Written for Arcadia Press Images of America series in 2019 for a spring 2020 release. Photos by John M. Kemble.
The stories are that it was the dynamite that caused Rabbit Rock’s ears to crumble and fall apart, other stories say it was done by people with guns, the truth is probably a mixture of both. Rabbit Rock can still be seen today from the pull out on the north end of Million Dollar Mile. Page 92.
By 1950 all that was left was a stone building and a row of poplar trees to mark where Rim Rock once stood in the shadow of Steamboat Rock. Today all that is left of the building is a pile of stones by the stumps of the poplar trees. Page 97
Landlocked for centuries, Steamboat Rock’s community finally slipped below the waves as water once more filled the upper coulee for the first time in centuries. Compared to the water level during the Great Missoula floods, Banks Lake was just a puddle, not even touching the stately basalt walls of Steamboat Rock. Page 101
The very land where Ed Schrock ran his “Phantom Herd” is now completely inundated, but still recognizable. Once there were cattle here to feed the people of all over the country, now a fish pen floats to stock the waters with a different type of protein. See page 26. Page 102
Devils Lake was also flooded, but remains a popular fishing spot to this day, its granite boulder shoreline vastly unchanged. Devils Lake itself has had a long noteworthy history. Before the first pioneers it was a sacred place visited by indigenous people. Irrigation from Devils Lake helped define dry land farming in the early 1900s, and by 1940 it was a favorite fishing spot for locals. Page 103
The Speedball Highway is easier to find and follow. The blacktop was built for durability and has stood up against the test of time well. It can be seen crossing the main entrance at the start and runs both directions into the lake. Bits and pieces of the road can easily be found running down the coulee and often into Banks Lake. Page 118
Still on the side of Salishan Mesa, Rabbit Rock now stands over the waters of Banks Lake looking on towards Steamboat Rock and its long eclectic history. page 126
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