May 21 -- Helena and Butte

Today there will be four posts on the blog and we will be all caught up on the blog. We didn’t get much closer to home today, BUT we had a good day sightseeing. We drove from Missoula to Helena and our first stop in Helena was at the Honda dealer to have a headlamp changed,. We then went to the State Capitol and took a self guided tour. The inside is very ornate with bright red, green and earth tone colors. A statue of Maureen and Mike Mansfield took main stage. In addition, there was a statue of a woman who was the only Congressman to vote no to World War II. It cost her re-election, but she remained true to her nonviolent beliefs. She protested against the Vietnam War in Washington in the 70’s. I imagine she would be there now protesting the Iraq war if she were alive. We had a delightful lunch at Bert and Ernies Saloon in downtown Helena and then walked the downtown area. We ended our Helena tour at a beautiful Cathedral designed similar to the National Cathedral. It was really gorgeous. It is the Catholic Cathedral of St. Helene and is modeled after a church in Vienna, Austria.

We then drove to The Grant Khors Ranch which is a working ranch in Deer Lodge that is own by the National Park Service and it is a National Historical Site. Unfortunately, it was raining and we got a little wet, but we had a new experience.

Our goal was to drive to Butte for the night and we made it. We are now at 5,000+ feet and it is snowing!!!!! They are expecting 6 inches of snow. To get to our next destination, we have to go through a pass at 6000+ feet. So, we might get to spend another night in Butte and have lots of rest.