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Road Trip Around Montana – Whitefish, Mt

 

Author:
Brenda Phillips
Brenda Phillips: MT43 News Office Administrator


Brenda Phillips

Spring was here and it was time to get back to exploring Montana. We made a road trip to Whitefish, MT. We took the long way to Whitefish because we took our dog Maggie to Great Falls, where the family could dog sit for us. We drove from Great Falls to Lincoln then on to Clearwater Jct. where we found the Big Cow. Only in Montana do we use a Big Cow as a landmark. On the drive through the Seeley Swan Valley this spring we encountered every weather condition, from sun, rain, snow, sleet, fog, and wind. The valley from Big Fork to Whitefish is so green – no wonder everyone is moving there. The entire weekend reminded me of Seattle weather, some sun but mostly overcast and misty rain.

We went to the Train Museum at the Amtrak depot. It isn’t a large museum but they have a lot of fun history of the Whitefish area and antiques that tell stories of days gone by. I found an interesting fact about one of my favorite movies.

Dorothy M. Johnson (1905-1984) was an author from Whitefish who wrote dozens of highly acclaimed Western stories and books in her long career. While she went to High School in Whitefish she started writing as a stringer for The Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell. Out of all the books she wrote, her stories were ranked as four of the top five stories of the 20th century by the Western Writers of America, with my favorite "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" as number one. That story plus "A Man Called Horse" and "The Hanging Tree" became major Hollywood films. Dorothy’s story gives me hope, that maybe someday I’ll grow up to be a famous writer!

We took a ride up to the Big Mountain ski hill. Again, there was a lot of nice scenery and lots of new, big expensive homes to see. We decided we prefer our simple home in Townsend and it is way easier to clean than those larger fancy places.

Our trip home took us from Whitefish to Columbia Falls and Hungry Horse. We visited the Nite Owl restaurant in Hungry Horse for huge cinnamon rolls for Breakfast. Last year we made the trip up to the Hungry Horse Dam for the first time. It was an impressive site that we didn’t have time to see again this year. Our next stop was the Roosevelt Memorial Obelisk at Marias Pass. It's a tall, slender stone structure that was built in 1931 to commemorate the completion of the Great Northern Railway's transcontinental line. The obelisk is 60 feet high and extends 19 feet into the ground. It has a tapering cement core covered on all sides with 7-inch slabs of Montana granite quarried near Helena. It is the lowest pass that crosses the continental divide at 5280 ft. I remember, as a child, the monument stood in the middle of Highway 2 and traffic zoomed around it and the tourists that were taking pictures. The highway was moved a bit to the north of the monument, for safety. Along the highway in that area, we found a waterfall. There was no sign but I was told it is called Stairway Falls. Looking forward to new adventures this summer - stay tuned. Brenda and Kurt Phillips are from Townsend and enjoy visiting Montana's scenic and historic sites.

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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 1 Caption: Amtrac Depot & Museum in Whitefish MT Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 2 Caption: View from scenic overlook on Big Mountain at Whitefish MT Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 3 Caption: Roosevelt Memorial Obelisk at Marias Pass on Highway 2 near Glacier Park Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 4 Caption: Stairway waterfall on Highway 2 near Glacier Park Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips