Gates of the Mountains Boat Tour: a Relaxing Experience - Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Yesterday, Bob, Diane Howell Evans, and I did the 11k Helena, Montana, Volksmarch. For Diane and I, it capped our goal of walking in all 51 U.S. capitals (including Washington, D.C.). 

Today, we are resting. By that I mean, we (Bob, Diane, her husband Rick, and I) are taking a two-hour boat tour called Gates of the Mountains out of north Helena, Montana. 

Upon arrival at the marina, we checked in at the office/gift shop to pick up our tickets. Then we went to a pavilion next to the marina to wait for our tour to leave. The pavilion contained the history of the area: Lewis & Clark Expedition, flora and fauna, Mann Gulch Fire, and geology. 

Two tour boats headed out today. We were able to choose the boat we wanted to be on. One boat, "Sacajawea II," was open air and had a planned stop to use the "facilities" at a picnic area half-way through our ride. The other boat, "Canyon Voyager" (the one we chose), had a bathroom on board, seating was covered and enclosed, although all the windows were all open, and there was also an outside seating area. 

Turns out we picked the boat with Brian Zimmerman as captain and tour guide. He is the manager of Gates of the Mountains Boat Tours. Good choice of boat and guide. 

[NOTE: I wanted to mention that this boat tour has been on my bucket list since the boys were 13 and 9, that's 54 years! We tried to go on it back then, but I miscalculated the time it would take to get here from Glacier National Park and the last tour of the day was sailing away as we drove in on the access road. Time flies. Eventually, you will be able to do things on your bucket list (if you have one).]

Entering Gates of the Mountains
Recreation Area

Our first wildlife sighting.

Brian Zimmerman, manager,
captain, tour guide.

I've had people comment that no one on the tour was wearing masks. All the windows were open with a steady flow of fresh air as we made our way down-river. The boat was not full. We didn't have much contact with others.

Bob on the tour boat. 

Diane Howell Evans. 

We started out in scenery like this. 

The tour brochure describes the experience like this:

"Nestled halfway between Yellowstone and Glacier National Park beats the heart of Montana named the Gates of the Mountains by the undaunted explorer Meriwether Lewis, July 19, 1805. He wrote in his journal 'this evening we entered much the most remarkable cliffs that we have yet seen. These cliffs rise from the waters edge on either side perpendicularly to the height of 1200 feet.'"*

Our first wildlife sighting was a deer at the edge of the water. The area is also home to black bear, bighorn sheep, moose, otters, ermine, beaver, and even cougars. Our guide explained to us that mountain goats do not do well here. The reason is that mountain goats are used to living in higher, more hostile environments and they are not used to looking UP for predators. Here, there are more predators that attack from above than there are at higher elevations, so mountain goats are at a disadvantage. 

It wasn't long before we were dwarfed by towering Madison Limestone cliffs. The cliffs are punctuated with hundreds of small holes, caves, and natural bridges showing the force of the Madison River over eons.

"The river appears to have forced its way through this immense body of solid rock for the distance of 5-3/4 miles and where it makes its exit below has thrown on either side vast columns of rocks mountains high."*

Today, 20 miles down the Missouri River is a hydroelectric dam named after Anton Holter, Holter Dam, so the campsite of Meriwether Lewis is covered by the waters of Holter Lake. Holter Lake did not exist in the time of Meriwether Lewis so the columns of rock looked 60' higher then than they do today.

An opening to one of the caves in the limestone.

Limestone cliffs.

Holter Lake formed by the Madison River.

Helena formation (Mesoproterozoic).

Along the way, Brian pointed out the nests of a pair of bald eagles in a tree and an osprey nest atop a rock formation.

Center bottom is an osprey sitting in the nest. 

Note the huge bald eagle nest at
the top of the tree on the left.

We passed a picnic area and a couple of camping areas accessible only by boat.

Coulter Campground.

Meriwether Picnic Area.

Find your own place to camp!

Arch.

Pictographs.

The flora (Kelseya Uniflora) that looks like broccoli in the photo below is rare. Kelseya is in the rose family and clings to rocky cliffs around here. It was discovered by Francis Duncan Kelsey in 1888. If you come to the Gates of the Mountains when it is blooming, the canyon walls would be covered in pink.

Kelseya Uniflora

When Meriwether Lewis and crew were exploring the Missouri River trying to find a passage through to the West, upon first encountering the area now known as Gates of the Mountains, it looked to them like a dead end due to the configuration of the rock walls. However, as they got closer, it looked like the rock walls opened up and they found where the river flowed through. 

When we got to the area where the Gates of the Mountains were, our captain moved the boat around so that we could see how the passage disappeared from view, and then reappeared. Of course, back then it looked much different, wilder, there was no dam in place to tame the river.

