Sunday, August 15, 2010

8/15/10 Sunday - More Helena and the Gates of the Mountains





We started the morning with a visit to St Helena's Cathedral in the downtown area. I forgot to take pictures! It is a beautiful gothic-style church with marble pillars, lots of gold leaf, and spectacular stained glass windows.

At lunchtime, we grabbed a picnic and picked up friends Lynn, John, and Anna and headed north out of town on our way to an adventure. We took a boat ride on the Missouri River to the Gates of the Mountains, so named by Meriweather Lewis 200+ years ago when he, William Clark, and the Corps of Discovery passed through the area. We saw some bald eagles, and I was able to get a photo of Reed with a juvenile in a tree (no white head yet). Other photos are a shot of the river as it winds through the Gates; Field Camp, thought to be the place where Lewis & Clark camped - the dead pine trees are victims of the treacherous bark beetle; red pictographs high on the limestone cliffs above the river. There's nothing like a good rock art panel to add zing to the day!

Later, we took advantage of Lynn's hospitality and finished a load of laundry at her house, then had an early dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Interestingly, the first 2 we tried were both closed on Sundays, but the third time was the charm.

2 comments:

  1. Those pictures are gorgeous. The water looks so inviting, like I could reach in and touch it.

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  2. Yeah, we didn't bring swim things for the kids to go in. Later they went in the hotel pool, and Bret's eyes were burning from too much chlorine!

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