Sunday - a day of traveling

Some catch up photos from the past 3 days - Mount Rushmore and Little Big Horn Battlefield


























Ok - we had a long day first we drove around Bozeman and really would like spend some time there. It is artsy and the downtown is wonderful. Then we headed out on Highway 84 which runs along the beautiful Madison River! It is the river that brings visions of trout flying through the air on the end of a fishing line and into the skillet! There were quite a few people fishing and there were large white pelicans in some areas. This river definately looks Fishy. We wound through the foothills where there are very few trees and almost every flat surface if farmed. The mountains in the background still have a little snow on the tops.
Ennis Montana is a very quaint little town - made you want to stop and stay a while. It seems to attract a lot of tourists and one of the red fronted antique shops is for sale. There were GREAT small cabins and old fashioned style hotels. The entry into town has a bronze fly fisherman!
We wondered south to the Madison River Earthquake area and Quake Hebgen Lake - an earthquake in I think 1985 shifted things and now there is a lake and a viewing center to see how it changed.
We just snapped some pics, visited with Elsa the dog and drove on. But it is very dramatic. The cabins in this area and the fishing is great. Hebgen Lake is a nice place to plan to come back to. We headed to Bogarth on 191 and it is beautiful. Winding roads with a rushing "crick" and all of a sudden we came around a curve and there were two young deer frolicking in the middle of the river. Couldn't stop and get a picture but that was one of those things that we will remember. We ate lunch at Kountry Korner Cinnamon Bear Cafe. It was great! Cute small town cafe with a lock collection and a play room for the kids. I had ham, egg and pancakes. The ham was devine, and the pancakes were huge, fluffy and well melt in your mouth. Ric had the openface roast beef which he said was very good too.
We headed north to Three Forks and then to Butte then turned north on I15 to Boulder. Unusual little town - but the people all made us think of Leanne's saying "You can't fix stupid". Anyway, the city hall caught our eye.
From Boulder we drove to Helena. We really thought it would be a way to head west to I90 then on to Missoula and Idaho. We are staying in the Jorgenson Motel that has been here for 45 years. Nothing fancy but very clean and the room is cool. We went out looking for some dinner and found that this is a great town. Being Sunday, downtown is quiet and we had the opportunity to walk the mall area which is comprised of the old buildings being restored and - can't say enough. The last chance Gulch includes buildings embellished with giant lizards, thumbprints and gargoyles. Very, very nice town. It is the capitol of Montana and has a nice quiet feel to it . It is very laid back/low key and comfortable. Except for the fact that they put up very few street signs . . . The restaurant we had read about but it was closed so we found a little bar and grill which had pretty good food on south Main Street.
After dinner we drove around some more and went to Reeder's Alley. It is a restored miner's village from the gold rush days. That is great but the show stopper was there was a doe standing in the middle of the walkway munching on flowers in the garden. I thought it was a statue at first then she moved. This was quite a site.
I started proclaiming the merits of the town right after that.











They also have an old wood Fire Tower here built in 1876, it is one of the few remaining fire towers you'll see in the US.
Then we found the Capitol - gorgeous! It is a Greek Renaissance style constructed of native sandstone and crowned with a massive copper dome - the front has a large planter which spells out Montana 2008 in geraniums and dusty miller and marigolds. Great! The lawn looks like a golf course and unlike other states Montana does not seemed very worried about terrorism. You can drive up to the doors on the south side and there were people enjoying the capital lawn - even a cute black and white aussie playing frisbie. It made you think of days before 9/11 and how relaxed people can be.
Well, back to the room and planning tomorrow. Miss the fuzzies so much that I pet every dog I see!
We are still looking for more trees! Take care and let us hear from you!