MONTANA: DON'T BELIEVE THE LIE!

Montana is far from full!

The state has 7 people per square mile (most Montanans will tell you that's still too close), compared to a state like Florida which has 410. It gives you some idea how much elbow room you have up here!

After an incredible 5 day visit to Yellowstone, the next national park on our radar is Glacier. It's almost 400 miles away so we broke the trip into three stops.

Our first stop was Montana's capital city of Helena. We were here to visit some dear friends that we picked-up at a bar in Silver City, New Mexico!

Well, let me explain, one evening we decided to visit the historic bar of Buckhorn Saloon in Pinos Altos (just north of Silver City).

It's a cool, 160 year-old watering-hole, dripping with history and alcohol. I wrote about it in an earlier post on our visit to Silver City, New Mexico. After "bellying up" to the bar, we overheard the couple next to us talking about RVing. Lorraine leaned over and asked if they owned an RV; they responded in the affirmative.. and the rest is history.

Since that time, we've managed to meet up about half a dozen times across the country. But this visit was going to be different, we were going to visit them at their travel-restricted, stationary abode. More about our visit in a minute.

Back to our travels. Our campground of choice was Helena North KOA. We were surprised to find a city the size of Helena, has very few RV parks, and from the reviews, none of them are particularly nice. This KOA was a disappointment, for the price, we expected something much nicer.

Not that we were mistreated or felt unsafe, but as you can see the park is in desperate need of a little --make that a lot-- of TLC.

LAST CHANCE GULCH:

"There's gold in them-thar hills!"

photo courtesy of https://southwestmt.com

As with most western towns, the discovery of valuable ore brought miners, and miners brought a thirst for saloons, sundries, bordellos, gambling halls and on a few occasions, churches. As the Last Chance Gulch mine expanded, so did the population. In 1864, the mining camp became a town. The town founders did not take a shine to the name Last Chance Gulch and changed it to Helena (named after a township in Minnesota, where most of the miners came from).

Another gem that was (and still is) mined here, are sapphires. First discovered in 1865 by gold prospectors, they were initially viewed as a nuisance --pale stones that clogged the sluice boxes being used to separate gold from gravel. It wasn't until some innovative miner applied heat to these cast-offs that their true value was discovered [seems to me that there is a life-lesson buried in the subtext of that story]. While the most common natural color is a soft blue-green, Montana sapphires are world renowned for their diverse hues of vibrant blue, green, yellow and pink. Who knew?

Gem stones mined in Montana

According to the 2020 census, Helena had a population of 32,091, making it the 5th least populous state capital in the United States [Montpelier, Vermont holds the title for the least populated state capital] and the 6th most populous city in Montana [Billings is #1].

VISITING HELENA:

A statue dedicated to the bullwhackers who accompanied wagon trains that delivered food and supplies to the city of Helena.

If you're going to visit, hop on the train! The Last Chance train will take you on a one-hour tour of the city. It's a fun way to learn about a city that in the mid-1880's was home to an estimated 50 millionaires, giving it the highest number of millionaires per capita in the world at the time!

THE STATE CAPITOL:

While visiting this charming city, make sure to see the capitol building.

The building was completed in 1902, and expanded in 1912. It was one of the first capitol buildings to have electricity, running water, and elevators!

A SPIRITUAL OASIS:

One mile from the capitol is this magnificent structure:

Those seeking a reprieve from the abrasive scuffs of humanity, should visit the Cathedral of Saint Helena. Inside these ornately decorated walls, one finds peace, solitude and balance. It's beauty silences you. For a moment, your worries no longer cling to you—they simply lean in the corner, like a wet umbrella. Architecture that elevates the soul, lifts the spirit, and brings the heart into communion with the divine. It is a tribute to the sacred and mysterious union between heaven and earth.

Its the intertwining of the divine and the mortal through clasped of hands.

GATES OF THE [ROCKY] MOUNTAINS:

About 90 minutes outside of Helena is the Gates of the Mountain Wilderness area. It was made famous by Meriwether Lewis in 1805 when his hunting party made there way upstream on the Missouri River. As you approach, it looks as if towering 1,200-foot limestone cliffs part ways allowing you access to a deep narrow gorge.

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It's a pretty cool natural effect. The passage leads you to some beautiful scenery!

