Wednesday 9-30-26 Playing Pinball, Riding a Carousel & Having Fun

 

Lewis & Clark County Fairgrounds Duck Pond

We had an outstanding day of having fun. 

We had overcast skies. The morning temperature was 54 degrees and the high of 67 degrees. In the late afternoon we had a cool wind out of the west.

I woke up at 7:30 and got dressed. Then I made mini waffles for breakfast and we shared a shake. 

After breakfast we relaxed in the Minnie. Larry started a book last night and finished it this evening. He said this one was a good book. I played games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Free Cell). It took me 36 minutes and 56 seconds to complete, which put me in 15th place in my group.

About 11:15 we took the motorcycle off the carrier. There were a couple things we wanted to do in town. 

First was Lewis & Clark Brewing Company to play pinball. Lewis & Clark Brewing Company has a huge tap room that features live music, an outdoor patio, a game room, and an art gallery. The hours are 11:30am to 10:00pm on Sunday-Wednesday and 11:30am to 11:00pm Thursday-Saturday. It serves selections of draft beers on tap (flagship, Prickly Pear Pale Ale and Back Country Scottish Ale) and light food option like pizza and bratwurst. The brewery distributes products in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah and western North Dakota. It was a big facility with huge distillers. The lady, who was working was nice and showed us where to go. The game room is a separate from the tap room. It has 12  pinball machines,  a few slot machines, pool table and a shuffle board table. The pinball games were PokeMon, Cactus Canyon, Jurassic Park, Godzilla, Jaws, Foo Fighters, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Led-Zeppelin, Dungeon & Dragons, Guns & Roses and Big Buck Hunter Pro. Most of the games cost one game for $1 or three games for $2, which is very good. Cactus Canyon game option was one game $1 and Big Buck Hunter Pro was one game $.75. We played pinball for an hour and a half and played a game of pool for a half hour. The game of pool cost $.75, which is very reasonable. The games were in very good condition and you had free game matches. We got a match on Godzilla and Jaws so instead of three games of $2 we got four games. I played all the games except for Guns & Roses. Larry played it and said it didn't work too good. There's not a lot of parking.  We had a great time.

Lewis & Clark Brewing Company

PokeMon (first time we played the game)

Big Buck Hunter Pro

Iron Maiden

Jaws

Jurassic Park

Metallica (black and white version I didn't like)

The second placed we went was the Great Northern Carousel, which was very close to Lewis & Clark Brewing Company. The two girls, who served us were very nice and friendly. The cost was 1 ride for $3 and 12 rides for $30. I did one ride. It was a great looking carousel and very well maintained. The carousel has 37 hand-carved animals. The animals were carved by a renowned Disney carver and the animals had a stained  glass round boards. You go to the counter and get a token to take a ride. I had fun riding on a goat. Larry took pictures. After my ride we shared two scoops of ice cream, which were maple walnut and black cherry. The ice cream was very good. It wasn't that busy. Maybe because it was 2:00 in the afternoon. 

   

Great Northern Carousel entrance

The part of the building the carousel is in

Great Northern Carousel

Having fun riding on the carousel

Maple Walnut and Black Cherry ice cream

After eating the ice cream we loaded back on the motorcycle and went back to the fairgrounds. By the time we got back to the Minnie it was 3:00. We had a fun afternoon.

After dinner we went for a walk around the fairgrounds. We walked for 1.70 miles for a half hour. As we walked around we went by the duck pond. What's cool about the duck pond is, that it's also a children fishing pond, you must be 14 or younger to fish there. We had a great walk. I ended up doing 5,500 steps. 

We spent the rest of the night reading. I finished reading When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart. It was a great book and the ending was very good. Larry chose me another book called The Unseen World by Liz Moore.

  

Relaxing with a good book

We had a super day. 

           

Tuesday 9-29-26 Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, Sightseeing & More

 

Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park this morning

We had a beautiful day. The morning temperature was a chilly 37 degrees at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park with clouds. The high temperature was 69 degrees in Helena Montana with a little bit of sunshine.

We had a couple of super days at Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. We decided to move onto Helena Montana, which is 70 miles away. 

I crawled out of bed about 7:15 and got dressed. We had a quick breakfast, a Little Debbie's apple pie and shared a shake. Then we put things away and secured. Once this was done Larry unplugged us from the power. I put the step in. We were ready to go. Before leaving the park we stopped at the dump station and dumped the tanks, normally state parks dumps are free but in Montana they charge $5.00 even when you are camped there. After dumping the tanks we filled the fresh water tank. We were on the road by 8:30.

The drive to Helena was a pretty drive. We drove through a couple of mountain passes. We saw a few deer, a lot of pronghorns, cattle, horses and a bald eagle sitting on a telephone pole by the Jefferson River. When we got to Boulder, which was 26 miles from Helena we saw a man and woman herding their cattle on horses. This was cool to see. 

