Little Bighorn Battlefield Trip

Wanting to do a little road trip with the family, we decided to visit what I had always called "Custer Battlefield". My aunt and uncle had taken me there as one of my stops at the age of 21 when driving cross country moving to Montana. That was over 20 years ago! It is now called Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument and is a National Cemetery.

A beautiful resting place containing so much history.

We went into the museum and viewed many different relics from Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer

and Sitting Bull.

I found the words of the president at this time in history (Ulysses S. Grant) to be very interesting as pictured here:

Sitting Bull "had a premonition of defeating the cavalry, which motivated his Native American people to a major victory at the Battle of the Little Bighorn against Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry on June 25, 1876."

Also honored which I had not seen during my first visit over 20 years ago was the following:

My next blog will have the Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield which was newly established in the early 1990's.

Spectacular Views

Glacier National Park was the ultimate highlight of our family vacation. I have never seen so much amazement and excitement in our children as when we were making our way along the "Going to the Sun" road.





I don't think they have even been on as high an elevation before and then to see the gorgeous mountains capped with snow just thrilled them.



My 13 year old said that he would have to stay more awake on the next trip to Yellowstone in case he missed seeing some things as lovely in scenery as Glacier was. That comment made me laugh. Here is a unique picture he took of a moving tour bus. I personally think it is cool!


Both of the oldest were swapping the camera back and forth to take pictures of Glacier National Park. We are already talking about going back again in a month or so. My husband worked one summer in Glacier National Park at the Two Medicine Camp Store and said he would like to visit that part of the park.

What Is With This Weather?

For several weekends now I have been trying to travel by roadways here in Montana from one city -- Great Falls -- to another -- Kalispell.



The first reason for not accomplishing my goal was SNOW! Go figure. It is after all in the middle of winter and I do find myself watching more and more of the weather channel for parts of this continent where I have friends and relatives nesting. Again, what is with this weather?!



Now my area is in the upper 40's, but the second reason for not accomplishing my goal or travel destination is WIND! After going over half the distance (almost 2 hours of driving one way), in winds up to 50 mph, my van reached a town called Browning, MT. The winds picked up to 70+ mph and the driver's door was literally moving in and out (like it was breathing) because the wind was so bad.



Then I get to my turn off for the last leg of the journey to find a Montana Department of Roads utility truck barricading the road -- Highway 2. We were defeated and by then the children in the middle and back seats were calling for lunch. So a turn around was made and travel back 100 miles down the road found us at Shelby, Montana in a Chinese restaurant as an alternate adventure.



The food was good and everyone satisfied to make the additional 85 miles home to Great Falls, Montana.



Phone calls have been made and relatives have been located in Kalispell since I have arrived home. They know we made an effort and I hope they know we are thinking about them. Another endeavor will be made in the future for this goal of visiting in Kalispell, but now I know to not even start if SNOW and now high WINDS are mentioned in the weather forecast.



Hope you like the pictures in this posting. They are from our local paper submissions from readers with the topic of Montana in Winter. I picked these, because I thought they were the best!

Helena Montana Holter Museum of Art

In trying to locate in Helena where my husband was going on an appointment yesterday in Helena, MT, we stumbled upon the Holter Museum of Art.



We parked right in front of it and at first I thought it was just a gift shop having noticed a "Sale" sign on the curb. While my husband took off walking to locate his destination. I talked my daughter into exploring with me.



I was able to sneak a few pictures of one of the displays in the museum. I don't know if pictures were allowed as nothing was posted and there was one man feverishly working on already clean floors and another lady in the office at the check out counter for purchasing items. Everything was for sale from pottery, sewn items, jewelry, ornaments, framed pieces, western, oriental, sculptures and so much more. These items pictured were for sale as lots of two or three dolls ranging in price from $600 - $800. Some were sold and marked as such on the walls. The set of porcelain cups (approximately 8 in the set) were marked sold for $1000.





