Montana's Fourth

The 65th Annual Choteau American Legion Parade and Rodeo, 4 July 2010

Twenty-five miles north of Augusta, Montana is the slightly larger town of Choteau.  Choteau is the county seat and largest town--population 1,781--in Teton County, which lies along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front.  To the north is Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.  It is named after French fur-trapper and explorer Pierre Chouteau, Jr, and is the site of Egg Mountain, a paleontological site full of fossilized dinosauer eggs.  For those interested it is also comedian David Letterman's Montana get-away.

Every Independence Day for the last 65 years men, women, children, families, friends and even a few enemies have gathered in Choteau to celebrate the birth of this republic.

Here are a few pictures of this year's events.

Choteau's parade opens with Old Glory, Montana and Canadian flags.

Not hard to imagine where this bronc rider ended up in another second!

A whole lot of bull up his skirts.

A professional horse and professional rider compete in barrel racing.

Look Ma, no hands!

(No score also.)

I even got my picture in the Great Falls Tribune's sports page.  I'm not the bareback rider, I'm the guy behind the fence taking pictures of the west end of an east bound horse.

Happy Fourth Everyone!!