This is how Lewis Meriwether described it in his July 19, 1805 journal entry:

“this evening we entered much the most remarkable clifts that we have yet seen. These clifts rise from the waters edge on either side perpendicularly to the hight of [about] 1200 feet. Every object here wears a dark and gloomy aspect. The tow[er]ing and projecting rocks in many places seem ready to tumble on us. The river appears to have forced its way through this immence body of solid rock for the distance of 5¾ miles and where it makes it's exit below has thrown on either side vast collumns of rocks mountains high. The river appears to have woarn a passage just the width of it's channel or 150 yds. It is deep from side to side nor is there in the 1st 3 miles of this distance a spot except one of a few yards in extent on which a man could rest the soal of his foot… from the singular appeaerance of this place I called it the gates of the Rocky Mountains. “

FRIENDS ALONG THE WAY:

Back when the idea of writing a travel blog was just an unpopped kernel in my brain, I mulled over what to name it. I wanted to avoid such uninspired titles as "Our RV Travels" or "Our Road Trip" etc.. After much deliberation, it came down to two contenders: Formerly from Delaware and Friends Along the Way. I eventually chose the later because it reflects the secondary purpose of our travels: to meet new people, hear new stories, and to make new friends.

And, to date, we have been very successful (and very blessed). As much as we have loved, loved, loved exploring America, we have equally loved making new friends.

In our travels, we have come to discover that there is a unspoken bond between most RVers, something forged out of shared struggles. Whether it's been RV issues, travel issues, and/or campground issues, we've all been there. We've shared similar highs and lows. It's like we're all on the same team causing us to have a esprit de corps that says "we're in this together".

While most of the RVers we've met have been true "salt of the earth" people, some are more ambrosial than others. And not that we could ever rank our wonderful travel friends, but if we did, these two would be near the top of that long list.

Larry and Jeannette. Two of Montana's finest. They are so dang "down home" and fun that it is impossible not to love them. No airs.. no phoniness.. What you see is what you get. They are adventurous, love to laugh, love to share a pint, and (much to our advantage), love to host elaborate dining experiences.

They took us on a trip to the Pryor Mountains to visit the broods of wild horses that live here. It was a fairly harrowing experience getting up and down these hills.

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Thank you, Larry and Jeannette for creating such wonderful Helena memories with us. And for letting us play with your toys!

Looking forward to seeing you again!

NEXT STOP: CHOTEAU, NOT MUCH TO REPORT

Our next campground was Choteau Mountain View Campground about 100 miles north of our current campground.

I'm pointing to our RV in the far corner of the campground

Beautiful country but not much to do in this quiet farm community.

After three quiet days here, we packed up and moved to our next campground which was right outside of Glacier NP.

APPROACHING GLACIER NATIONAL PARK:

Our next campground was Johnson's of St. Mary Campground, 101 miles from Choteau.

And as you can see from the map, its location is ideal for visiting Glacier NP.

About a 10 minute drive from the National Park

Unfortunately, it is not an *ideal* place to stay.

We had no cell service and the hillside arrangement made it challenging to get level. There is a restaurant on the grounds and they served up a decent meal. We would advise filling your pantry before arriving because this area is fairly remote. There are some small markets in the area but you can expect to find their prices to be fairly lofty.

MONTANA: SOME LAST THOUGHTS

A question we are often asked in our travels is: "what has been your favorite place?" We follow up with, "It depends on the time of year". During the warmer months, Montana is at the top of our list. It truly is "God's country". Pristine, lightly populated and overwhelmed with natural beauty.

We had an offbeat incident happened when we were new to the state. We were driving down a major highway, and about 30 minutes into our trip, we realized we hadn't passed another vehicle. The first thought that flashed through our minds was did a cataclysmic event happen and we are the only survivors??! But we have come to realize that this is normal for Montana. Overall, we loved our time in the state. But even as we were breathing in that crystal clean mountain air, in the back of our minds was the gnawing thought that "Winter is coming". And it comes fast and it comes hard.

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Average winter temperatures generally range from the teens to the high 30s or low 40s°F. Subzero temperatures are common, especially from November through March, with extreme cold snaps occasionally dropping to -20°F or colder. Montana holds the U.S. national cold record of -70°F, recorded near Helena in 1954. That kind of winter hospitality is a deal breaker for us!

In my next post I'll write about our visit to the "Crown of the Continent", Glacier National Park!

See you on down the road!

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