The Gates of the Mountains

I let Kathe write the blog yesterday because the two of them were so tired when they got home last night that they were just plain boring.  No body wanted to play ball or anything.  Jim was on the couch pretending to read  with his eyes closed and Kathe was on the computer, so I went to sleep and let her write the darn blog herself.  I fixed her this morning! I woke her up at 5:49 and started crying until she had to get dressed and take me outside.  I really didn't need to go out, I just wanted to remind her who's the boss around here.

This morning Al and Fran came over and took Kathe and Jim on an excursion to a place called,

"Gates of the Mountain."  It was a two hour boat trip on the Missouri River through majestic canyon walls.  In 1805 the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition named these 1200 foot limestone walls that push through the mountains the "gates of the mountains."  As you float down the river you could see places where it appeared that it was a dead end with a canyon wall right in front of the boat, but then as you got closer, the wall opened up and the river flowed on.  The captain of the boat pointed out the various formations and told of the historical significance of the areas.

The Cathedral of St. Helena is a Victorian Gothic structure which is modeled after the Votive Church of the Sacred Heart in Vienna, Austria.  A Montana millionaire who lost his wife and only child donated his fortune to build it in their memory.  The marble interior structures and the beautiful stained glass windows were magnificent.

Then it was on to the office of Fish and Game, which Al called the Fish Museum.  There was an exhibit of the incredible variety of fish in the Montana lakes, rivers, and streams.  Al and Jim are talking about catching some of them tomorrow.  The "museum" was a taxidermists dream.

My paws are getting tired of typing.  They did so much today that I'm glad I stayed home to rest.

It was two minutes to closing when they reached the State Capitol which was dedicated on July 4th 1902.  Because of the state's rich mining history, the capitol dome is made of Montana copper.  The building houses many historical sculptures and paintings including a 12x25 foot painting, "Lewis and Clark Meeting the Indians" by Charles M. Russell.

I'm out of space, I told you it was a busy day!