Montana

August, 2021

From St. Mary on the east side of Glacier National Park, we only had a hundred miles to our next stop. We drove several miles through Blackfeet Indian Reservation with beautiful scenery of mountains, grasslands and rolling hills.

Scenery after leaving St. Mary, Montana.

Leaving the reservation we drove parallel to the beautiful Rocky Mountains before arriving at Choteau, Montana, a little farming town.

We took a day trip to Great Falls, MT. We ate at a Mongolian BBQ restaurant that we’d eaten at a year ago. Last year Ray’s knee was giving him so much trouble that he couldn’t get out and walk much. He missed seeing Giant Springs State Park, so we drove there to re-visit it.

Giant Springs State Park where the water bubbles up in the pond area above.

The water from the spring originates in mountains over 100 miles away and flows underground till it bubbles up here. The water is so clear, that you can see the rocks and plants on the bottom.

Giant Springs State Park where the water from the spring forms the Roe River, the shortest river in the world.
Giant Springs State Park
Giant Springs State Park, Montana
Giant Springs State Park

Five waterfalls are within a 10 mile segment of the Missouri River. Having seen three of the five waterfalls in Great Falls last year, Great Falls (which the city was named after) was on our list of sights to see . It is outside the city several miles away. We drove through miles of wheat fields on terrible roads to get there, but it was worth it.

Once there, we walked across a suspension bridge to an island below the dam where there was a grassy park. The river flows around the island.

View up river from suspension bridge
View down river from suspension bridge
Park on island
Warning sign on island below Great Falls Dam

A trail led up a hill that gave us a perfect view of the dam and the powerhouse.

Powerhouse at Great Falls Dam.
Dam and Powerhouse at Great Falls Dam
The falls of Great Falls Dam.

Notice that the dam is spilling water through all the gates. Montana has a lot of water!

Great Falls Dam spilling water.

From the lookout at the end of the trail, we could see down river from the dam and powerhouse.

Down river view from end of trail.

The evenings in Choteau, Montana, displayed some beautiful sunsets.

Our next destination awaited, so after a few days, we were off to a new location.