Suzann and Lori woke up early and headed out to the Capital. I slept late, had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, enjoyed watching some TV, and then headed outside around 10:20 to catch a glimpse of Suzann and she raced by! Lori soon followed. They looked great and inspired me to attempt a 5k sometime in the near future! Here is a pic of some racers going by the Red Lion Hotel:
After the race, all three of us headed out to explore Helena. Our first stop was the Montana History Museum:
My favorite was the exhibit of artist C.M. Russell. Russell was born is St. Louis and dreamed of being a cowboy in the West. He moved to Montana when he was 16 and never left. In his lifetime, he completed over 4,000 pieces of work. Here are some of my favorite from the museum:
There were a lot of items from Glacier National Park in the museum. The most interesting to me was the bear trap:
2 women were killed by grizzly bears one night in 1967 at two different locations in Glacier N.P. This started an agressive back country bear management program in the park. Closing of garbage dumps in the park and strictly enforcing food storage and garbage disposal were some of the first measures taken. Problem bears around tourists in the "frontcountry" were trapped in the above culvert-pipe trap and relocated to the backcountry.There were also some Plains Indian exhibits. Suzann and I tested out the seating in a teepee:
Some Plains Indians would hunt bison by herding them off the edge of cliffs as seen in this awesome art work:
Bison were also used to decorate the homes of the white man. The arm rest of this chair is made up of bison horns:
After the museum, we headed over to the Montana State Capital Building:
Who's that on top of the Capital you ask? I have no idea and neither does the State of Montana! Apparently, this statue arrived on the train in Helena during the construction of the Capital. Although no one knew who was depicted in the statue, they thought is was a good idea to stick it on the dome of the Capital.
We were lucky to stumble into a guided tour of the Capital. Below is a statue of Montanan Jeannette Rankin, the first woman in the US Congress. She was first elected in 1916, just before WWI, and again in 1940, just before WWII. She voted AGAINST the entry of the US into both wars and was the only Congress member to vote against WWII. With emotions and patriotism high after Pearl Harbor, this didn't make her a very popular person. She was never re-elected.
"I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war. I vote no" - Jeannette Rankin
Some Plains Indians would hunt bison by herding them off the edge of cliffs as seen in this awesome art work: 
Bison were also used to decorate the homes of the white man. The arm rest of this chair is made up of bison horns:
After the museum, we headed over to the Montana State Capital Building:
Who's that on top of the Capital you ask? I have no idea and neither does the State of Montana! Apparently, this statue arrived on the train in Helena during the construction of the Capital. Although no one knew who was depicted in the statue, they thought is was a good idea to stick it on the dome of the Capital.
We were lucky to stumble into a guided tour of the Capital. Below is a statue of Montanan Jeannette Rankin, the first woman in the US Congress. She was first elected in 1916, just before WWI, and again in 1940, just before WWII. She voted AGAINST the entry of the US into both wars and was the only Congress member to vote against WWII. With emotions and patriotism high after Pearl Harbor, this didn't make her a very popular person. She was never re-elected.
"I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war. I vote no" - Jeannette RankinThe interior of the Capital is quite impressive. The dome and interior is full of beautiful murals and stained-glass.
There are many paintings of famous people throughout the Capital. In the rotunda, one of my favorites is a painting of Mountain Man and tall-tale-teller, Jim Bridger. An expert explorer, he was one of the first white men to see the Great Salt Lake and the area that would become Yellowstone National Park. He found Bridger's Pass which shortened the Oregon Trail by 61 miles and would later become the route for the Union Pacific Railroad and Interstate 80.
Jim Bridger mural in Capital rotunda
Lori and our tour guide
These paintings above and below are of President Ulysses S. Grant driving the final golden spike of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Central Montana...
We were lucky to join the tour. Our guide had access to areas that would have otherwise been off limits to us. For example, the Senate Chamber...
...and the Old Supreme Court Chamber:
The Supreme Court now has a new home in a new judicial building so this room now holds special session meetings. The Old Supreme Court Chamber had a beautiful stained-glass ceiling and murals all around. The middle painting below is Lewis & Clark seeing the Rocky Mountains for the first time. The other two pertain to Montana becoming a territory and the other earning statehood.
More paintings from the Old Supreme Court Chamber:
Old Supreme Court Chamber ceiling:
Wow!
There are many paintings of famous people throughout the Capital. In the rotunda, one of my favorites is a painting of Mountain Man and tall-tale-teller, Jim Bridger. An expert explorer, he was one of the first white men to see the Great Salt Lake and the area that would become Yellowstone National Park. He found Bridger's Pass which shortened the Oregon Trail by 61 miles and would later become the route for the Union Pacific Railroad and Interstate 80.
Jim Bridger mural in Capital rotunda
Lori and our tour guide
These paintings above and below are of President Ulysses S. Grant driving the final golden spike of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Central Montana...
