Going to the Sun...Glacier National Park

Which state is the Treasure State? Montana. The population is 967,000 which isn’t much more than Detroit was in the 2000 census. It ranks 44th in state populations BUT 4th in land mass. The state is three times the size of Michigan. They don’t call it “Big Sky Montana” for nothing.

We arrived in Helena near 7:00 PM, just enough time to capture some images of the state capitol building. Helena’s dome is not exactly what you would call beautiful. The fashion police would call it “olive drab”. The grounds are immaculately manicured and we hope to come back in the morning to take some interior pictures if possible.
We found the local Walmart Supercenter for our parking spot for the night. We joined over twenty other units. We went inside to spend some money on groceries, feeling less guilty about using the lot. We were able to get a free wi-fi signal that appeared to be coming from the nearby Chamber of Commerce building.
Morning brought more sunshine and we quickly headed back to the Capitol building. More pics with different lighting were taken and they we headed inside for a few interior images. The interior of the building was as nicely cared for as the exterior. Montana didn’t become a state until 1889. They have statues honoring different people within but one that caught our eye was a full length sculpture of Jeannettte Rankin. She was one of the original suffragettes. She was also the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. One of her first votes was against the U.S. entry into World War I. It was an unpopular vote and so she only served one term before getting the boot. She continued her opposition to war and even protested the Vietnam War. She lived to be 93 years old. Homage was also paid to Mike Mansfield and his wife. A life size sculpture of the couple adorns the third floor balcony. Mansfield was a well-known U.S. Senator. We photographed both the House of Representatives and Senate Chambers before leaving.
Once back outside, we located the Supreme Court building, the old Governor’s mansion and the stunning Cathedral of St. Helena. Once finished taking pictures, we hopped on I-15 to begin our trip north the Glacier National Park.
We went across enormous farmland, ranches and through itty bitty towns. One was called Augusta, named for a founding father’s daughter. It went through rough times during the Great Depression and then was revitalized to some extent once rail track was laid, bringing train traffic through town. The main street was dirt. Reminded me of Hyder Alaska but a bit classier. As we were driving through town, the volunteer fire department was driving a fire truck down the main drag, spraying water with a fire hose to stop the blowing dirt. Can you imagine having a business on a road like this? A nearby town of Gilman had become a ghost town and the only remnant of it was an old bank building.
We traversed through open country with mountains in the distance. Dennis spotted a large collection area for honey bees. Each collection box was painted a different color, making the stack of boxes bright and attractive to honey bees. We turned the motorhome around. Dennis climbed on top of the motorhome to get a better vantage point. Thankfully, he stayed far enough away from the swarming creatures.
The Rocky Mountains on our left are becoming more and more prominent. We are going to enter the park from the east side. We plan to hit the visitors’ center, find a campground in the town of St. Mary’s and plan our day for tomorrow. We remember this park as simply beautiful and are looking forward to giving it a second look shot. Looks like it will be an early morning if we are going to photograph the glacier and then catch the red tour bus which will take us on the “Going to the Sun” road tomorrow morning. When we were here over twenty years ago, we were able to drive an RV on the narrow road. Since that time, they have stopped any type of RV from traveling any distance on the road. We remember it as treacherous and are not surprised that they have made it limited access. The road will take us to Logan Pass and back.
We capture some folks canoeing on the Swiftcurrent Lake, accidentally captured a line of horses being led back to the barn and one of the red tour buses we will be taking tomorrow.
Glacier National Park is a long way from home (1,900 miles) but oh so pretty.





Click any picture to enlarge