Day - Helena to Calgary, Alberta
Leaving Helena, we went west on US 12 and I-90 to Bearmouth then north on Bear Gulch Road to Garnet Ghost Town and continuing north on Garnet Range Rod to State 200. We then headed east to the Clearwater Junction, north on State 83, State 35, State 82 and US 93 through Kalispell and State 40 and US 2 west to West Glacier. We drove the Going-to-the-Sun Road through Glacier National Park exiting at St. Mary, then north on US 89 to the Canada/Us Border. Once in Canada, we followed Hwy 2 to Fort Macleod. Hwy 3 to Monarch, and then Hwys 23, 24 and 817 to Strathmore.
The only thing this convoluted route did, besides take more time and allow a visit Glacier National Park, was to effectively bypass the long stretch after Great Falls to Lethbridge. Google Map
Hwy US 12 - Lewis & Clark Highway (Montana)
US 12 in Montana has been defined as the Lewis and Clark Highway, despite not being the route followed by Lewis and Clark across the state. This two-lane portion of the highway winds through the Helena National Forest and crosses over the Continental Divide at MacDonald Pass.
MacDonald Pass & Continental Divide (US 12)
MacDonald Pass, elevation 6,312 feet is one of three passes (MacDonald, Mullan and Priest) used in the 1870s-80s for travel between Helena and Deer Lodge, Montana over the continental divide.
The Continental Divide extends from the Bering Strait to the Strait of Magellan, and separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain into the Atlantic and (in northern North America) Arctic oceans (including those that drain into the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and Hudson Bay).
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| Bear Gulch Road (2011) |
Ghost Town Byway/Bear Gulch Road
The Ghost Town Byway/Bear Gulch Road is a 26 mile drive across Garnet Range. It links a chain of 19th century mining towns including Beartown, Garner and Coloma.
Bear Gulch Road is steep, narrow and rough. It is not recommended for trailers or RVs. Winter access from either direction is only by snowmobile, snow shoes, or cross-country skis.
Beartown
Beartown is one of the chain of gold towns along the Ghost Town Byway/Bear Gulch Road. The road still travels through where Beartown used to be but all that remains is a crumbling foundation which lies on private property.
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| Beartown (c 1880-1900) |
Gold was discovered in October 1865 and Beartown was built almost overnight. Thousands lived in the camp in its heyday. By 1868 Beartown had several stores, saloons, gambling houses, a blacksmith shop and other businesses typical of mining camps.
A school was built in 1881. At one time it was runner up to be the State Capital. By 1898 it was deserted.
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| Garnet Ghost Town (2011) |
Garnet Ghost Town State Park
Garnet was named for the semi-precious ruby-colored stone, the first item to be mined there, although gold quickly followed. It wasn't until an abundance of gold was discovered at the Nancy Hanks Mine in 1898 that Garnet became a boomtown.
With a population of nearly 1,000 people, Garnet had everything - hotels, saloons, stores, a school, a Chinese laundry and barbershops. Shown in the picture (left to right) are Kelly's Saloon, Davey's Store, Wells Hotel – all original buildings.
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| Garnet Ghost Town (2011) |
Garnet supported numerous saloons, but its family emphasis tempered usual mining camp vices. Hotels typically ranged from 1-3 dollars, and the poor miners who could not afford that price could sleep on the floor in the attic without any windows for a quarter.
It is suspected that Garnet even had a brothel, but prices and the exact whereabouts are uncertain. In 1912 nearly half the town burned down and was never rebuilt.
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Sand Park Cemetery (2011) |
Sand Park Cemetery
Who was Frank Hamilton? No one really knows. Simple grave markers pay a humble tribute to the five miners buried at the Sand Park Cemetery between 1898 and 1914. Little more is known than their names and year of death.
Most of the other hard-rock-era miners who had family and means chose to be buried in "consecrated ground" in metropolitan areas like Missoula and Deer Lodge.
Coloma Ghost Town (1893-1915)
At its height Coloma boasted the Chamberlain boarding house, the Mammoth Company store, a school, livery stable, Moss family mercantile, and Mammoth Mill complex. Coloma’s post office was decommissioned in 1903 and the last major effort at the Mammoth was in 1906.
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| Coloma Ghost Town (2011) |
The history of Coloma is very mysterious. It is still very difficult to find any information about Coloma. Nearby residents claim they know nothing of the site, and refuse to answer any questions.
Speculation has developed two conclusions: either the failures are so embarrassing no one wants to remember, or there are still discoveries to be found that no one wishes to expose.
Coloma/Bearmouth Stage
The 15-mile daily stage from the mining town of Coloma to Garnet and on to Bearmouth took the better part of a day. The Silver State newspaper (Deer Lodge) hailed its completion in February, 1896, as the "cannon ball road from Coloma to Bearmouth." Frank Davey owned and operated the Garnet Stage line.
Frank always wore a buffalo robe when he drove the stage and was known to have an ample supply of buffalo robes available to keep the women passengers warm on their ascent into the Garnet range.
