On the advice of the father of a family we met at the West Glacier KOA, we decided to go to Helena, MT today. As incredible as it seemed to us, this family from Lethbridge, Alberta had never visited the St. Mary (eastern side) of Glacier National Park. Only a one hour and 42 minute drive to some of the most beautiful country, and he'd never visited, even though he'd lived in Lethbridge for the past five years (they'd moved from British Columbia). Amazing. We talked about the trails he might investigate there with his two young sons and wife, and he discussed some of the places he had visited. Helena had made an impression on him.
So off we went through more of the same gorgeous valleys and mountains. Arrived in Helena around 1:00 and found the Helena Cathedral first. The tour guide approached us and asked us if we'd like a tour, so we agreed. Building started in 1908, as our he told us, and ended in 1912. He gave us all the history of the cathedral. The church itself is beautiful--everything looks so well cared for. As a matter of fact, he told us that the church was in the process of a major renovation for which they were in the process of raising $4MM. They had replaced the floors (with tile), cleaned some of the many stained glass windows (fabulous). The stained glass in this cathedral were striking. I guess what impressed both Ray and me was that there were so many. On both walls, there were 2 levels of windows--all stained glass, in addition to the full wall of stained glass behind the altar and above the choir loft in the rear. The lighting was all gold leafed. The baptismal font was the only piece that really did not fit the cathedral. It was tiled, and looked much more modern than in any Gothic church I've ever seen. (It had an adult immersion pool as well as the infant bowl.) We lit a candle in Mary's chapel to the side of the main altar for strength, health and peace for Fr. Steve . The stained glass windows were worth the trip. And the personal guided tour was a bonus.
After this, we drove over to the state house. We were struck by the lack of security, as we casually strolled in the lower level doors. No one checked bags. We didn't see anyone, as we gave ourselves our own tour. I guess we've gotten used to security 2008 that we expected more attention to our presence. While not overly impressive (the Utah capitol, and for that matter,, the Massachusetts capitol are great), it was OK. One somewhat interesting side note is that on the second floor, there is a statue of Mike Mansfield, former senator from MT. His statue is joined with that of his wife. The only way he would permit a statue of himself in the capitol was to demand that his wife be portrayed next to him. What a smart guy!! A highlight of the capitol was the statue out front. It was of Thomas Francis Meagher, first governor of the state of Montana. The plaque on the statue tells his story: he formed the Irish Brigade for the Army of the Potomac, commanded in the battles of Fair Oaks, Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, White Oaks Swamp, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and was acting governor from 1865 til his death. After surviving all that, he drowned in the Missouri River at Fort Benton on July 1, 1867. Imagine surviving all those battles, only to drown in the river.
We had been told that Helena had a great "Mansion district"--opulent homes built as a result of the gold rush here. We set off to check it out, only to find that sections in Newton, MA, or Brookline, MA are far more "Mansion-y" than what we found. Oh well, different strokes...
From there to Bozeman, MT where we will spend the night at another KOA cabin. These are really a great way to go.
See photos of the day here.
No comments:
Post a Comment