We hated to leave Waterton, but we had reserved a room in Helena and needed to hit the road. It was time to start the journey back home. With a couple stops to feast our eyes on the lakes and almost-endless panorama of mountains, we headed the car southward.
The drive was prettier than we had expected. After the showy, mountainous landscapes we'd just departed, we feared almost anything else was going to seem rather lacking. But, in fact, the scenery was quite dramatic in its own way.
Waterton refers to itself as "where the mountains meet the prairie." Indeed, we could see the Rockies for much of our drive, but we were now gazing out on endless miles of snowy prairie, which not only fully realized that expression for us but also helped to define Montana's moniker of Big Sky Country.
As we left the mountains behind and got nearer to Helena, we drove through a stretch of highway labeled as scenic on our roadmap. It was much more lush than the prairie, and the snow had never made it to this area. We loved the velvety contoured hills with pine trees. We later learned that this is known as the Front Range. Not as over-the-top pretty as other areas we'd been seeing, but very appealing all on its own.
On Saturday, we set out to see the highlights of Helena. Years ago, I came to Helena for a business meeting. I was very taken with its historic old town center and have for years suggested to Jerry that we should visit sometime. It may have taken a couple decades, but we were finally doing it.
We started off with a self-guided tour of the capitol building. It underwent a restoration about 7-8 years ago, and it is a real gem. Stained glass ceilings and historical murals. Sculptures and tilework. Fabulous frescoes.
We then explored the nearby residential neighborhoods, with their red brick and Victorian houses and inviting front porches. All the streets were tree-lined and were a snapshot from another era.
Next on our list was a visit to Helena's cathedral. We had read of it in a guidebook while planning the trip, but were still blown away by how beautiful it was. It has fabulous Bavarian stained glass and lots of painted details on its arches and ceiling ribs. It's a very large and well-appointed structure for a town of only 28,000 or so people.
In the afternoon, we drove a short distance outside town to the Archie Bray Foundation, which is a well-known clay and pottery "campus." There are resident ceramic artists, with numerous studios and a pair of galleries. It is a very funky place, with pieces of pottery everywhere--in flower beds, at the base of trees, in the fields, on doorsteps and windowsills. It was interesting to walk the grounds and see the original brick-making facilities and large, round-topped kilns. (Not too surprisingly, a couple pieces of ceramic art followed us home.)
I'm sure we missed lots of other things and places that could have been discovered in Helena, but we enjoyed our "greatest hits" tour of this busy Montana town.
Next stop Idaho, then we're heading for our home base.
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