Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 71 which can frequently be seen skittering around the camp- ground and flying between the rocks, searching for seeds, nuts, and berries. e state management got the locals' hackles up in the early nineties with a couple of unpopular moves. First, in 1990, when Fish, Wildlife and Parks attempted to establish a nightly closing time on the park, 240 people showed up at a hearing in Baker to voice their displeasure. e state backed down. A year later the state attempted to charge a three-dollar entrance fee, and again there was a sizeable backlash from area residents who frequented the park. In 1993, FWP eliminated the fee, but declared Medicine Rocks a primitive park, meaning fewer resources would be used for the site's maintenance, including no trash pickup. Currently Medicine Rocks State Park has an unofficial caretaker, Frank Mehling, who moved to the area in 1949 and now owns most of the land surrounding the park. While the state budget doesn't provide much in the way of resources for upkeep of Medicine Rocks, Mehling has taken on a certain pride of ownership. He and his wife frequently go through the campground in the summer, burying the still-glowing embers of abandoned campfires. Without the funding to provide park maintenance, FWP agents in the area are aware of Mehling's efforts and have expressed their appreciation of this good neighbor and state park steward. ere is a certain electricity in the air among the giant, surreal sculptures of the park. Far removed from the din of interstate traffic and machinery and other clatter of mankind, the Medicine Rocks make a subtle music that can be heard on the wind. As air whooshes between the rocks and whistles through the holes and caves, it contributes to an otherworldly atmosphere that makes it easy to understand why indigenous peoples sought the place out for their spiritual quests. Of Montana's 55 state parks, Medicine Rocks is one of the farthest off the beaten path. It's also one of the most unusual, making it worth the two-hour drive from Miles City. On a Friday afternoon last summer, I pulled into the park under a spectacular sapphire sky on the longest day of the year. As I filled my water jug from the pump at the entrance, I noted the free camping poster on the interpretive sign. As I steered A PARK OF HISTORIC PROPORTIONS F I N D Y OU R A D V E N T U R E • SP I R I T A N D I N S P I R A T I O N • MEDICINE ROCKS

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