May 28 and 29, 2013 - Assiniboia and Bengough

     We were not sure how far we would get today but we headed in the direction of Assiniboia, my parents home before moving to BC in 1948.  I feel a draw to investigate some of my heritage.  I have been there before but didn't stop long previously.

     We first stop at the chamber of commerce to gather some info and talk to Glen Hall about the area.  Turns out that my cousin Bob Himbeault is the mayor so Glen tried to phone city hall so I can connect with him.  He is in meetings, so we carry on to have some lunch in town.  While at the restaurant, I borrow the phone book to look up the number and address for my second cousin Loretta Blackwell.  I try and phone but there is no answer.

     We carry on to the museum and are very impressed with what they have to offer.  Among other things, there is a large collection of old cars donated mostly by one individual.  They date back to 1926.  The lady working at the museum gives Bob another call and he tells her he is coming over to the museum to meet up with us.  We are delighted to me meet him and his wife Norma.  They fill us in on some family history and have a real good visit.  We are told there is an amazing art gallery in town so we go have a look.  It was built by an individual who had so much artwork that he needed a place to display it so he picked Assiniboia for it's home. 

Museum in Assiniboia

     After the art gallery we set off for Mt. Hope cemetery where both sets of grandparents are buried.  Bob's dad, Napoleon, is also buried there as well as 2 of my mother's siblings who died in childhood.

Blackwell graves

Himbeault graves

    We have Loretta's address so drive over there for one last attempt to see her before leaving town.  She is not home so I leave her a note.

     We carry on east from Assiniboia to the little town of Bengough where my fathers' parents homesteaded.  It is getting late so we decide to stay in their campground.  It's a beautiful spot and they have full hookups for $22 but you also have to pay $5 to get in?? Weird.  I have been given the phone number of the people who now own the homestead but I'm told they will be unable to show us around as they are leaving for fishing in the morning.

our new home for the night

relaxing

     We are just pulling out of town in the morning when Richard stops at an intersection and starts talking to an older gentleman.  Turns out that his family also homesteaded in the same area as my grandparents.  He agrees to take us on a tour of the Big Muddy Valley.  He's an 86 year old retired rancher and his name is Cliff Gravelle and he's full of information.

     The Big Muddy Lake is a long alkaline body of water in a valley of rolling hills.  The scenery is beautiful and I can only imagine what my grandparents thought when they first caught sight of it.  He takes us to the homeplace where we have been told by Bob Himbeault, that the original barn still stands.  He shows us his original home and where his sons now ranch.  There are other points of interest and we see them all.

The people who now live on the old Himbeault homestead

apparently the original barn

possible the foundation from original house

view from the old homestead

Cliff Gravelle at the old NWMP outpost in the badlands

this is a 200 ft clay burm

Cliff says that this house was moved here from the old homestead to Bengough

     When we get back to town, we buy Cliff some lunch before in make a trip to the library to see if I can get my hands on the book; The Big Muddy Valley by Germaine Jolly.  My mother gave me this book years ago but somehow I managed to misplace it.

     We set off from Bengough and drive to Wolf Point, Montana where we set up our camp at the Rancho RV Park.  We don't take any hookups and pay $15 to spend the night.  It's been a beautiful sunny day but the wind has now picked up but no worries; we are so tired from our day of touring it doesn't keep us awake.