Our drive from Bozeman to Kalispell was quite a bit longer than the expected hour and 45 minutes. There was some road construction in the Bozeman area that had the road shut down for a while. Fortunately, we were not in a big hurry. There wasn't much to do but try to find a stable radio station. There was a limited selection in this area. Even when we did find something that interested us, the radio station would become static as we inched forward.
While we sat in a long line of vehicles on the two-lane road, I had an unexpected wildlife sighting - pronghorns! A pronghorn is an antelope-like animal. I first learned about them in elementary school. What fascinated me at the time was learning that the only land animal faster than a pronghorn is a cheetah. I saw two pronghorns trotting down the shoulder of the road while we were waiting in traffic. They were much smaller than I imagined.
Traffic finally got moving only to come to a halt again about 20 minutes later. This time it was due to some event that was letting out. There were police directing traffic as vehicles were leaving a large field.
As we approached Helena, the scenery started to remind me somewhat of home for the first time since landing in Montana. We were driving on a multi-lane highway and multi-lane streets. I saw familiar chain restaurants, stores, and hotels.
Traci had looked online for restaurant recommendations. She came up with an Italian restaurant called On Broadway. It is located in the hilly historic downtown area of Helena. To get to the restaurant, we rode through neat tree-lined neighborhoods and clean commercial districts.
There was a 45-minute wait to be seated at the restaurant, so we set off on foot to explore the area. We did not get far before two smiling ladies asked if we were tourists. This led to a 15-minute conversation with these friendly ladies about everything from living in Montana to their families. Montanans are very welcoming people. Traci and I walked a little further and encountered a street festival that was closing for the day. The street was closed to vehicle traffic so that pedestrians could enjoy shopping, eating, and other entertainment. One thing that surprised me during our walk around Helena was the number of people we saw who seemed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It was not to the level I've have seen in major urban areas, but I was shocked to see it as much as I did. We normally only had to walk a block or two before seeing another person acting erratic or lethargic. Helena was not the only city in Montana where we witnessed this. We also saw it in Butte and Missoula.
parking garage mural in Helena
We enjoyed On Broadway. The food and service were great. We were just really tired at that point. We had been on the go with very little sleep since we landed in Montana the previous day.
Helena is the capital of Montana. Traci really wanted to see the capital building. Therefore, before making our way to our hotel, we made a stop to take pictures of the exterior of this beautiful building.
Our lodging for the night was the Fairfield Inn & Suites Helena (Room #221). We were upgraded to a suite because of our status in the Marriott loyalty program. There are several hotels in the area. I was amazed that I could pick up the Wi-Fi from the other hotels while sitting in our room.
I had a good night of sleep at the Fairfield. Our planned itinerary allowed us to sleep a little longer than the past two days. We still needed to get an early start but at least we did not have to get up before sunrise. We had a decent breakfast at the hotel's complimentary buffet and then got on the road.
Our destination for the day was the city of Kalispell in northwest Montana. It is close to Glacier National Park which was on our sightseeing itinerary. Kalispell is about a 3-hour drive from Helena. We made two interesting stops along the way. The first was Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild. Artists from around the world created sculptures from the surrounding forest. It was chilly with a light rain when we arrived but turned into a warm day by the time we left. We ended up spending longer than the one-hour visit I had anticipated. We wanted to make sure we saw all 22 artistic creations. By the time we made it back to the car, Traci's watch indicated that we had walked a little over two miles.
We drove through beautiful farmland with mountains in the background en route to our next destination. Every now and then we would pass through a small town. These small towns, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, always had me wondering who chooses to live there and what do they do for a living? Regardless of how small the town is, we were always able to spot a casino and a cannabis dispensary.