As our tour boat gently motored on the lake behind the dam, Brian pointed out different rock formations that people thought looked like elephants, rhinoceros, and a monkey face. There were lots of opportunities to find your own rock formation to be creative in designating what it might look like.

Here's one right in front of us.

Brian also told us the story of the Mann Gulch Fire in 1949. Thirteen firefighters, most of them smokejumpers, lost their lives. They got trapped when the fire came back on itself, surrounding them. It is reminiscent of the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona in 2013 when 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots lost their lives. 

And in 2007, most of the wilderness was burned by the Meriwether Fire. Trees and shrubs are starting to regrow in this area.

Gorgeous scenery and weather today.

Gates of the Mountain marina.

I am in front of "Canyon Voyager."

After a visit to the gift shop, where everyone wore their masks, we headed back to north Helena and the four of us had lunch at Grub Stake Restaurant. It was a very nice time spent getting acquainted with our new friends, Rick and Diane. We have a lot in common and plan to see them the next time we travel to the Olympic Peninsula. 

After lunch, we invited them over to see our 5th wheel. Then they headed home and we got ready to head out in the morning.

Tomorrow, we will make our way to Island Park, Idaho. 

* Meriwether Lewis quotes are from "The Journals of Lewis & Clark, Volume 4," Gary E. Moulton, editor.

Our Rig was Spared by Inches - Tues., Oct. 28

Let me paint the picture for you...

Heading south from Branson, Missouri into Arkansas there are A LOT of hills. Some of those hills have passing lanes because much of the route is a two lane, winding road. On one of those passing lanes in Arkansas we were in the slow lane and people were zooming around us. As you know, passing lanes give plenty of warning when the lane is about to end. A couple more cars zoomed by us as the lane was ending. There was zero shoulder, just a 15-20' drop down to some trees and pasture. The passing lane was gone and the two lanes had almost finished merging to one.

Bob was still as far to the right as he could be. He totally stressed because an 18-wheeler was STARTING to pass. The driver did not back off. He came so close to us on the left side, I was sure he was going to hit us and we would roll off the edge of the hill. Another car was coming from the front. The oncoming driver must have stopped. I couldn't see because the truck was in the way. Somehow the truck missed hitting us and the oncoming car.

That driver endangered three vehicles plus all the people in them. Here is a photo of his truck and him.

Heartland Express truck

Here is scenery from our drive south:

Farm land

Sorry the next two photos are blurry, but the camera couldn't overcome the motion of the truck. These are the hills I'm talking about.

Arkansas - No grade percentage was listed

Going up!

When we arrived in Little Rock, we made our way on narrow, bumpy (but paved) roads to Maumelle Campground (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) on the Arkansas River. Our site backed up to the river so we had a gorgeous view out our rear window.

View out our back window - Arkansas River

View out our dining room window - marina

Our site - # 14

Once we were settled, since it was early and rainy, we decided to do the interior tour of the state Capitol. It was about a 20-minute drive into downtown Little Rock.

Information for the next few paragraphs was gleaned from "Through These Doors: A Self-Guided Tour of the Arkansas State Capitol."

The Arkansas State Capitol is the second capital. The first, now called the Old State House, was not large enough and fell into disrepair raining chunks of plaster onto the Senate floor. Yikes!

In 1899, the state's legislators voted to build a new State Capitol. They found the perfect spot about a mile up the Arkansas River from the Old State House -- a plot already occupied by the state penitentiary. They used 200 convicts to level the prison and build a new Capitol in its place. (The irony of this does not escape me.)

The first architect, George Mann, oversaw the project until 1909. Delays included cost overruns, budget shortfalls, and even charges of bribery. (Where's that penitentiary when you need it?) The state replaced Mann with renowned architect Cass Gilbert who was noted for his designs of the Minnesota State Capitol and the United States Supreme Court building.

Gilbert quickly had substandard materials removed and revised the interior design. Features that were intended to meet a low budget were upgraded. Marble for the floors and wall panels came from Vermont, and the grand staircases were carved of Alabama stone. Elegant fluted columns were quarried in Colorado. Hard, lustrous Batesville, Arkansas limestone formed the exterior walls while softer Indiana limestone was used for the dome.

In 1915, the construction was officially declared complete. The final cost of the project topped $2.2 million, surpassing the initial budget of $1 million.

Today, the neo-classical Arkansas State Capitol looks a lot like it did in 1915. The distance from ground level to the top of the dome's cupola is 213 feet. It is topped by a copper ball finial covered in gold leaf. I didn't get a lot of photos of the exterior because it was raining.

In comparison to the other State Capitols we've visited, this one was, sorry to say, plain Jane, sterile, white-on-white, institutional, cavernous, and very little art. The arches have their own beauty. Here it is.

