Great Falls, Montana Tour Post 1

Great Falls, MT  - I wore a sweatshirt and was comfortable, but my friend Wendi definitely thought I was overdressed. And that is why she lives in Montana and I live in Arizona.

I stopped at a rest area and the wind was whipping those flags. I didn't get a very good picture of them but that wind affected Daisy's gas mileage. 

  Meet my friend, Wendi. 

 

I got checked into the hotel and got hold of Wendi. To save me from getting lost in the big city, she came to the hotel and picked me up. We went back to her house to do a lot of catching up. Wendi and I worked together at the IRS for several years. I am "older" but we really hit it off as good friends. 

After visiting for awhile, we decided it was time for dinner. Locals always know the best restaurants and we ended up at Tracy's Family Restaurant.  I had a pork chop sandwich that was just incredible. Way too much food, of course, so I'm sure glad the hotel room has a fridge and microwave. If you're ever in Great Falls, give Tracy's a try.

By this time it was definitely bed time for me. So we made plans for doing the tour guide thing the next day. So wonderful to have a tour guide at my beck and call.

We started our exploration of Great Falls at Giant Springs State Park. Giant Springs State Park was discovered by the Lewis & Clark Expedition in 1805. The spring flows at a rate of 156 million gallons of crystal clear water from the Madison Aquifer per day, the water originates from the Little Belt Mountains and takes approximately 26 years to reach the springs. Amazingly the water is a constant 54 degrees year round.

The park, which is along the Missouri River, is so lush and green. Very different from our Arizona desert. So many pictures. I had a terrible time picking the ones I wanted to post.

 

 School children have projects dealing with the bird houses as to what birds build nests and watching the babies get fed and venture out as they get older.

The water is so clear and beautiful.

This is the Roe River which runs from Giant Springs to the Missouri River.  It is only 201 feet long and  is 6-8 feet deep. It was named by Guinness as the World's Shortest River at one time. Guinness did away with this category after some disputes.  

The Park also has a fish hatchery - mainly trout. The dog had so much fun watching the fish swimming around and around. His owner had bought some fish food and was throwing out the food so his dog could watch the fish eat.

We took a break for lunch and went to Maria's Mexican Restaurant. Maria is married to Wendi's brother and the food was authentic and really, really good.  So much still to see in Great Falls so I am going to make a second post.