On Top of Big Mountain

Whitefish, MT   High 66  Low 43

Jim and I decided to ride the gondola to the top of Big Mountain. You need to know that I am not the bravest person in the world when it comes to heights and swinging conveyances. But I swallowed my stomach and said I’d ride.

In 1937, the Whitefish Lake Ski Club obtained a special permit from the U.S. Forest Service enabling them to build cabins and trails in the Hell Roaring Creek region. A couple of Great Falls businessmen  quickly recognized the area’s potential and shortly after World War II, began efforts to develop a full-fledged ski resort on the mountain.

Winter Sports, Inc. (WSI) was founded on March 31, 1947 and it was a community enterprise from the start with local people selling shares of stock to meet payrolls, donating labor, preparing the slopes, even giving up free time to help push through an all-weather mountain road. On the morning of December 14, 1947, a thousand townsfolk stood on the slopes of the new Big Mountain resort to watch the brand new T-Bar lift bring their vision to life.

The Chalet was erected in 1949 just in time to host the U.S. Alpine Championships that same year.

This was the only wildlife we saw.

Jim used to ski Big Mountain when we lived in Lakeside. So he was very familiar with the chair lift. You had your choice of riding either in a gondola or on a chair. I picked the gondola because it is enclosed which I know that if something broke it wouldn’t matter either way. But I felt more secure in the gondola.

I was amazed at the number of mountain bike riders that were riding the lift to the top with their bikes. There are also several hiking trails at the top and all the way down if you’re interested.

There is also an alpine sled ride that Jim would really like to do but maybe next time.

I did okay on the way up to the top and the views into Glacier Park were amazing. There was a haze in the air so my pictures didn’t turn out all that good. So here’s a picture of what it should look like that I borrowed from their website.

The trip back down did not go as smoothly. I knew Jim would have liked to ride in a chair rather than a gondola and I really thought about it. But I chickened out and it’s a good thing I did. They stopped the ski lift when we were about half way down, and the gondola started to swing. I had a panic attack and poor Jim tried to calm me down and keep me breathing. I was so glad when we finally touched earth again.

The Big Reason We’re in Kalispell

Kalispell, MT   High 71  Low 44

Family is always the best reason to visit an area. This is our son, David, his wife, Kelly, and our granddaughter, Katie. We got a chance to visit when we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.

On Friday, Katie invited us to her volleyball game. She is a Sophomore and has always been very athletic. She’s having a tough time right at the moment because she is playing with a broken finger.

Friday was also the Homecoming Parade for Glacier High School. After the volleyball game we stuck around long enough to watch the parade. Jim really liked this old truck.

That’s Katie waving to us from the float she was on.

It’s been many many years since we were in a high school. Brought back a lot of memories.

Scenes from the Hi-Line

Havre, MT     Cold

Linda definitely was right. Highway 2 follows the railroad tracks all across Montana. Highway 2 from about Culbertson, MT to Cut Bank, MT is known as the Hi-Line. Nothing but wind swept rolling prairies of wheat fields and small railroad towns along the Milk River.

I’m sure most of you are tired of museums (as I am) but I took two pictures at the Blaine County Museum that I want to share.

This piano was made by Miles Kimball in 1903 and was used during the silent film era at the Orpheum Theatre in Chinook.

This desk was made in the 1880s. I thought it was so beautiful.

Dave’s Texaco is a National Registered Historic Place which is now a credit union.

Notice the girl in the Champaign glass – love these old neon signs.

There used to be a sugar beet factory in Chinook so this is a picture of their mascot.

There were donkeys at the RV park in Havre with big signs that said they bite.

Sunset in my outside truck mirror.

The same sunset from our campground.

Welcome to Shelby

Roadside sign outside Shelby

The World’s Largest Penguin in Cut Bank.

After you leave Cut Bank the mountains of Glacier Park start showing up in your windshield. Highway 2 takes you through a small portion of Glacier Park.

Before reaching Browning we stopped at Lewis and Clark’s northern most camp.

I don’t understand why people have to vandalize memorials or anything else.

