Our plans called for us to see the Many Glacier portion of Glacier National Park today. As we approached the park, we saw signs that you needed a day pass to enter Many Glacier. We did not have one. OOPS. We drove the long dirt road right up to the gate only to have our fears confirmed. We would not see Many Glacier or do the hikes today. So we turned around and went back to where we could take some long distance photos of that part of the park.
We modified our plans for the day. Since we had more time on our hands, we would drive to Helena a day early. Then we would have a head start on getting to Yellowstone National Park tomorrow. We saw lots of mountains, a few lakes, and some very nice rivers on our drive to Helena.
The Montana Capitol in Helena at first looks like many other state capitols. However, it is much less decorated with statues, and the dome is less ornate. For this capitol, they built a handsome building on the outside and put the art work on the inside.
The artwork is prominent in both legislative chambers. The House chamber has a large mural and the Senate chamber has a metal work 3D art piece. In the Senate chamber, the artwork is also in the skylights for the room.
The old Supreme Court room is also filled with various artwork. It is now a meeting room.
The inside of the dome is also not as ornate as many other capitols, but it is still very intricate.
The halls, the arches, and the windows are also decorated with paintings, murals, and stained glass.
The interior of the building is painted in many hues, the floors are colorful, and there is artwork everywhere. There are marble finishes in parts of the building, but not nearly as much as most capitols. While it is different in many ways from most other capitols, the end result is the same. A very impressive building that houses the government of Montana.
The view from the capitol is impressive. You can see why they call Montana the “Big Sky” State.
We had an enjoyable visit at the capitol.