We arrived at Helena about 10:15. We drove around to see if we could park the Minnie so we could do a little sightseeing. There wasn't any place to park the Minnie so we went to Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. This is where we're going to stay a couple of nights. We had no problem finding a site. We decided on site #21. We're the only ones camping at the fairgrounds.

It's not cheap put it has power for two nights it was $76.43 this includes fees and taxes. The only thing it has is power. The restrooms are vault toilets and there's no dump station. You can get water but people say the water has iron in it.   

Camping at Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds

 

Once we paid for the site we had lunch. After lunch we took the motorcycle off it's carrier and went to town. We parked the motorcycle at the Cathedral of Saint Helena, which is the #1 site to see. They were having services so we walked around area. We walked to the Holter Museum of Art, which was a few blocks away. It was a small museum and cost $10 for Larry and I was free because I'm 70 years old. It was on one floor and had a few galleries. One gallery was J M Cooper: Adel Sheep Shearing, Sieben Live Stock Company, which was photography about the process the company goes through to make wool. Another one was Corwin Clairmont: Prints from MAM Collection. Third one was Jessica Hays, which photography about the destruction of fires. The art was very nice.

Holter Museum of Art

Spinning the wool to make yarn

Wool after the sheep has been sheared

  Getting ready to shear the sheep

 

Dog to herd the sheep

Amy Honchell Winding Tower from Corwin Clairmont Prints

Rose Schreiber By Force or By Compact Corwin Clairmont Prints

Narrow Curves, Snow & Ice, Rivers Near, the Pipe Line Trucks with the Threat of Disaster

  

Flee 2021 by Jessica Hays

Columns 2025 by Jessica Hays

After walking through the Holter Museum of Art we walked back to the Cathedral of Saint Helena. The outside of the Cathedral of Saint Helena was being worked on. The bell towers were being worked on and the hand rails of the steps were getting painted. Every side of the cathedral was different. The inside of the Cathedral of Saint Helena has 59 stained glass windows but only 46 of them were installed by the dedication in 1914. The set of 37 windows told the Christian story of the fall of Adam and Eve to the Church in the early years of 20th century. This set was installed by The Zettler Firm from Munich, Germany. The remaining windows in the clerestory level were installed by Charles J. Connick out of Boston in 1926. It's a beautiful cathedral. When enjoyed walking through the cathedral and looking at all the stained glass windows. The alter was very impressive. The cathedral was more impressive when they had the lights on. But they turned off the lights and locked the front doors shortly after services, which was 1:00.

Southside of the Cathedral of Saint Helena

Jesus is given a crown of thrones (one of the 14 Station of the Cross)

Jesus on the cross (One of the 14 Station of the Cross)

The alter in the Cathedral of Saint Helena

     

In the same area there were other churches. There was a beautiful Jewish temple called Temple Emanu-el, which is across the street from the cathedral.

Temple Emanu-el

 

In 1890 Temple Emanu-el was the first Jewish temple between St. Paul and Portland. By the 1930s the congregation dwindled so the State of Montana acquired the building to use it for Social Services. They removed all the Religious symbolism and added a second floor. It housed Social and Rehabilitative Service until 1976. It was vacant until 1981 when the Catholic Diocese of Helena purchased it. On April 21, 2002 descendants of the Jewish pioneers and the Catholic community together celebrated the centennial of the regional landmark.

After walking through the Cathedral of Saint Helena we drove around the downtown area. As we were driving by Helena Civic Center we saw that it looked like a temple. We stopped and took a picture of it. It was originally a Algeria Shrine Temple, it was the first Shrine Temple in the Northwest. It was dedicated on April 8, 1921 with over 3,000 Shriners. After severe damaged from an earthquake in 1935 they sold it to Helena. Now it's used as the civic center. It has two distinct spaces: a 1,925-seat Auditorium Theater for concerts and performance arts and a 15,000 square foot Ballroom for banquets, trade shows and craft fairs. Next store to the civic center is the fire department. Where we had stopped it was in front of a sculpture of a guitar, that was dedicated to Kyle Boundy (1991-2017) sculpture by Paul Hogan. Then we continued our adventure back to the fairgrounds. We stopped and filled the motorcycle up with gas.

Helena Civic Center

Guitar Sculpture

Plaque for the guitar sculpture

When we got back to the Minnie we relaxed before dinner. 

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 25 minutes and 48 seconds to complete, which put me in 9th place in my group.

Larry started a book and I continued reading When the Jessamine Grows.

After dinner we walked around the fairgrounds. They have a nice park called Bill Carson Memorial Park. It has a cool playground, it has a tank, rocket ship slide and other slides. The entrance to the fairgrounds has a nice Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea and Jean-Bapatiste silhouette and train. We had a super walk. By the end of the day I had done 6,000 steps. 

 

Standing in front of the engine of a train

Tank to play on at the park

The playground

 

Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea and Jean- Bapatiste steel silhouette was to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the 1804-06 Lewis and Clark Expedition across the Louisiana Territory. Originally the silhouette was on display on the north lawn of the Montana State Capitol but was moved to storage after the celebration. They took it out of storage in November of 2018 and installed it at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. During the Lewis and Clark Expedition they spent more time in Montana than any of the other states. This silhouette is to remind Montana about this historic event. 

Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea and Jean-Bapatiste

  

        

Monday 9-28-26 Lewis & Clark Caverns Tour, Lunch, Showers & More

 

Lewis & Clark Caverns Visitor Center for tours

We had a beautiful day. The morning temperature was 37 degrees and the high was 66. We started out with a little breeze and clouds. By afternoon we had sunshine and the clouds were gone.

I rolled out of bed at 7:30 and got dressed. Then I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Larry had made reservations for us to tour the Lewis & Clark Cave. The tour was the Paradise Tour, which was 1.5 hour tour through two rooms (the Living Room and Paradise Room). It started at 10:30 but they recommend, that you get there a half hour before your tour.

While waiting we relaxed. We uncovered the motorcycle and took it off the carrier. A little before 10:00 we drove the motorcycle to the cave, which was 3 miles from the campground. It was a beautiful ride up the mountainside. It was a little cold but Larry kept me warm because I was behind him. When we got on top of the mountain we easily found a parking spot, not many cars and they had motorcycle parking only. We had over a half hour to wait. The views of the surrounding area were gorgeous, We had 25 people in the tour. The tour guide was very good and gave you a lot of information about the history of the cave. 

The cave was discovered by deer hunters in the 1868. By 1901, local quarry owner Dan Morrison enlarged the entrance and built 2,000 steps and started giving tours. The earlier tours were guided by ropes and torches. In 1908 the Federal government made it a National Monument. It was still difficult to get to. Montana state officials asked the federal government for aid to maintain the cave, in the 1920s and 1930s other cave systems were developed under the National Park Service. In 1935 the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was assigned to work on the cave. Over the next six years 200 crew members, geologist, architects and engineers transformed access to the cave. Inside the crew repaired the stairways, improved passageways, opened new caverns, installed lighting, blasted a 538-foot exit tunnel and mapped the cave. Outside they built a steep and winding 3.2 mile access road, a granite bridge, maintenance shop, new trails, an overlook deck and three Rustic buildings. In 1937 still under construction the cave became Montana's first state park. It didn't open until May 4, 1941 because Montana Legislature didn't create the state park system until 1940.

The tour was very nice. We walked a half mile down a gravel road where there were benches that looked over the Jefferson River Canyon. Then we walked through a door, which took us down a long tunnel to where the caverns were. We explored two room. The first room was the living room of the cavern. There the guide explained all the different formations. The second room was the Paradise Room. It was very beautiful. It had a lot of different formations. The guide explained the formations and it's name. Examples are Santa Claus, Romeo and Juliet, waterfall, organ pipes, a frog, alligator, columns and many more. We only had to climb a dozen steps, they were built by the CCC from the floor of the cave. They were beautiful and looked like a marble. The caverns were made by water and air. Some places the cavern was repairing itself because early when Dan Morrison owned it they used dynamite to blast the entrances and making the staircases. Parts of the tour we were in the dark so the guide could show you the different colors in the cavern. We had a great time.

Tour guide

Jefferson River Canyon

Waterfall 

Column

 

Romeo and Juliet

City

Organ pipes

After the tour we walked back to the visitor center via the gravel road for a half mile. We decided to have lunch at the Gift Corral Cafe & Gift Shop. We shared a bison burger with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and red onion on a hamburger bun and a side order of onion ring (real onions). The sandwich and onion rings were good. For dessert we shared a scoop of peanut butter fudge ice cream. After dessert we walked back to the motorcycle. We loaded back on the motorcycle and went back to the campground. It was a little warmer.

Gift Corral Cafe & Gift Shop

Bison burger and onion rings

Peanut butter fudge ice cream

By the time we got home it was already 2:00. We put the motorcycle on the carrier and strapped it down. Then we relaxed in the Minnie. While relaxing the wild turkeys came to visit. They came from the opposite direction and spent a lot of time in our camp site. I scared them so they bunched together under a tree. There were 11 turkeys. This is so cool!!!

Wild turkeys in our camp site 

 

Larry read and I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The daily event was Event: Two Game Tango Mini of 10 games (5 Klondike and 5 Pyramid). It took me 33 minutes and 49 seconds to complete, which put me in 19th place in my group. 

While relaxing we talked about where to go from here. We decided to go to Helena, which is Montana's Capitol. We decided we would leave tomorrow so went over and took a shower. It's a pay shower and there's a change machine outside the showers. It cost $3.00 (12 quarters) for 6 minutes and if you put an extra $.50 you get an extra minute. My shower was excellent. Larry said he had to wait for the water to get warm and the head didn't work correctly. He said it was ok.

When Larry got back from his shower we put the cover on the motorcycle and strapped the cover down. Now the motorcycle is ready to go. 

Larry had started a book earlier and didn't like it so he stopped. I continued to read When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart. So far it's a great book about a family's life during the Civil War. 

By the end of the day I had done 5,500 steps.