We were lucky to join the tour. Our guide had access to areas that would have otherwise been off limits to us. For example, the Senate Chamber...
...and the Old Supreme Court Chamber:
The Supreme Court now has a new home in a new judicial building so this room now holds special session meetings. The Old Supreme Court Chamber had a beautiful stained-glass ceiling and murals all around. The middle painting below is Lewis & Clark seeing the Rocky Mountains for the first time. The other two pertain to Montana becoming a territory and the other earning statehood.
More paintings from the Old Supreme Court Chamber:
Old Supreme Court Chamber ceiling:
Wow!Back in the rotunda...
Our tour guide also let us into the House of Representatives. This was a historical room as the huge painting behind the podium is by artist C.M. Russell who is mentioned above. To preserve the art work, we couldn't use flash photography. We also couldn't sit in the wooden Representative's chairs.
Our tour guide also let us into the House of Representatives. This was a historical room as the huge painting behind the podium is by artist C.M. Russell who is mentioned above. To preserve the art work, we couldn't use flash photography. We also couldn't sit in the wooden Representative's chairs.
How do I look as Speaker of the House?
The view of Helena and surrounding area from inside the Capital:
After the tour, we headed downtown for a tasty lunch at the Mediterranean Grill. We walked off lunch in Reeder's Alley.
Gold was discovered in Last Chance Gulch in 1864. Gold miners soon swept in to stake their claims. One of them built the Pioneer Cabin, Helena's oldest documented dwelling, seen below:
Business and other dwellings soon followed...
Downtown area of Helena. All of Montana's "cities" are small towns...
We visited the Cathedral of St. Helena. I didn't get very good pictures of the outside and none of the inside because a ceremony was scheduled for that evening. It is a very impressive building. We did get to peek inside and it is the prettiest cathedral I've ever seen. To view pictures of the awesome stained-glass from inside, visit their website.
St. Paul, Father Damien, St. Joan of Arc
The view of Helena and surrounding area from inside the Capital:
After the tour, we headed downtown for a tasty lunch at the Mediterranean Grill. We walked off lunch in Reeder's Alley.
Gold was discovered in Last Chance Gulch in 1864. Gold miners soon swept in to stake their claims. One of them built the Pioneer Cabin, Helena's oldest documented dwelling, seen below:
Business and other dwellings soon followed...
Downtown area of Helena. All of Montana's "cities" are small towns...
We visited the Cathedral of St. Helena. I didn't get very good pictures of the outside and none of the inside because a ceremony was scheduled for that evening. It is a very impressive building. We did get to peek inside and it is the prettiest cathedral I've ever seen. To view pictures of the awesome stained-glass from inside, visit their website.
St. Paul, Father Damien, St. Joan of ArcWe saw an ad for a Roller Derby being held at the fairgrounds. We headed over to the fairgrounds:
Who knew Roller Derby was such a poplular event? We waited in the ticket line for 15 minutes or so only to have the Sold Out sign pop up right before we got to the window. We headed to the movies instead and watched a chic-flick, Something Borrowed. After the movie, we had dessert.
Everytime I see a train, I think of Granny and how she would snap a picture of every train we saw when we visited the West for the first time on a family vacation! I get my love of picture taking from Granny!
A country church...
Neither farming or ranching is possible out here without irrigation pipes.
Dirt roads...
Do you see the swan?
Wheat bins...
Over 12,000 acres of wheat is farmed in the Three Forks, MT area for Wheat Montana, a local bakery and deli. We stopped and ordered sandwiches and cinnamon rolls to go! Oh my, they were delicious!
I heart Montana! Good times!
Who knew Roller Derby was such a poplular event? We waited in the ticket line for 15 minutes or so only to have the Sold Out sign pop up right before we got to the window. We headed to the movies instead and watched a chic-flick, Something Borrowed. After the movie, we had dessert.Sunday morning, we all slept in before having a late breakfast at Perkins. The drive back was gorgeous along Hwy 287. After a dreary, gloomy Saturday, we had sunshine and big white puffy clouds. Do you see the bunny rabbit? Suzann and Lori said it was playing leap from with a cloud-frog, but I don't see the frog! lol
Everytime I see a train, I think of Granny and how she would snap a picture of every train we saw when we visited the West for the first time on a family vacation! I get my love of picture taking from Granny!
A country church... 
Neither farming or ranching is possible out here without irrigation pipes. 
Dirt roads...
Do you see the swan? 
Wheat bins...
Over 12,000 acres of wheat is farmed in the Three Forks, MT area for Wheat Montana, a local bakery and deli. We stopped and ordered sandwiches and cinnamon rolls to go! Oh my, they were delicious!
I heart Montana! Good times!
Thanks Laura for the beautiful pictures and descriptions. I am pretty sure I could now go to Helena and have a pleasant feeling of deja vu. Not too sure about your cloud pictures... I saw completely different things in them;-)
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