Day 27, Driving to Helena was the prettiest drive yet! I could not stop taking pictures.

At Tower Rock (I think it was called) we stopped at the scenic view pull-off and what a view! It is well worth climbing the steps for the view.

We arrived at our campground early so that we could head out to the Gates of the Mountains for our 2 hour boat cruise. Our captain is a retired school teacher and what a wealth of information!
He pointed out where Lewis and Clark’s expedition stopped along the river, the rock formation, Indian pictographs, bighorn sheep and mountain goats. We didn’t see any sheep or goats, but we did see ospreys and bald eagles.

For Lewis and Clark, the rock embankments made towing from shore impossible, and the deep channel forced the men to row rather than pole their boats forward. The limestone cliffs rose to a spectacular height of 1200 feet.

At each bend in the waterway, great stone walls seemed to block passage, only to open like gentle giant gates at they got closer. Lewis called this place “Gates of the Mountains,” which it is still called today. We stopped to stretch our legs at one of the few places in the canyon that a boat can be beached and it is believed that the expedition camped in this spot in 1805. There is a picnic area and grills in the area, so on our next trip, we would love to be able to plan a cook out.

The pictographs (pictured below in the middle of the picture) are evidence that Lewis and Clark were not the first in this area. It is believed that Indians were there 300 years before Lewis and Clark.

Just before dusk, a few of us took a ride up the road and saw a herd of cow elks. They didn’t seem real bothered by us watching them. Right about dusk we spotted the silhouette of a few of them on the hilltop. THAT WAS COOL!
The city of Helena seemed to twinkle in the night. I think it it weren’t so cold in the winter, this would be a wonderful place to live.