantastic finds on our mountainous journey.
The American Computer and Robotics Museum is located near a college campus in an unassuming building with a fantastically detailed, in-depth, well-funded and meticulously designed display regarding the entire history of computers. Entering the museum is a treat right off the bat, with a young woman giving us an incredibly informative swift schpeel on the pre-history of computers.
Computational
I cannot over-stress how impressive this museum is. The quality of the displays and the items available for viewing are almost shocking in importance.
Much of the computer history I learned in university is tangibly visible here. The world’s oldest computer, (80 B.C.) an Antikythera Mechanism mold is on display in the front room. Right nearby are copies of Macbeth made on a printing press from Shakespeare’s own era, with an actual cuneiform describing fortune practices in the ancient world.
The cuneiform on display discussed the practice of ancient kings scapegoating luck. When kings were told bad luck was imminent, the would “promote” a low-class citizen to the throne for the day. If fate ended this figure, the king would assume the poor luck was spent and resume the throne. But if not, the faux king would be removed and executed, hence, the bad luck was again complete. There was a noted encounter where a gardener ascended to the throne, and when the original king choked and died while on his day off, the gardener clamped down with iron control and refused to yield the throne.
Modern Astonishment
However, the museum was filled with more than just ancient devices.
It also showed the most radical and impressive advancements of computer technology our world has ever seen. Space and satellite imaging and studies alongside astrological charts dominated one room. Another covered the garage-advancements of figures like Gates, Jobs and Wozniak.
A third was crammed with regalia from the space age, including the signatures of astronauts and their actor counterparts from the Apollo missions. In a glass case, an actual watch from the moon missions sits on a pedestal.
Another room tracks the development of videos games, starting with the father of video games himself, Ralph Baer and his Brown Box, the first ever gaming system. A closet space had the actual framework weave for a LGM-30 Minuteman Missile.
Another room was a monument to WWII technologies, with special attention being used to discuss the enigma machine and cryptology. And of course, beyond the past, the museum touched on the future, breaking into examples of science fiction, AI, quantum computing and other advancements threatened, promised and foretold just around the temporal corner. The Three Laws of Robotics were framed in the corner.
It was a truly splendid museum, among Evan’s favorite stops and I made sure to purchase a Star Trek journal as a gift for a friend on the way home.
The Plunging Hunt
It was at this point we continued West, eventually arriving at one of my favorite spots on our journey; Madison Buffalo Jump. On the windswept planes of brown grass, where gusts boxed my ears mercilessly, a stark plateau arose. It stands as a monument to daring Native Americans and their way-of-life-prey, buffalo.
Shoshone people (Natives that spoke Sosoni) were likely the prime users of the Buffalo Jump cliff. The hunt was usually orchestrated as follows: There was a single man dressed up in curious animal skins to lead the buffalo into a charge, a daring young group of decoys led the enormous animals over the edge of the cliff in a mad charge, desperately, skillfully jumping to a predetermined ledge while tribesmen kept the rest of the herd on track. The bulk of buffalo would die, following the leader blindly to their deaths.
The slaughter of the creatures was a way of life for the plainsmen and every part was used. Even the tails were repurposed, ironically, into their original use as flyswatters. Meat was sun dried on racks, large bones cracked and cooked, hides are tanned, tendons were used as thread and bowstrings and even the bison’s beard was used as decorations on bows, lances and clothing.
For my own certainty, Madison Buffalo Jump cleared up a confusing factor I hadn’t understood prior to my visit.
The North American Bison is not a real buffalo. Early explores called the animal “Buffalos” because they resembled Asian and African buffalos. Both bison and buffalo belong to the Bovidae family. However, while the term Bison is genetically correct when discussing these creatures, buffalo is used interchangeably and colloquially.
As we left Madison Buffalo Jump, we made one last stop along the dirt road, pausing next to a beautiful wreck of a rusted vehicle. I posed for a pair of photos and we continued on our way.
Sidestepped Songs
Our next stop was among our strangest. I planned to take us to the Ringing Rocks of Montana, a wide spanning patch of ground and dirt roads where dirt bikes reign supreme. Our white Equinox pitched, tilted and lurched up the sharp turns and twisting road towards our site as the sky loomed with grey clouds.
Worry seeped into our group, unconfident we’d reach our destination with rain inbound.
Unfortunately, we never did reach the Ringing Rocks. A mere three minutes before arriving resulting in a sudden downpour, making our slick roads impossibly dangerous for a vehicle without four-wheel drive. Despite being so close, we voted to descend the mountain, right as the rain grew more intense.
The Ringing Rocks will need to be saved for another time.
A Cold Front Slog
We eventually escaped the dirt roads and got back on the highway. This was just in time as well, since more freezing sleet crashed into the car, dropping our speed down to a crawl.
We rolled into Butte, Idaho, tossing our planned extra stops out the window. The only sight we opted to see in Butte was the Berkeley Pit, an impressive copper mining pit that now has a lake filling it’s vast man-made chasm.
It was closed due to COVID, but I was able to climb the rim and peer inside past the chain link fence.
It was at this point the snow started hammering down and we were forced, again, to try to punch through the storm towards clearer skies. Since both Krone and Evan have time-sensitive jobs to eventually return to, we can’t afford major delays. Much of this trip was spent slamming past weather that normally would’ve stopped me cold.
Into Utah
Our destination was next major city on our journey, Salt Lake City.
We game-planned our route using Starbuck Wi-Fi and then immediately set off.
Fortunately, Evan was there to pick up the driving slack. I was completely winded from manning the helm for the past few hours and promptly fell asleep.
Tires gripped as best they could as Evan navigated the storm, once again veering us through a chilly fog and doing his damnest to avoid letting the wipers freeze. When I awoke, his contribution bore fruit and we were in the clear night at Salt Lake City.
Once again, forced into late hours by an unexpected storm, we opted not to camp and instead booked a hotel to recuperate from another mad rush. In the morning, we’ll wake up late, shuffle around like zombies seeking out breakfast and explore the capital of Mormonism.
Until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written April 22nd 2021
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The GoPro Hero Black is my go to Action camera. I’m not comfortable bringing my cell phone to many wet and rugged locations, so the GoPro does most of my photographic heavy-lifting. The only things I bring in my GoPro kit are the camera, a spare battery and the forehead mount. I upgrade my GoPro once every two years. It was particularly excellent to have during my aquatic tour of Belize.