Their state seal is backlit and is gorgeous

I will have to describe the following photo...We are looking up into the dome. The four half circles are archways of the fourth floor. The "pearls" in the middle are the chandelier.

The chandelier is suspended from the ceiling by a 73-foot chain. The rotunda chandelier weighs more than 4,000 pounds and is approximately 12 feet in diameter and 18 feet in height. This light fixture, along with several others in the Capitol, was designed for the Capitol by the Mitchell-Vance Company of New York. This grand, intricate chandelier is assembled using thousands of brass, copper, zinc, iron and glass parts.

Looking up at the fourth floor arches and dome

Dome and chandelier

Stairs to second floor

Lovely fireplace in Governor's Reception Room

Stained glass window in a door, Governor's Reception Room

"Governor Bob" hard at work

You can see how small Bob looks in the Rotunda

"The six, ten-foot-tall bronze doors located on the eastern side of the rotunda were purchased from Tiffany's of New York in 1910 for $10,000. Today, those same doors are valued at $250,000. In order to keep the uncoated bronze surfaces shining as the architect envisioned, the doors are polished by hand, inside and out, each week.

"The bronze doors served as the main public entrance for much of the Capitol's first century. However, since 2011, visitors have entered via the ground-level tunnel doors through security stations operated by the State Capitol Police."

From "Through These Doors: A Self-Guided Tour of the Arkansas State Capitol

I can report the doors are awesome. They look like they're made of gold.

Tiffany's bronze doors

And just who might this young fellow be in the portrait below? It is a very young Governor William Jefferson Clinton.

Governor William Jefferson Clinton

Grand staircase leading to the House

Bob waiting to go in the House

Vaulted skylight over cavernous hall of arches

The lunette below is called "Religion." The four murals (lunettes) at the ends of the vaulted skylights are the only public artworks commissioned for the building. These murals came from the studio of Paul Martin Heerwagen, a Bavarian-born artist and interior decorator from Fayetteville, Arkansas. His commission for the work was $10,000. Completed in October 1914, the painted canvases were originally glued directly to the plaster walls below the skylights. The murals were restored in 2000.

"Religion" lunette

As we were taking photos and goofing around, a very nice gentleman came up the stairs and asked if we'd like to see the House chambers. "Why, yes! How nice of you."

He went to get the keys and let us in.

What first impressed us upon walking into the House Chamber was the stained glass skylight and drapes. The drapes were installed to reduce glare and dampen the chamber's lively acoustics. Glasswork and fittings of the outer dome were restored in 2012, and the interior dome and ceiling underwent restoration in summer 2014.

Beautiful stained glass skylight

I didn't think much of the chandelier until I read about it later in the self-guided tour pamphlet. The 2,000-pound, Mitchell-Vance chandelier is original to the room.

House Chamber seating

The gentleman who let us in to see the House Chamber waited patiently while we snooped around. We thought maybe the upstairs Gallery would be open, but he didn't think so. We checked when we reached the fourth floor and it was ajar, so we let ourselves in. We had a good view of the whole House Chamber.

House Chamber from the Gallery.

We also were able to see the scagliola up close. The columns and pilasters are finished in scagliola, a technique which uses a mix of gypsum plaster, glue, pigments and marble dust applied over a base surface to simulate the look of marble. The columns' capitals are gilded. (Gild = to coat with gold, gold leaf or a gold-colored substance.)

Gilded capital and scagliola on column

House Chamber, columns, chandelier and stained glass ceiling

Many, many arches

"War" lunette

Looking toward House Chamber

I'm amazed at all the places Pearl Harbor turns up. A beautiful memorial Pearl Harbor Memorial is on the third floor along with a history of Arkansas.

Pearl Harbor Memorial

The State Senate chamber

Looking up toward the Rotunda dome

Old Supreme Court Chamber

 It was a rainy day so we didn't linger outside. I took two photos.

Back side of the Capitol

Detailed porthole window

Finished with our exploration of the Capitol, we found our way back to Maumelle Campground, but decided not to go back just yet. Two miles beyond our campground is Pinnacle Mountain State Park so we continued on the road to the state park. It was sprinkling and the light was fading; however, when we arrived at the visitor center, a scenic lookout trail hooked us into a short hike.

Pinnacle Mountain State Park, Rocky Valley Trail

Old quarry highlighted by fall colors

Me in front of lake at old rock quarry

Scenic viewpoint (Bob makes good scenery!)

Oriental scene

1,011' Pinnacle Mountain

After our quick exploration, we went back to our campsite to relax for the rest of the evening. As usual, I worked on photos and wrote a blog. Bob pored over the Arkansas River Trail brochure to plan his long run for tomorrow morning. 

The Arkansas River Trail is a 16-mile loop between the Big Dam Bridge (yes, that's really its name!) and the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock. Bob is stoked to run the whole thing.

All for tonight. Travel Bug out.