We arrived in Helena earlier than expected and found ourselves with some free time. While we were at the state capitol building, Allison suggested a boat ride on the Missouri River that she had read about. We tried to make reservations but missed the cutoff time. On the spur of the moment, we decided to try for standby tickets and it worked out!
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| The Sacajawea 2 is a 50-foot wooden boat that seats 89 passenger and has been in service since 1967 . . . Our captain, who was also the tour guide, was very knowledgeable and informative . . . She has been doing this tour for eleven years! |
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| Making our way down the Missouri towards the Gates of the Mountains . . . As you can see, the scenery was outstanding! |
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| We have arrived and are now "officially in the recreation area |
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| A beautiful picture of the typical scenery you find as you make your way down the Missouri |
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| Many arches were pointed out by the captain . . . She did a good job of maneuvering the boat back & forth so each side of the boat could see them |
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| Although not a great picture, we were surprised to see petroglyphs in an alcove along the river (Click on the picture to enlarge it) |
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| We had never heard of the Mann Gulch Fire and the tragedy that took place here in 1949 . . . 13 smoke jumpers lost their lives, less than an hour after touching down, when the winds shifted and overtook them as they ran up the gulch hoping to escape the flames (Click on the picture for an enlarged photo) |
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| Mann Gulch |
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| A memorial can be found at a rest area where the boat stops to let guests take a break before heading back . . . We've created a link that will direct you to a 6-minute Montana PBS video that provides additional details on how this tragedy played out on that devastating day in 1949 |
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| The captain made two sweeping moves across the river near this point . . . By doing so, she created an illusion that made the cliffs, near the river edge come together, as if gates were closing and then reopening, as she reversed back across the river |
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| Working our way back up the Missouri |
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| Another arch |
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| When we were almost back to the dock, this Lockheed Martin C130J flew over us heading downstream . . . You may be saying, "That's nice, but what's so interesting about that?" It just so happened to be a plane that the Forest Service uses for dropping smokejumpers, much like the one used by those who lost their lives in Mann Gulch |
We're not sure you can find a more inexpensive way to spend an enjoyable afternoon on the Missouri River. Tickets were only $15/person for a two-hour ride . . . reservations are not available the day of the ride, but can be bought in person, like we did. We would suggest trying to get on the Sacajawea 2 (the smaller of the two boats that operate) because it doesn't have plexiglass windows overhead, nor a bathroom. Because it doesn't have a bathroom it makes a stop at a rest area along the river, while the other boat turns around and heads back. Once back at the dock, make sure to head for the concession stand and order some huckleberry ice cream . . . it was the best we had on our Montana trip! For more information, click this link, for the Gates of the Mountains tours.
