The Great Falls of the Missouri River in Montana

Location: Dick's RV Park (el 3,300 ft); Great Falls, Montana

(click picture to enlarge)
(all pictures taken with Nokia Lumia 929 cell phone)

Note: I have added a new page to the blog called "Map with Dates of Travel", it is located on a "tab" below the picture of Freedom and Liberty. The blog has gotten so large that it is hard to find an old post. The new page is a series of maps with pins at each place that I camped. There is a date by one of the pins about every month. This allows you to narrow down, to within one month, a place that you may want to read about. Once you're within a month, you can then go to the archive listing on the panel on the right side of the blog to find the post. I hope it helps you, because it sure helped me. Dates were blending together and I was having a hard time remembering when I was in a particular place. The memory of the place was still alive in my head, but if I wanted to re-read the post, it was very hard to find. Let me know if it works or not and any suggestions for improvements are welcome.

I've been in Great Falls, Montana for 7 days while waiting for the Going To The Sun Road in Glacier National Park to open. It opened yesterday and tomorrow is moving day. This campground has been centrally located for me to explore the Bear Paw Battlefield and the falls of the Missouri River. 

When Lewis and Clark reached this point of their exploration, they were blocked by a series of waterfalls on the Missouri. They had to carry (portage) their dugout canoes and supplies around the falls. This effort took several weeks. There were 5 waterfalls within a 10 mile area of the river. Today, there are hydro-electric dams located on the falls with only portions of the falls still visible. Those dams range in age from 100 to 125 years old. 

The following pictures were taken while driving around the area. 

A suspension bridge spanning the
downstream channel from the
electrical powerhouse from Ryan
Dam.

This tree is along the bank of stream
by the campground. I'm not sure if
that tree has beaver damage or been
worn that way from ropes used to
tie up boats.

This is a bend in Missouri River
downstream of Great Falls. 

A good example as to why it is called "The Big Sky Country"

A field of Mustard Seeds.

I will be seeing Glacier National Park tomorrow. I anticipate many "wow" sights. There are two main entrances to the park and I'll be staying on the eastern side. 

It's gotten late and I'm getting sleepy. I may post more about this area in the future but I know the next few posts will be full of great pictures from Glacier.  
Ya'll take care of each other. I'll Cya down the road.