Continuing to Browning, MT

On to Montana - Big Sky Country! It does have a huge sky. And the it is not totally dark until almost 11 PM in the northern part of the state near Glacier National Park and almost 10 PM down near Helena.

The first stop in Montana turned out to be Clark Canyon Reservoir and the Beaverhead River. This is where Lewis and Clark left the Missouri river drainage and started porting the canoes to find the Columbia River. The actual end of the river is now covered up by the reservoir but I did include a picture of the dam and also a replica of the canoes used by the expedition.

In the middle of the dam is a sign showing that is where the 45 parellel goes through Montana. This is half way between the North Pole and the equator.

Montana has quite a few roadside plaques dedicated to the Corps of Discovery and many places named for eith Lewis or Clark or both together. We will see more later on in our journey.

Next stop is for gas in Helena and to call the evenings stop to let them know how late I was going to be as I was running late as usual. The plan was to go to Browning, MT which is just outside the East entrance to Glacier National Park and is also the center of the Blackfeet Indiana Reservation. I was to spend the next 2 nights sleeping in a tipi and making a tradition bag called a parfleche that the Blackfeet use.

Before I could call, I received a call from my host to inform me that the night before Browning had 100 mile an hour winds and that one tipi was ripped so they took both of them down. I had to stay some where else the first night. Flexibility is the watch word for this trip. Not a problem. With help from my trusty aide-de-camp back at the home front, I was able to procure a room in Great Falls, MT. This saved me from having to drive an extra 2.5 hours and I had wanted to stop to see the "great falls" anyway.

There are 4 or 5 different falls along the Missouri River in Great Falls. After inquiring at the front desk of Town House Inn and Casino I was told to take a 20 minute drive out in the middle of no where (and for Montana, the middle of nowhere is really out there) to see the best of the "great falls". The drive was worth it. These falls were "discovered" by Meriwether Lewis and his measurement of the height of the falls was 1 foot and 3/4 inches shorter than they actual height of the falls. Not bad for an 1805 surveyor compared to today's measuring devices. The falls are stunning.

Each of the falls in Great Falls, MT are used to generate hydroelectric power as well as being tourist attractions. Good for Great Falls!

There is a museum to Charles M. Russell in Great Falls, but I did not have time to stop as it did not open until 9 the next morning and I was gone before it opened.

Thanks for coming along on the journey with me.

Until next time - be safe and don't work too hard...