God's Country

I know why they call it God's country.... Montana is absolutely beautiful!!! 

     

 

           

               

   

Gates of the Mountain Aug 14

On the Missouri River, not far form present day Helena, Montana the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition toiled to move upstream.  Rock embankments made towing the shore impossible, and the deep channel forced the men to row. Suddenly from both sides of the river, limestone cliffs rose to a spectacular height of 1200 feet.  Lewis wrote that the rock looked like it would tumble down and at each bend of the waterway, stone walls seemed to block the passage, only to open like giant gates.  So he named it "Gates of the Mountain."

  

I took a two hour boat tour on the Missouri to see the Gates of the Mountain.  It was very pretty and the last part of my trip I saw a bald eagle that was young and had not developed the white head and tall yet.  

On my way home, there was a gorgeous sunset right outside Butte, Montana. These two shots are on the side of the road!

Helena Montana July 24, 2010

I went to state capital of Montana, Helena, which is about 2 hours away.  In 1864, gold was discovered in Helena and by 1888 more than 50 millionaires lived there which made it the richest city per capital in the US. Although, I did not find any gold I did have great ice cream at the famous Parrot candy store.

  

Downtown there is a nice walking mall with lots of shops and restaurants.

While driving home I saw this cute church out in the country so I had to stop and take some pictures.

  

             

July 17th Mary C & Chance Baragary's Wedding

My adventures began when my first flight was severely delayed.  I landed in Salt Lake City 2 minutes before my departure time for St. Louis.  I ran through 3 terminals with my backpack at a full sprint.  The whole time thinking to myself, thank God I wore my tennis shoes and not my flip flops and I just ran 3 miles last night... I should be in shape... then why am I so out of breath!  I arrived at my gate and my plane was still there but the ticket agent had already left.  So I went to another gate and demanded that the agent help me!  I'm not sure if my pleading, begging, or my asthma attack that convinced the agent to help me get on the plane!  But I made it to St Louis!  Shocking but my bag did NOT!  With no chance that my bag would arrive before the wedding (and yes I pitched a fit with the Delta representative that I needed the bag for the wedding).  Saturday morning with a 2 hour time restraint, my mom and I went shopping for a dress and shoes!  No pressure!!! We found a black dress and silver shoes and Delta happily reimbursed me for it!!!  So this is my Delta Dress!

 

The wedding was wonderful and the bride, Mary C looked more radiant than any southern belle including Scarlet O'Hara!  After a wonderful ceremony, a couple of pictures, everyone had a great time at the reception!  People ate too much and danced until midnight.  All in all the wedding was fabulous!! Congratulation Mary C and Chance!!

 

   

  

     

 

 

 

 

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons July 10-11

Yellowstone

Lower Fall

Lower Falls, the biggest waterfall in Yellowstone, is  308-foot tall.  The waterfall is one of the most photographed spots in Yellowstone. The canyon's colors were created by hot water acting on volcanic rock. It was not these colors, but the river's yellow banks at its distant confluence with the Missouri River, that occasioned the Minnetaree Indian name, which French trappers translated as roche jaune, yellow stone.  The canyon has been cut by great glacial outburst floods. 









Old Faithful

Old Faithful geyser was named for its frequent eruptions — which number more than a million since Yellowstone became the world’s first national park in 1872. Old Faithful erupts about every 92 minutes, shooting water 135 feet into the air on average. Like most of theYellowstone's geysers, Old Faithful gets its water from deep inside the earth. Snow and rainwater reach depths of about 10,000 feet below the ground, where it is heated by magma and forced back up through the surface.











Grand Tetons


The Grand Tetons are the single most beautiful place on earth, in my book!  It's absolutely breathtaking and, no matter what the weather may bring, they never disappoint! The tallest peak of the Teton Mountains is known as the Grand Teton, at 13,770 feet it is the second highest mountain in Wyoming. The Teton mountain range is 40 miles long and about 8 miles wide. The Teton Mountains were created when ground pressure forced two sections of the earth's crust to move. One moved upward to form the mountains and the other created the valley of Jackson Hole when it sank down. Melting glaciers helped to create lakes in the area, including Jackson Lake.

  

Hidden Falls
I hiked a 5 mile round trip trail around Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls.  Hidden Falls is not really a falls, but a 200 foot cascade.  Even if it's not considered a waterfall it is beautiful.