We arrived in the USA a few days ago and were met with challenges getting our cell phones up and running. It is very difficult to activate a new SIM card when you have no access to a landline and there aren't any payphones hanging around! Once we finally sorted things out, we realized we were camping in places that had very poor cell networks and we couldn't use our phones or data anyway.
We opted not to explore Glacier National Park in Montana as we were told it was very similar to Jasper/Banff but slightly less awe-inspiring. Instead, we decided to head further east.
The drive from Alberta to Montana was not exactly what we were expecting. We crossed at the Coutts/Sweet Grass border crossing, which was slow - 2 lanes for truckers, 1 for everyone else... not stellar.
The first thing we noticed was the MEGA price drop in gas! In the northern part of Montana, there were many farm fields, and, like in Alberta, many fields had oil well heads on them.
The roads were flat but we could see the Rocky Mountains in the distance to the far West. As we continued further south, the roads began to wind their way up "mountains", but there was something different about these inland mountains - they felt older and more tired.
We passed through a couple of towns that were quite elevated (>5000ft). The Canadian Rockies are rough, tall and overpowering while New York's Adirondacks and New Hampshire's White Mountains are a bit more muted and demure, yet still raw. The mountains that rise from the Northern Montana inland feel deceivingly big, they pop out of nowhere, they're sparsely treed and are made of giant boulders, stacked. They're more weathered and feel much more visited.
A few things we noticed about Montana: 1) Almost everyone drives a pick-up truck or SUV (2/3 of vehicles are pickups) - we saw very few minivans! 2) The kids counted over 45 different Montana license plate styles in our short time in the state. 3) The weather changes rapidly- we had extreme heat (30+ deg C) and chilly rain (5deg C) within a 24-hour period of time - not unlike home - but with much lower overall humidity! 4) The scenery changes drastically within relatively short distances.
Salt flats roadside in northern Montana
Farms turning to mountains...starting to see some trees
Arriving in the mountains
Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park
We camped a few nights at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park in southwest Montana. The kids had fun checking out all of the different RVs in the park and comparing them to ones they had seen in Canada.
We headed out on our mountain bikes to explore and were shocked to find the climate so arid. We saw cacti growing in the mountains!
Crossing the train track on our bikes
In our last minute booking of the this campground, we had noted that there were some caverns and caves that could be explored with a guided tour. This tour turned out to be a highlight of our trip so far.
The Lewis and Clark Caverns are well-maintained limestone caves and caverns discovered in the early 1800s- home to bats and many interesting formations. We learned about dripstone, seepstone and flowstone and heard many stories and facts from our passionate guide (a retired teacher who loved to share knowledge with others). The cave system was very elaborate and we climbed, slid, waddled and ducked to a depth of 550 feet into the mountain...and we didn't feel the least bit claustrophobic as the caverns were so huge.
The view as we hiked up to the entrance to the cave system
Lit staircase making it possible to go deep into the caverns
Mike checking out a side cavern
The Paradise Cavern- the kids led the way chatting with our guide
We opted not to explore Glacier National Park in Montana as we were told it was very similar to Jasper/Banff but slightly less awe-inspiring. Instead, we decided to head further east.
The drive from Alberta to Montana was not exactly what we were expecting. We crossed at the Coutts/Sweet Grass border crossing, which was slow - 2 lanes for truckers, 1 for everyone else... not stellar.
The first thing we noticed was the MEGA price drop in gas! In the northern part of Montana, there were many farm fields, and, like in Alberta, many fields had oil well heads on them.
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| A drive-by photo - look for the many oil well heads! |
We passed through a couple of towns that were quite elevated (>5000ft). The Canadian Rockies are rough, tall and overpowering while New York's Adirondacks and New Hampshire's White Mountains are a bit more muted and demure, yet still raw. The mountains that rise from the Northern Montana inland feel deceivingly big, they pop out of nowhere, they're sparsely treed and are made of giant boulders, stacked. They're more weathered and feel much more visited.
A few things we noticed about Montana: 1) Almost everyone drives a pick-up truck or SUV (2/3 of vehicles are pickups) - we saw very few minivans! 2) The kids counted over 45 different Montana license plate styles in our short time in the state. 3) The weather changes rapidly- we had extreme heat (30+ deg C) and chilly rain (5deg C) within a 24-hour period of time - not unlike home - but with much lower overall humidity! 4) The scenery changes drastically within relatively short distances.
Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park
We camped a few nights at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park in southwest Montana. The kids had fun checking out all of the different RVs in the park and comparing them to ones they had seen in Canada.
We headed out on our mountain bikes to explore and were shocked to find the climate so arid. We saw cacti growing in the mountains!
In our last minute booking of the this campground, we had noted that there were some caverns and caves that could be explored with a guided tour. This tour turned out to be a highlight of our trip so far.
The Lewis and Clark Caverns are well-maintained limestone caves and caverns discovered in the early 1800s- home to bats and many interesting formations. We learned about dripstone, seepstone and flowstone and heard many stories and facts from our passionate guide (a retired teacher who loved to share knowledge with others). The cave system was very elaborate and we climbed, slid, waddled and ducked to a depth of 550 feet into the mountain...and we didn't feel the least bit claustrophobic as the caverns were so huge.
Great post! I love going into caves. It always reminds me that there's so much more to this orb we live on than what we see on its surface every day.
ReplyDeleteThe caverns were truly incredible. All ages on the tour and all of us awe-inspired!
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