Jefferson River Rocks

Desiree and I have been staying in Three Forks for the past two nights. Yesterday, just for fun, we stopped at a Jefferson River fishing access to see the water up close. Named by Lewis and Clark in 1805 for President Thomas Jefferson, the river joins the Madison and Gallatin here to give birth to the Missouri. At that spot it stretched calmly over a wide bed of stones and pebbles, sweeping bare alluvial shoulders at most bends. Naturally, our stop turned into a rock-hunting expedition along the water’s edge. As I plodded across the stony flats, I picked up only three small, river-polished stones. Still, in my way of thinking, three Jefferson River rocks are far better than none.

The Jefferson River

Jefferson River Rocks

—Mitchell Hegman