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."
{Waiting to board the Sacajawea}
If you look left to right you can see how the gates "open" This is what Lewis & Clark saw as they floated on the Missouri River.
{Opening the Gates}
The cliffs are mostly made of Madison Limestone which is why they have so many caves and characters in the rocks. One of my favorite things about the tour was how much it required imagination to see shapes and faces in the rocks. Top left- personally, I think it looks like the Kool-Aid man, Top right is Montana's Devil's slide, bottom left is an arch in the rock, and bottom right is an elephant.
{Cliffs of GOTM}
We stopped to examine some Native American Pictographs which were carbon dated to be over 1200 years old! We also had an awesome Bald Eagle sighting- I was happy Mr Eagle posed for me long enough to get a good picture.
Top= Native American pictographs, Middle= Bald Eagle Sighting, Bottom= entrance to the gates.
Quick break at a campsite along the river before heading back.
{Beautiful Morning at the Gates}
After the tour we got back on the road and made the long stretch to the Canadian Border in Sweetgrass. We crossed the border without too much delay and then we had just a short drive to Raymond, Alberta which was our final destination at my Great Aunt Judy & Uncle Max's house. Judy is an amazing cook and had a full Sunday dinner feast waiting for us when we got there.
{Canadian Welcome Center}
The T-rex was too awesome to pass up a photo opp.
More on our Canadian adventures to come…
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