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NOTICE
The time has come! Eight years ago the Prairie Winds Caches were published for "Best of the Bad" Mega, and 2 cache owner groups have been maintaining them. It is time to archive the series, but we would like more people to receive a Prairie Winds coin first.
NOTE: All the Prairie Winds caches will be archived as of the 8th of September, 2020.
The new requirement is: You must have logged, as found, at least 20 Prairie Winds caches to earn a Prairie Winds geocoin. Once you qualify (before September 8, 2020), contact cache owner at lthbridge@gmail.com to receive a coin.
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Prairie Winds - Hills of Home
The set of hills that you see to the south are the Sweet Grass Hills or referred to by the Blackfoot as k’atoyissiksi, the Sweet Pine Hills. These hills are just south of the International border, but local folk on both sides of the border refer to them as the “Hills of Home”.
These prominent hills are actually a group of low mountains rising more than 3000 feet above the surrounding prairies. The tallest of the three sets of hills is West Butte at 6,983 ft. The middle set is called Gold Butte at 6,512 ft. Gold was discovered here during the mid 1800’s resulting in a gold rush. The town of Gold Butte sprang up. Its history was as rough and tough as any gold mining towns of California or the Klondike had to offer. When the Northwest Mounted Police first arrived and set up tent camps on the Milk River, Gold Butte was used to obtain supplies. The set of hills to the east is called East Butte at 6,958 ft.
These hills had their beginning about 45 million years ago. Hot molten rock was forced up along volcanic necks. The resulting pressures caused the surface layers to bulge up. The molten rock cooled and hardened below the surface. The weathering process eventually exposed this hardened rock. When the glaciers swept through this area it eroded the surrounding surface areas even lower leaving the tops of the hills above the ice surface.
The Sweet Grass Hills are a sacred site of the Blackfoot on both sides of the International Boundary. Through prehistoric as well as historic times the hills have provided them with sheltered campsites, plants and animals not found on the plains, vantage points to watch for bison as well as roving enemies, and sites to carry out vision quests.
An interesting fact: The Sweet Grass Hills, at an average of 48 degrees, 50 minutes, are at the same latitude as the very center of the city of Paris, including the Louvre, Centre Pompidou, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Eiffel Tour
Information From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In dry weather, you can drive fairly close. If it is wet please park at the roadside.
NOTE: "FANG" is the reptilian guardian of the cache - approach with care as this was his home first.