Creek Indian Reservation at Yellowtail Dam

Horses, Cattle and the Montana Big Sky...

Yellowtail Dam Montana

We had to drive through the Creek Indian Reservation to see the overview of the dam.  It is part of the Big Horn Canyon National Recreation Park

Wooden Leg Hill - Little Bighorn Battlefield

I visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Park.  This area memorializes the U.S. Army's 7th Cavalry and the Sioux and Cheyenne in one of the Indian's last armed efforts to preserve their way of life. Here on June 25 and 26 of 1876, 263 soldiers, including Lt. Col. George A. Custer and attached personnel of the U.S. Army, died fighting several thousand Lakota, and Cheyenne warriors.  The picture above is the monument to the Indians who died at the battle.

Luther-Roscoe Scenic Drve

We drove six different scenic routes while we were visiting Montana.  The Luther-Roscoe Scenic Drive was on our way to Red Lodge where we stayed for two nights in the mountains.  Red Lodge was one of my favorite places for an authentic mountain town environment.

From Fishtail to Grassland Prairies

The Absarokee Scenic Loop passes through the small western towns of Absarokee, Fishtail and NYE.  From the grassland prairie outside of Fishtail, you get a stunning view of the Beartooth Mountains.  It reminded me a lot of New Zealand's rolling hills with sheep farms.  

Absarokee Scenic Loop

 

The Absarokee Loop Scenic Drive is a forty-mile long route that makes a scenic loop through a scenic and quiet corner of Montana.  The route, which has a series of paved and gravel roads, provides beautiful views of the Beartooth Mountains.  The highlight of the trip include the Stillwater River, valleys and the Beartooth Mountain range.

Marias Pass

Marias Pass is a high mountain pass near Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. The above photograph is the Lewis overthrust, viewed from Marias Pass.

Lake McDonald

 
 The afternoon was very sunny and bright which fades the background colors but it was a beautiful day in the park.  I wished I could have stayed an extra day to get the sunrise and sunsets during the golden hours.

Kootenai Ranch

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans”  


― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America   

In High Country

 

“I’m in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love. And it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it.”

― John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America.

Glacier National Park Montana Gallery III

 

 

 
 
The above photo is of Heavens Peak.  We drove to Logan Pass Visitor Center to Hidden Lake Nature Trail.  On the way we passed the Weeping Wall. 

 

Glacier National Park Montana Gallery II

Glacier National Park Montana Gallery I

I have discovered after visiting several parks and mountain ranges two things:   I have a love for the mountains and I cannot get enough of their majesty splendor.  I also may or may not get acute mountain sickness above tree level.  By that I mean, when I reach the top of the mountain peaks and there are no trees but rocks and I am at cloud level or above the clouds,  I get AMS which kicks in at 10,000 ft above sea level.  At 10,000 feet, a person only has the effective use of 14% oxygen, only two-thirds that of sea level. Besides needing to breath deeper, I start feeling lightheaded and fear sets in.  I read that a person is at higher risk for acute mountain sickness if you live at or near sea level and travel to a high altitude.  Since I have been living in Florida most of my adult life, I now pay the price with AMS.  Living in Florida is not all what it is cracked up to be in my opinion!

Flathead River Montana

Lake McDonald Montana

 

 

North Fork Belly River

The Belly River Area of Glacier National Park in Montana.