Category: Capitol Building

Helena, MT

Helena, MT

Our first impressions of Helena is that it’s kind of small and the city is laid out weird. We went to the Capitol Building…it was a lovely dome building.

IMGP1497

Here’s a picture of the inside of the dome.

IMGP1479

There were several stained glass windows, which were very pretty!

IMGP1488

A dome and stained-glass…It’s such a great combination! It seems to be a very popular theme with the Capitol Buildings.

After we got our State Capitol Building stamp, we headed over to the Cathedral of Saint Helena.

IMGP1511

It was worth the trip to Helena just to see the cathedral. It was absolutely stunning inside!

IMGP1514

And the stained glass…it was amazing. We walked up and down each side looking at each window.


IMGP1520
IMGP1519

I could have stayed a couple of hours just looking around, but there were people trying to pray so we made a quick tour and headed out.

While we were trying to decide on what to eat we found this fire tower and after several passes around the block figured out how to get to it!

IMGP1532

We couldn’t go up in it, but it was neat to look around it and the view of the city wasn’t anything to complain about.IMGP1535

Helena was a neat place to spend an afternoon. We moseyed through some shops and down a very cool (I’m bummed I didn’t get a picture of it) brick street!

See y’all down the road!

The Dakotas

The Dakotas

I’m going to be honest…the Dakotas are a bit of a blur for me. It was raining on and off the whole time so we had to cram the few activities we had planned into a couple of jam-packed days. Now, keep in mind, we’re really just making our way up to Alaska and checking off a few things on our list as we go.

Since there really wasn’t a whole lot we could do during our time in the Dakotas this go around, I’m grouping them together into one post.

IMG_0555South Dakota! We didn’t get to see Mount Rushmore this time around. We will definitely be doing that before it’s all said and done though. In South Dakota we stayed in Fort Pierre which is right across the river from the State Capital, Pierre. Every time we crossed the river we switched time zones. It got to be a joke for us. In the movie The Mummy with Brandon Fraser, there’s a part where a boat they’re on goes down and half of them are on one side of the river and the other half end up on the opposite side of the river. The good guy calls out to the bad guy, “You’re on the wrong side of the river!”…Anyway, that phrase was said quite a bit and we all laughed every time. Yes, we’re those people. IMGP0600Fun fact…Pierre is the second smallest State Capital.

Not so fun fact…there’s not much to do there and almost no cell service.

Fort Pierre and Pierre (seen in the picture above) are really quite picturesque! We went up on some of the surrounding hills and found some great views of the cities of Fort Pierre and Pierre. There are pheasant everywhere! They’re like the armadillo of The Dakotas! For some reason they like to stay right by the road.

IMGP0610We stayed near the ruins of the original Fort Pierre. There wasn’t really much to see. A rock with a plaque in the middle of a grassy field. There was a sign that told where they thought everything was based on a wall they found.

IMGP0536The State Capitol Building in Pierre was very ornate. The inside was richly decorated in golds and marble with murals and plenty of mosaic tile flooring. It really was very pretty. I’m a sucker for a good dome and this Capitol Building didn’t let me down.IMGP0538

We went to the South Dakota Culture Heritage Center and spent an hour looking at all of the history of the state. If you ever get a chance to go into one of the Culture Centers you really should. The ones we’ve found so far have been free (donation appreciated) and have been really spectacular museums! IMGP0498I won’t post up all the pictures I took (I took more than I probably needed to), but I’ll share the tee-pee with y’all. All three boys enjoyed walking through the tee-pee.

IMG_0556In North Dakota we stayed in Menoken. It’s a small town east of Bismarck (the State Capital). It was a teeny tiny town with zero cell service. I will say this about the RV park we stayed in…it had the cleanest and best bathrooms we’ve come across so far. The bathrooms had wall heaters! That’s huge when you’re trying to shower and it’s cold outside! Oh! And the showers were free! It’s the little things.

In North Dakota we went to see Sitting Bulls grave site and found Fort Manuel. This fort…sheesh it was hard to find and then when we finally found it, it ended up being closed. Plus, the guy’s drive way we had to go down to get to it…he was less than amused. We still walked around it and enjoyed the views. Here are a few photos from the Fort.

IMGP0690 - Copy IMGP0692 - Copy IMGP0695 - CopyIMGP0698They think Sacagawea (Sakakawea in the Dakotas or “Jane” by Lewis and Clark) is buried nearby. There wasn’t a headstone or a grave site so I’m kind of doubtful that she is.

On our way to Montana, we made one more stop in South Dakota!IMGP0836

We did the scenic drive stopping for a couple of quick hikes and to look at the wildlife! The Badlands were full of…IMGP0783 - Copybuffalo,IMGP0753 - Copy - Copyprairie dogs,IMGP0778 - Copywild horses,IMG_0582 - Copy - Copyand awe inspiring views!

The two little boys became official Junior Rangers.IMGP0830 - CopyRanger Amy was the best! You can really tell she loves her job. Because of her, our Littlest has now decided he wants to be a National Park Ranger.

So there you have it. Our time in The Dakotas. I’m sorry for the long, picture filled post, but now I’m all caught up with state posts!! We’re currently in Montana and will be taking this week at a leisurely pace since we only have one thing on our list to see for the whole week!

See ya on the road!

It’s a Start

It’s a Start

We’ve been on the road for a week now and have already been wowed by some of the views. Our first stop was in Junction City, KS where we hiked in the Konza Praire Biological Station near a Tall Grass Praire. It’s too early in the season for the tall grass to be…well…tall, but we did get quite a view when we crested the first hill to see this.  So much for Kansas only being flat! We had a very nice hike here. We rounded a corner to this view!

  It was super windy! But the views were very nice!!

We took a quick trip over to Topeka, Ks to check out the Capitol Building. It reminded me of a castle dungeon on the ground floor, but was very ornate and lovely starting on the first floor. 

We got our first State stamp!  

And then we hit the road to Nebraska!!

I’ll fill y’all in about Nebraska next time!!

See y’all down the road!