Glacier to Shelby and Great Falls, Montana

August 16 - 18, 2020:  Glacier to Shelby and Great Falls, Montana

It’s a beautiful scenic ride east out of Glacier along the Flathead River with many fishing access points and national forest access roads.  I stop at a couple of fishing access points but mostly just drive on.  The East entrance of Glacier National Park is closed for Covid-19 concerns with the Blackfoot Indian Reservation.

Entering the Blackfoot Indian reservation I make a couple of stops at East Glacier Park, (partially deserted at present) and at the much larger town of Browning.  People are mostly wearing masks at Browning, but I never leave the confines of my van. It is a very poverty level town, very sad, but there are many photo op’s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfoot_Confederacy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browning,_Montana

The Piegans, the Blood and the Blackfoot Nation

East Glacier Park looking sad, dark and deserted 

Across the road is a proud warrior statue

Interesting mural in Browning

It doesn't appear that Espresso sold well on the reservation 

I make a stop along route 2 at a historic sign pointing out a Lewis and Clark Monument on a hear by hill.  I take a ride there to find it heavily vandalized, the Blackfeet are not particularly thrilled with such monuments put up on their reservation.  Kind of like the push back today for monuments to southern civil war heroes ?

The furthest point north reached by Lewis and Clark, a disappointment since it wasn't
favorable to the new Louisiana Purchase border agreement

The Monument erected by the Great Northern Railroad

Statue in Browning

Old church with great stained glass windows

Indian Tee Pee design window

I had hoped to see this museum as it likely would have shown history from a different perspective, but it was closed

My next stop is Cut Bank which is just outside of the Indian reservation boundaries and is mostly a wheat farming area noe but was once the next potential oil field boom town.

https://www.bigskyfishing.com/Montana-Info/Hi-Line/cut-bank.shtm

More good murals here

I even liked their street banners

One of my all time favorite Elk Club signs

The building was unusual too

Lots of large promotional photo murals in town done by Standard Oil in the 1940's  

  

Wheat appears to be the dominent cash crop these days

I then arrive at Shelby, Montana where I stay for the night on a street near the Rail Depot.  In the evening when they form the freight trains, the sounds of the couplings are incredible, I felt the ground shake from where I was.  Shelby has a nice down town feel to it in spite of all the tacky casinos and bars.   Shelby came to prominence as a Great Northern Railroad division point and it is still a railroad hub with a huge BNSF freight train yard and Amtrak passenger service.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby,_Montana

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Dempsey_vs._Tommy_Gibbons

This town is filled with good signs and bars

I love the Indian riding the Buffalo on this sign

The dancing signs lights up nicely at night too !

The main sport here is drinking

When the Great Northern Railway set up shop here, people swarmed in

Shelby is gained national attention in the 1950’s as an oil boom town but the bonanza didn’t last long.  Today, the bonanza seems to be wheat farming, the plains for miles and miles around Shelby are nothing but golden wheat fields.

Liquid Gold !

The most prominent and controversial occurrence in Shelby seems to be the famous boxing match between Jack Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons.

It was a huge event, fight of the century, basically a con job and lost a ton of money

Sculpture in town park where you can read all the details about the fight

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I leave Shelby at noon on Monday taking route 15 south toward Great Falls, Montana.  I whistle stop a several small rural towns along the way, some interesting, some not so much, but all with large grain elevators, tractors and combines.

I arrive in Great Falls in mid afternoon where I have made a reservation at a Great Western Hotel located on the river front.  It's far and away the nicest hotel I've stayed at during this trip.  

Great Falls is a place I have spent time in on a previous RV adventure, it has several intersting buildings and many nice residential areas, but the old downtown area itself is looking distressed these days.  There isn't much excitement in the town these days, it's even tough to find a decent restaurant.  

I managed to see a sign at a brew pub in downtown with a live music session in the evening.  It was good, but hardly memorable.  

I found the bakery which I remember from years ago, it is still very good, but sort of wasted on this town.

It's a great place if you are into Lewis and Clark history as their experience in the Missouri River here portaging around the falls was interesting.  I took a ride along the river in the State Park area to see a couple of of the other falls, there are five of them.  Due to the current dams, one is submerged and the others are diminished from what L & C saw.   If they could see this area now, I don't think they would be pleased.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Falls,_Montana

This design element over the doorway is great

Murals in a back alley

A positive approach is much needed

Animal signs in building windows were great

I love these old advertising signs

One of the best old Railroad Depots now turned into insurance company offices

Great fish mural under Missouri River bridge

The Black Eagle Dam on the Missouri River as seen from the Rivers Edge Trail 

Like humans, some flowers look better from behind

Incredible berries along this trail

Appears to be a good berry year ?

A few miles downriver is this beautiful iron truss bridge adjacent to Rainbow Dam

Past the bridge is probably the greatest waterfall in Great Falls, Rainbow Falls. Imagine how this view would have looked when the river was free flowing without dams.  

My next destination is a mystery, I will know only when I get there.  That's the beauty and freedom of van travel, no reservations or campsite necessary.