Back to the US. Great Falls, Montana.
A not too eventful day, as I left Calgary and drove about 260 miles across the border and back into the U.S., ending my few days in Canada and winding up for the day in Conrad, Montana. The town is small, another seemingly one-horse town, of about 2,400, but this Super 8 hotel (with small casino) looks brand new… actually, it turns out it’s not new but was seriously renovated this year. Very nice joint.
I had a feeling I was not going to see or do too much of interest today, so, again, thinking of Big Ken’s admonition to photograph at least one interesting thing each day, as I passed through Nanton, Alberta, I spied the Bomber Command of Canada Museum. What an unlikely place for such an unexpected museum, and a small one at that one. Turns out it used to be the Nanton Lancaster Society Museum, opened in 1986, which explains everything (that’s a joke). I even drove the wrong way down a main street to go back to take these photos (although I didn’t know I was driving the wrong way on a one way road at that moment – although I suspected something was wrong; luckily, I was in Nanton).
Actually, it wasn’t the only interesting thing that day. The drive to Conrad really was uneventful, but fine, through the flat plains, and Conrad itself is a quaint little town, but kind of uneventful.
The weather changed considerably, and by mid afternoon, upon arriving in Conrad, it was in the upper 70’s, and very nice. By the time I actually got to Conrad, and after driving around a little and getting settled in, it was maybe around 4, but there was plenty of time to do something, like take a hike, except there didn’t seem to be anywhere around here to actually hike, other than the town streets. Google maps and the AllTrails app seemed to agree that the nearest hiking area was Giant Springs State Park in Great Falls, Montana, about 64 miles south, but what th’ hell. That turned out to be the other interesting part of the day.
I jumped in the car, and with a speed limit of 80 mph on interstate 15 south (meaning I was driving at 88 mph), I made Great Falls in no time flat. What a nice small town, and pretty contemporary looking, and worth the visit. I drove and walked around a while, but in reality, at around 5:15, it was getting late in the day, with the sun going down at 7. My first stop, though, was the really interesting looking Station Depot in Great Falls, next to the Missouri River and its nice looking walking trail.
Once repurposed as a mall, and now an office center, this once was the central passenger station for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, and was opened in 1915, as the last transcontinental railroad to enter Montana as the final leg in its Pacific extension. Nice looking building, with a great logo.
It sits just opposite a walking path that runs alongside the Missouri River, which is the entrance to Great Falls, and a nice pathway at that.
I headed east along the river to Giant Springs State Park, and what a nice and user-friendly park it is, with both paved walking trails running alongside the Missouri and also more rugged dirt trails criss crossing the park. The park, with its Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center (they came this way, along the mighty Missouri), is a combination of a family friendly town park with a paved walking path and a series of dirt hiking trails, plus the weather was warm. In fact, too warm. If the weather is like this tomorrow, it’s back to shorts and sandals.
By now, the sun was starting to go down, with some beautiful views looking west along the Missouri. Time to head back to the car, take a quick final look around the town, and hightail it back to Conrad, 60 miles away (but at 88 mph, it’s a breeze).
I’ll be back tomorrow, though, as Great Falls is on the way to Butte, where I’m headed tomorrow, and I hope to see the actual falls that Great Falls is named for.
