Yearn to Wander
Two Wonderful Weeks in Helena, Montana
Helena was a lucky stop. We came because it's the only major Montana city we hadn't seen. A pleasant room at a reasonable price, gave us reason to stay a week. Now we're on our second week of exploring in and around this lovely small city.
The city is easy to enjoy. It's the capital of Montana, since 1875, so history, architecture, outdoor activities, cultural activities, and good restaurants abound. With plenty to do, a break from daily driving, and time to catch up, the time here has been relaxing and fun.
Helena's history traces to the mid-1860s when the gold and copper miners began coming. With some success, wealth increased, and by the mid '80s, more millionaires lived here than anywhere else in the world, according to local history. The 'Mansion District' confirms it. Architecture was influenced by the Chicago School: many Richardsonian arches, and even some Prairie style buildings, are easy to find. The city, mostly in a valley, is surrounded by national and state forests with wonderful hiking trails up the mountains. Good views are had from every vantage.
We took several hikes in the forests and the city park, on a mountain top, to get exercise, as well as enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds the city. Cultural activities abound, e.g., Tom went to the new, well-stocked library to play Chess while I went to a nice performance by Ballet Montana. It performs in the Myrna Loy Center for Performing Arts, now housed in the former Lewis & Clark County Jail purpose-built in 1899 and retired from that use in 1987. The Montana Historical Museum, with a national reputation, includes a good Lewis & Clark exhibit, a unique Charlie Russell display, a thorough interpretation of the history of the region from the Native Americans through Montana's contribution to World War I.
The State Capitol is open for tours: guided and self-guided. When we arrived, the guard, who was really a receptionist, ignored us other than to politely say hello. That was our first surprise: no id checking, no checking of our wallets, etc. Our guided tour was just as free with unfettered access to many legislative venues. Lots of art depicts the history of Montana; architecture and decorations have been restored to the original 1902 opening, but modernized to accommodate today's business needs. The IT Department is right inside the front door, and the legislators are only in session three months every two years!
St. Helena, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, is a copy of the cathedral in Cologne, Germany. It, too, is open daily to the public.
Good restaurants abound, especially for a town of only 25,000. We've had Mexican, Irish, brew pubs, American, et al, and enjoyed it all. Saturday night, we tried a new restaurant: Riley's Irish Pub. A good dinner and live Western music made for a pleasant evening to watch the sun fade over the mountains. Sunday dinner at Gramillo's with a Southwestern menu was excellent, so spoke the mole chef.
On the way to dinner, we met a wonderful French Spaniel, which looked and acted like Fuzzy, but was half again as big. What a wonderful dog, and nice 'parents' too.
The two weeks here have been a good experience. In addition to enjoying a very pleasant city, we learned non-stop tourism is like non-stop working, and variety really is the spice of life. We've started catching up on some of our work, e.g., this blog, on some of our reading, while we take a few hours to check out something new in town or take a hike.
Now we're off to Missoula, 100 miles northwest of here, and home of the University of Montanta, Adventure Cycling (the mapmakers of my TransAm trip), and a population four times the size of Helena (25,000). The state's population is less than one million.
Observations:
- In general, we see very few people wearing jeans. Perhaps it's too hot? On Saturday night, most people downtown dressed up a bit more.
- The state law prohibits smoking in restaurants, and probably other public buildings. But that doesn't stop the blue haze when you open an outside door. The percentage of smokers here seems closer to what we saw in Chicago ten or twenty years ago. Joel, there's a lot of work for you here!
Helena's history traces to the mid-1860s when the gold and copper miners began coming. With some success, wealth increased, and by the mid '80s, more millionaires lived here than anywhere else in the world, according to local history. The 'Mansion District' confirms it. Architecture was influenced by the Chicago School: many Richardsonian arches, and even some Prairie style buildings, are easy to find. The city, mostly in a valley, is surrounded by national and state forests with wonderful hiking trails up the mountains. Good views are had from every vantage.
We took several hikes in the forests and the city park, on a mountain top, to get exercise, as well as enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds the city. Cultural activities abound, e.g., Tom went to the new, well-stocked library to play Chess while I went to a nice performance by Ballet Montana. It performs in the Myrna Loy Center for Performing Arts, now housed in the former Lewis & Clark County Jail purpose-built in 1899 and retired from that use in 1987. The Montana Historical Museum, with a national reputation, includes a good Lewis & Clark exhibit, a unique Charlie Russell display, a thorough interpretation of the history of the region from the Native Americans through Montana's contribution to World War I.
The State Capitol is open for tours: guided and self-guided. When we arrived, the guard, who was really a receptionist, ignored us other than to politely say hello. That was our first surprise: no id checking, no checking of our wallets, etc. Our guided tour was just as free with unfettered access to many legislative venues. Lots of art depicts the history of Montana; architecture and decorations have been restored to the original 1902 opening, but modernized to accommodate today's business needs. The IT Department is right inside the front door, and the legislators are only in session three months every two years!
St. Helena, the Roman Catholic Cathedral, is a copy of the cathedral in Cologne, Germany. It, too, is open daily to the public.
Good restaurants abound, especially for a town of only 25,000. We've had Mexican, Irish, brew pubs, American, et al, and enjoyed it all. Saturday night, we tried a new restaurant: Riley's Irish Pub. A good dinner and live Western music made for a pleasant evening to watch the sun fade over the mountains. Sunday dinner at Gramillo's with a Southwestern menu was excellent, so spoke the mole chef.
On the way to dinner, we met a wonderful French Spaniel, which looked and acted like Fuzzy, but was half again as big. What a wonderful dog, and nice 'parents' too.
The two weeks here have been a good experience. In addition to enjoying a very pleasant city, we learned non-stop tourism is like non-stop working, and variety really is the spice of life. We've started catching up on some of our work, e.g., this blog, on some of our reading, while we take a few hours to check out something new in town or take a hike.
Now we're off to Missoula, 100 miles northwest of here, and home of the University of Montanta, Adventure Cycling (the mapmakers of my TransAm trip), and a population four times the size of Helena (25,000). The state's population is less than one million.
Observations:
- In general, we see very few people wearing jeans. Perhaps it's too hot? On Saturday night, most people downtown dressed up a bit more.
- The state law prohibits smoking in restaurants, and probably other public buildings. But that doesn't stop the blue haze when you open an outside door. The percentage of smokers here seems closer to what we saw in Chicago ten or twenty years ago. Joel, there's a lot of work for you here!
ms
2010-07-30
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