Gates of the Moutains

Today we went on an awesome adventure through the Gates of the Mountains!
The Gates of the Rocky Mountains were named by Lewis and Clark. Captain Lewis wrote on July 19, 1805,
“ this evening we entered much the most remarkable clifts that we have yet seen. these clifts rise from the waters edge on either side perpendicularly to the hight of 1200 feet. ... the river appears to have forced its way through this immense body of solid rock for the distance of 5-3/4 Miles ... I called it the gates of the rocky mountains."

The Payne Family and us headed 20 minutes north on I-15 towards Great Falls. MT to a private marina [shown with the A marker in the map] off of Upper Holter Lake for a 120-minute cruise in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. We bought and ate lunch at the little cafe before we loaded on the boat.

They had 2 boats going out on this tour. One was the Sacajawea, a comfortable open-air boat (covered in case of rain). But we ended up aboard the BIG boat named  named the Canyon Voyager. It was huge! We had to stay seated while we got out of the marina but then we were free to walk around and out in the open-aired back. Way fun!

Here's the view as we entered the Gate of the Mountains:

On the tour, Steve- our guide pointed out all sorts of rock formations. We saw things like the Stony Elephant, the Devil's Slide, the Rock Monster, the Rhino and an Arch big enough to fit our boat through.:

We got to see some wildlife including big horn sheep, turkey vultures and an eagle's nest:

Steve took us by and told us the "tear-jerker" version of the Mann Gulch Fire.

But the highlight of the trip was as we turned around to head back. We got to experience the Gates of the Mountains opening as the boat came around the corner. So neat!

What an awesome experience! Thanks to the Payne's for hanging out with us! We luv you guys!