Only the walls remain of the hand-hewn log structure that served as a stage rest stop in the 1890s.
Hwy 83, Montana
The scenic route between the Mission and Swan Mountain Ranges extends 91 miles through broad, forested valleys and along scenic lakeshores, It is sparsely settled, with a few small communities along the way. We prefer this route. The main traffic and trucks are on hwy 93. Although slower, Hwy 83 gives lots of opportunity to pull over, take in the view, and snap lots of pictures.
The highway passes by several lakes, the largest being Salmon Lake, Placid Lake, Seeley Lake, and Swan Lake.
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| Salmon Lake Hwy 83 (2013) |
Salmon Lake
Salmon Lake, a natural, glacially formed lake, is one of the beautiful links in the Clearwater River Chain. We've stopped before at Salmon Lake State Park just to take in the beauty.
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| Bearfoots Gallery (2013) |
Bearfoots - Kalispell, Montana
Of course we had to stop at the gallery to pick more bears. Our houses can never have enough. It had been over two weeks since we visited the gallery, so of course we had to shop some more.
Jeff is the original artist and creator of Bearfoot™ Bears and Big Sky Bears™. Jeff's whimsical bears are sold in galleries throughout the U.S., Canada, major catalogs, and Disney World. Bear County Gallery
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| Glacier National Park (2013) |
Glacier National Park
We've been through Glacier National Park several times in the summer and fall but never when it first opened in the spring. It was interesting to see the snow still left at this times of the year.
It was 85° so there was a lot more water in the waterfalls and over the road. Most of the snow had not melted from the sides of the road and was still stacked quite high at the visitors center. In other years, by the time we reached the area, there was only one area where snow was left.
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| Going to the Sun Road (2009) |
Going-to-the-Sun Road
Going-to-the-Sun Road is the only road that traverses the park, crossing the Continental Divide through Logan Pass at an elevation of 6,646 feet. Construction began in 1921 and was completed in 1932 with formal dedication on July 15, 1933.
The road is named for Going-to-the-Sun Mountain, which dominates the eastbound view beyond Logan Pass. One mythological story tells of the deity Sour Spirit, who returned to the sun after teaching the Blackfeet to hunt.
Going-to-the-Sun Road is one of the most difficult roads in North America to snowplow in the spring. Up to 80 feet of snow can lie on top of Logan Pass, and more just east of the pass where the deepest snowfield has long been referred to as Big Drift. The road takes about ten weeks to plow, even with equipment that can move 4000 tons of snow in an hour. The road is generally open from early June to mid October, with its latest ever opening on July 13, 2011. I was there in 2011 two weeks later and the snow was still piled high at the visitors center.
On the east side of the continental divide, there are few guardrails due to heavy snows and the resultant late winter avalanches that have repeatedly destroyed every protective barrier ever constructed.
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| Wild Goose Island - St. Mary Lake (2011) |
St. Mary Lake
Saint Mary Lake is the second largest lake in Glacier National Park. Located on the east side of the park, the Going-to-the-Sun Road parallels the lake along its north shore.
The lake is 9.9 miles long and 300 feet deep. The waters of the lake rarely rise above 50 °F. During the winter, the lake often freezes completely over with ice up to 4 feet thick.
Carway Border Crossing
We've done a lot of shopping. We both had Bears from Jeff Fleming (twice in fact). We stocked up on souvenirs and every other place along the way and of course I had a ton of fabrice from the quilt stores. Finally, at Kalispell, we hit Walmart for clothes. We figured we would have to pay duty at the border. I guess we weren't too far over our limit because we passed through without delay.
 Post Note - Day Twenty:
Even in our virtual trip, we hate that drive from Great Falls to Lethbridge. We only drove a few hundred miles out of our way to bypass it! In reality, we could not have driven through Glacier National Park at the time of the year either (June). The road is not plowed yet and the website says:
"There is approximately 1.5-2' of new settled snow at 6250' on the road and much more expected in the avalanche start zones above GTSR. Much of this new snow is expected to avalanche over the next few days due to the dramatic warm up and sunshine, with large amounts of avalanche debris being deposited on the road between Road Camp and Siyeh Bend. This late storm delayed progress on clearing GTSR and plow crews should return to higher elevations on Tuesday."
Another new thing with the National Parks is that they are introducing "reservations". This all seems a bit to rigid for me. The notation on Glacier National Park website says:
"This pilot program is an effort to reduce congestion, improve visitor experience, and protect park resources. When the vehicle reservation system is in effect, a vehicle reservation is required to access the Going-to-the-Sun Road Corridor and North Fork Vehicle Reservation Areas. The vehicle reservation system only applies to these two areas of the park."
It feels rather anticlimactic now that this three year trip is over. It definitely is the most extension and researched trip we've ever taken. I've enjoyed the late nights reading and posting. There are not many areas that we have not travelled so digging deeper into the history was quite fascinating.
The End
Our virtual trip ended in June 2022 but it was not until May 5th, 2023, that the World Heath Organization declared an end to the public health emergency of international concern.
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