We got majorly delayed during our drive. Once again, this was due to road work. As we were heading into the mountains, we encountered a temporary traffic light on the two-laned road. There was a sign indicating that we needed to wait for a pilot car to escort us. I had never encountered anything like this before. After waiting close to ten minutes, the escort car arrived and we began to follow it through the maze of obstacles created by the road work. I thought maybe we'd follow the car for a mile, but this went on for 17 miles! Sometimes we were creeping along at 20 mph! I am so thankful that we were not trying to make it to a tour.
escorted through construction by a pilot car
After getting through the pilot escort car experience, we drove through more picturesque rural scenery. Our destination was the Garnet Ghost Town. I had read the warning online about trying to get there from I-90. The reviewers warned that the road from there is not suitable for any vehicles other than high-clearance 4-wheel drive vehicles. I heeded the warnings and planned to get there via MT-200. Even still, Garnet Ghost Town is in a remote location. When you turn off of MT-200, you travel on 6 miles of a winding road followed by 5 miles of a bumpy gravel road. It was a dusty adventure!
The town of Garnet started in the late 1800's as gold and silver miners migrated from the dried-up mines in California and Colorado. The population boomed to 1,000 in 1898, but after the mining dried up, people began to leave. By 1940, it was a ghost town. Garnet has the distinction of being Montana's best preserved ghost town. There are around 30 buildings remaining. We spent a little over an hour wandering in and out of the buildings. Among my favorites were the hotel and the one-room schoolhouse. What amazed me most about the visit was realizing how far the people had to transport equipment and materials to create and sustain the town. We had to drive on a rudimentary "road" to get here. Back then, the people most likely had to traverse unfavorable terrain without basic roads and modern vehicles.
Our visit to Garnet Ghost Town was nice but we were glad to leave. The town is plagued by fat, annoying flies. These flies have a very loud buzz. They would follow us for several minutes. We would swat at them, but they would dodge and come right back at us. They would often land on us. They do not bite as far as I could tell but the buzzing made us jumpy. They affected Traci so much that later that evening, she remarked that it seemed like she could still hear the flies buzzing even though there were no flies around us.
We did not realize that Garnet Ghost Town is not a free attraction until we were leaving. Traci happened to notice a box near the parking lot indicating an admission price of $10 per person. I guess it was an honor system because there was no one around to collect a payment. Fortunately, I happened to have $20 on me at the time (I don't use cash much these days) which I was able to insert into the payment slot.
The rest of the ride to Kalispell was scenic. We passed lakefront properties and small towns. Many of the towns seem to cater to lake recreation with rentals, restaurants, and RV parks. Of course, there are casinos and cannabis dispensaries no matter how small the town is.
We checked into the SpringHill Suites Kalispell (Room #418). It is located in a suburban commercial area where there are chain stores, chain restaurants, and chain hotels. After checking into the hotel, we got some gas at the Costco across the street and then made our way to the downtown area of Kalispell for dinner. Just like in other Montana cities we visited, Kalispell's downtown has more of a quaint feel than an urban vibe. Whereas Butte had a copper theme due to its copper mines, Kalispell has a glacier theme given its proximity to Glacier National Park. The businesses in Kalispell often have the word "Glacier" in their name.
outside our hotel in Kalispell
We had dinner at a very good barbeque restaurant called The Desoto Grill. Once again, we enjoyed good, welcoming service. Traci and I decided to share the 3-meat platter, but we were having trouble deciding what our 3 meats would be. We were not up for trying elk or buffalo. We were considering ribs, salmon, and beef brisket. Our waitress seemed more than willing to share her opinions about the food. She told us that the cooks tend to grill the salmon too long thus rendering it too dry for her taste. Our waitress complained that the cooks shave the fat off the brisket before grilling. She said doing so takes away from the flavor. This description almost convinced me to choose something else, but I decided to take my chances with the brisket. In the end, our three meat choices were ribs, chicken, and beef brisket. To my surprise, it was scrumptious. I feared the brisket would be dry and stringy, but it was not. We had a great meal. Our only problem was that we could not finish it. We got a doggy bag, but we knew we would not have an opportunity to eat the leftovers.
It was almost 9 PM when we left the restaurant but seemed much earlier. It was still bright and sunny. The sun sets even later in Kalispell than the other cities we visited in Montana. I remember looking out of our hotel window after 10:30 PM and it still was not dark. Continue...
Other Road Trips:
