From the Russell NWR I opted to continue south west on US HWY 191 to MT HWYs 81 and 80, turning north west to Ft. Benton where the highway crossed the Missouri. I bypassed a few gravel roads into the Missouri Breaks, choosing to pick up the L&C Trail at the Missouri-Marias Rivers confluence (see map on next page).

A few miles south of Geraldine, on HWY 80, you can view the south side of some of the geological formations that gave the White Cliffs of the Missouri Breaks its name, left and top right. Also, across the highway, to the west, stands another unique geological creation - Square Butte (5703 ft.). On June 4th, 1805 Captain Lewis noticed its shape from a high vantage point above the Marias River 30+ miles north of here. He wrote: "Barn Mountain, a lofty mountain so called from it's resemblance to the roof of a large Barn, is a seperate Mountain and appears reather to the wright of and retreating from the extremity of the S. mts. (Highwoods). ; this boar S. 38 W. distant 35 ms." Ella Mae Howard, in Lewis & Clark: Exploration of Central Montana, points out that Barn Mountain is really south east of where Lewis observed it.