Adventure to Helena, Montana

Saturday was a beautiful day, so we decided to jump in the car after lunch for a road trip to Helena. It was nice just to get out of the hotel and not be stepping on each other all day.

Ben and I didn't realize how much we missed the mountains until we moved to this gloriously beautiful state. I could look at the mountains all day long and be thrilled to pieces. Maybe we are just humbled by their size and feeling how small we are in the universe. OK... maybe too deep... they are just purdy to look at!



Here is the view from a scenic outlook not too far outside Great Falls. It was extremely windy climbing the steps up to the platform. You'll see the Missouri River running through the Big Belt Mountains. We also caught sight of a bald eagle flying overhead, but were not close enough to catch a picture. Unfortunately, the only other wildlife we saw the entire day was a quail of some sort. I was kind of hoping for a bear or a big horn sheep.


My gorgeous girl at the landing halfway up to the lookout point. I think she has watched Project Runway with me a few too many times. You should see her runway walk!!!




In downtown Helena, we went to the town center that houses The Great Northern Carousel and the Great Northern Ice Cream parlor. The menagerie of the carousel was great...bighorn sheep, otters (you ride on their bellies), pronghorn antelope, bison, bobcat, wolf, rainbow trout, hippocampus (horse/seahorse combination), grizzly bear, triceratops, and traditional horses.

The girls had fun riding the carousel two times each (Ben rode, too, the second time) and then enjoyed a scoop of the cold stuff before heading back out. Now it just seems like we made the three-hour roundtrip just for a ride and ice cream, but the kids had fun and so did we.

Samantha wouldn't take off her new hat since I told her she was "rockin!" She even got a compliment from the young waitress at Applebee's tonight. I'm sure that won't inflate her ego any more! She does look pretty darn cute...


On the trip back to Great Falls, Ben and I stopped off to see one more sight. The girls missed the entire thing since they crashed before we even hit the highway. We wanted to see what is called the Gates of the Mountains. This is yet another historic location for the journey of Lewis & Clark. There are boat tours in the spring and summer season that will take you through the area. The rock walls tower up to 1200 feet above the water. As the water twists and turns through the rock, it looks as though the way will be obstructed but then opens like "gates." STUNNING!

That's it from Montana.
Love to all!