Mister Golden Sun

Events of 5/25 & 5/26

Friday morning we woke up and headed back to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.  We were looking forward to visiting a ghost town, historic ranches, and of course the canyon.  Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly what we got.  Stopping by the Visitor’s Center we were informed that the Ghost Town was demolished in the 60s, and that the ranches are only accessible by bear-ridden footpaths. So we settled for a view of the canyon.  I guess I was expecting something like the Grand Canyon, but that’s not what it was at all.  Rather it was a narrow passageway with a river flowing through, but it was so windy at the top that it was difficult to get a good look. The most exciting part of the park was spotting a herd of wild mustangs.  We watched them frolic in the field for a few minutes before they galloped away in front of our car.  It was quite exciting!

At this point we decided to leave Bighorn early and start heading towards Glacier.  We decided that Great Falls, Montana would be a good middle point.  Along the way we stopped at Pictograph State Park.  Here we viewed cave paintings from prehistoric hunters.  Unfortunately, there aren’t too many left to see.

Later, in Great Falls, we visited GQ’s #1 Bar Worth Flying For.  The Sip n’ Dip Lounge is famous for the live mermaids swimming behind the bar.  Unfortunately, the mermaids are on vacation until May 29^th.  Bummer!  Overall, it was a relaxing, slow-paced day.

The next morning we woke up well rested and ready for the next leg of the trip.  We decided to stop at First People’s Buffalo Jump State Park along the way.  This was much more interesting than we anticipated.  We learned about how Native Americans used to trick herds of buffalo into running off of cliffs.  They would then use these buffalos for meat, clothing, and other materials.  Zoe and I both really enjoyed this stop. 

Our other stop on the way to Glacier was a 50’s themed diner called Shake n’ Burger. This satisfied our cravings for big, juicy hamburgers.  The drive to Glacier was very scenic.  We passed through mountains and drove by lakes.

After settling into our hotel (there was a winter storm warning in effect, so we decided it best not to camp) we headed for the park around 5:30.  The sun was shining for the first time on our trip, so we were excited to do some exploring.  We drove down the famous Going to the Sun Road stopping to view waterfalls and look for wildlife. We spotted a moose!   We were a little disappointed that the road is still being cleared for the season, so we weren’t able to drive its entirety. As darkness approached, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.