Another beautiful sight to behold was the church from the street outside the museum. The bells also ring on the hour and can be heard for quite a distance. I want to explore this place again and come when my foot is able to walk and walk without pain. I am really feeling like I over did it yesterday.

Helena Montana Excursion

Wall Mural in Helena at the Last Chance Pedestrian Mall

The family and I travelled to Helena, Montana yesterday for a doctor's appointment for my husband. The office he went to ended up being in the Last Chance Gulch Walking Mall. I had been there years ago with my husband but had forgotten about it as when we went most stores were closing for the day.



This time we found the place almost deserted and then a lot of empty really neat old buildings. It was fun to sight see and we did find interesting things to occupy our time while waiting.

Here is the online information found for our adventure:
LAST CHANCE GULCH PEDESTRIAN MALL

http://www.downtownhelena.com
Email: hlnabid@mt.net

Downtown Helena and Last Chance Gulch are alive with activity year round. This area of Helena features a pedestrian walking mall which gives residents and visitors alike a unique way to experience the history and the shopping in the area. The Gulch features a wide variety of merchants. There are custom art galleries, one-of-a-kind apparel stores, unique gifts shops, sporting good stores and entertainment venues. All business in this area are locally owned and strive to provide excellent customer service. Downtown Helena is a place to gather. In the winter, art walks and holiday strolls are featured events. In the summer, the Alive@Five free weekly concert series on Wednesday nights is a wonderful place to bring the family and have a great time. Music festivals and craft fairs are held various weekends throughout the summer. Catch it all Downtown Helena! For more information see our website at www.downtownhelena.com

Fancy Kabob Skewers found in the window at the Oriental Rug Shop


Here is a statue display of gold miners to represent the last change gulch history in Helena.

My next few blogs will be about some of the stores we ventured in.

I told the family as we were leaving that more trips to explore Helena would be made with weather and road travel permitting in the winter, but a definite in the summer as it is only about an hour to get there from Great Falls, MT.

Lewistown, Montana Exploring

My brother has been painting on some new apartments in Lewistown, Montana. He travels from Great Falls and stays 4 or 5 days during the work week and returns back home on the weekends. This week the kids and I loaded up in the van and decided to go for a visit to Lewistown. We got to see what he is working on and explore the town. He was also treated out to dinner at a hometown restaurant and a good time was had by all.

One of the first interesting things we saw were mule deer in a person's yard, almost looking like plastic lawn ornaments, but very real and moving.



My son, Wynston, spotted a park towards the end of town and we had fun seeing the cannon, rocket, Statue of Liberty replica, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, an original gold rush rail cart, and other things. My youngest son, Avery was very impressed with the swings as he called them "adult size". They even climbed on the playground equipment and went down the slides a time or two.



Lewistown is a town in that most people who visit Montana never see. Lying out in the middle of Central Montana, Lewistown is quite the distance from all the major tourist destinations in the state. And this is too bad, since Lewistown is a surprisingly nice town. The downtown is clean and historic, the streets are tree-lined and the location of Lewistown is excellent for anyone who enjoys outdoor activities.

Lewistown is located pretty much in the dead-center of Montana, and is about 100 miles to the east of Great Falls on US Highway 200. Billings, the only other nearby major city, is located about 120 miles to the south, on US Highway 87. Although Lewistown is located in Central Montana (which everyone often thinks of as being “flat”), the town sits in a very scenic setting. The Judith Mountains, which are a small mountain range, are located just to the north and east of town. The Big Snowy Mountains, which are a very scenic mountain range and rise well above timberline, are located just 20 miles south of town. And, about 40 miles southwest of town, the Little Belt Mountains rise up off the valley floor.

The Lewistown Courthouse

Some of the houses on Main Street have a grandeur and impressive feel about them as pictured here:



It was a very enjoyable day trip which we all enjoyed. I may just have to take another trip that way and explore a little bit more. My interest has been peaked to find out what a chokecherry is as one building has painted on its side like an advertisement: "The Chokecherry Capital of the World, Lewistown, Montana". I guess that will be another blog, once I find out more.