The Espresso Tipi in Browning

Fall colors

North Fork of the Flathead River

Forty Miles to Freedom

Chinook, MT  - cold and windy  High 42

Besides the underground tour, there was one other place I really wanted to see.

We had to backtrack to Chinook and start this trek at the Blaine County Museum. They have a great presentation of the Bear Paw Battle and is a must stop before heading out to the battlefield.

Following the breakout of war in Idaho, nearly 800 Nez Perce led by Chief Joseph spent a long and arduous summer fleeing U.S. Army troops toward refuge in Canada.

Before entering the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, Chief Joseph’s people survived fierce fighting at Canyon Creek and left the battlefield with General Howard far behind.  However, moving rapidly from the southeast were about 520 officers, soldiers, scouts and civilians under the command of Colonel Nelson A. Miles.

The Nez Perce made camp on September 29, 1877 along Snake Creek in the Bear Paws. There were about 700 people – warriors, women, and children. The weather turned bitterly cold, but as they made a place to sleep they felt protected by the rolling hills and their belief that Howard’s soldiers had given up the chase.  Knowing Canada was only about 40 miles north, they began at last to feel as if they would reach safety.

Two of Colonel Miles scouts found the village of the Nez Perce and reported back to the colonel. The battle began. After several days of battles the Nez Perce debated between surrendering, continuing to fight, or retreating. Joseph refused to attempt a breakout because it would mean leaving the wounded, the sick and the old people.

Forty miles short of the Canadian border and following a five-day battle and siege, the Nez Perce ceased fighting at Bear Paw on October 5th, 1877.

Once he and other Nez Perce leaders were confident their people would not be harmed, Joseph sent his last message to the commanders through Captain John.

Chief Joseph:

“Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before I have in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead.    

Tu-hul-hul-sote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food; no one knows where they are – perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Here me, my chiefs. I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.”

Surrender site picture from ttp://www.friendsnezpercebattlefields.org

We did not walk the battlefield because it was sooo cold. The wind was blowing and even with a sweatshirt and a coat I was miserable. The Park Ranger had an amazing amount of knowledge about the battle but I felt bad for him because it was just so cold.

Beneath The Streets of Havre

Havre, MT   High 66  Low 46

The city of Havre was built as a railroad supply depot by the Great Northern Railway. It grew overnight and was a collection of hastily built wooden buildings. The 1904 fire took out the entire town, but residents were not going to give up and they moved into the basements of their buildings and continued to run their businesses until the buildings were rebuilt above ground. This time, the buildings were built of stone to reduce the chance of fire.

Arriving in Havre

A series of tunnels was dug to connect the underground businesses. After the respectable businesses moved back above ground, the railroad decided to have their Chinese workers live in the tunnels for their own safety. The businesses they ran were a laundry, an opium den, and a bordello.

Havre now offers tours of part of the underground. We had taken this tour about 15 years ago when Todd was a teenager and we were really looking forward to visiting again.

Kathy, our tour guide, was fabulous. She was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable it was a really fun tour. It was really hard for me to pick out the pictures for the blog so there are quite a few in this post.

Our first stop was the automobile service company. Notice the pieces of glass in the ceiling. These are actually sky lights and were used for lighting the businesses underground.

This is what the pieces of glass look like up on the sidewalk. They turned purple from the sun affecting the magnesium in the glass.

 

Holland and Son Mercantile

Wrights Dental Office

Tack Shop

Notice the size of the bellows in the blacksmith’s store

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Boone’s Drug Store

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On to the mortuary – these are what were used as body bags

One of the best stops was Sporting Eagle Saloon

Complete with swinging doors

The Chinese run businesses weren’t necessarily as tame. An opium den

The laundry

And, of course, the bordello

Notice the numbers on the wall – the girls were only known by number and you can see how close the “rooms” were. No privacy except for the curtain.

This is one of the passage ways

This tour was worth the stop. So glad we decided to take the time for it.

Across the street from the depot is the Hands Across the Border statue of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the United States Border Patrol.