THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN FRONT Day 1
Day One:
When we left for destinations in north central Montana, we did so to reconnoiter for an upcoming trip with our friend Becky. I first met Becky, in 1991, when we were deputies for the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been a good friend for almost thirty years and was the first to visit us since my brother and I moved to Montana. We planned to take her to Glacier, Yellowstone, and Grand Teton National Parks in addition to a lot of great sights along the way. Unfortunately, a blizzard of historic magnitude came howling in from Canada on the week that she arrived, so we had to completely redo our itinerary.
We devoted the first three days of our autumnal outing to the identification of fall-foliage destinations along the Rocky Mountain Front. We particularly wanted to show Becky the massive aspen grove at the base of Chief Mountain, which is located in the northeastern corner of Glacier National Park. This deciduous tree goes through four phases of color: the deep green of summer, light green as their leaves first start to change colors, yellow as they progress toward the final stage, and finally a brilliant gold color just before dropping. Generally, the further west and north you go, into the Rocky Mountain states, the earlier the fall color sets in. Back in Tennessee it has gotten to where you might see fall color in November, if there are any leaves still on the trees. In Wyoming and Montana, depending upon which part of the state you are in, peak season usually occurs between late September and early to mid-October. As previously noted in my articles on the Snowy Range and Aspen Alley in southern Wyoming, which I had visited only four days before, the leaves had not changed significantly. Of course, it is over 800 miles from the southeastern corner of Wyoming (Laramie) to the most extreme area of north central Montana (Babb).
We followed essentially the same route that I took to Glacier National Park in June, but we deviated slightly on the first leg by going north, from Big Timber, via US 191 toward Harlowton rather than US 89 further west. The purpose of this course was to see what the aspens were doing at the Halfmoon Campground on the east side of the Crazy Mountains.
Doug took very thorough notes as I drove. This was extremely helpful when I started writing my article. It was instrumental in getting all the pertinent facts. We now have a list of all the rest areas between here and Glacier National Park, which is always a good thing to know. I think I’ll start taking a recorder when I go by myself.
As we left home on that Sunday morning, September 22, 2019, we were heading west, once again, on I-90. The first rest area, west of Billings, was at the 419 mile marker. Near mile marker 409, ten miles after that pit stop, there is a sign pointing to the left, or south of the interstate, to the Beartooth Mountains. The higher portions were white as we had snow that weekend. This is one of my favorite places to take pictures of those alpine summits.
from our home.
The next rest area is at mile marker 381. Just four miles later, is my preferred spot for taking photos of the Crazy Mountains. The interstate turns to where it is headed directly toward those magnificent pinnacles, and there is a roadside sign which identifies them as the Crazies. I never get tired of the view from this spot. Many times, since moving to Montana, I have driven there just to snap some pictures. On this day, those scenic peaks had a heavy dusting of snow from earlier. Doug said, “this is one of the most spectacular views visible from anywhere in the country that can be seen from an interstate.”
Big Timber, Montana, is a picturesque little town accessible from exit 370. Randy, Debby, and their son Hunter live here. They were the first friends we met since moving to God’s Country. Located along the Boulder River with the Crazy Mountains as a backdrop, “The Fort” is a good pit stop for coffee, snacks, souvenirs, local maps, or a visit to the restroom before heading on to the Crazies. At this point, according to our trip meter, we had driven 81.1 miles. Turning north, on US 191, we paralleled the eastern side of the Crazy Mountains. For those not familiar with these mountains, they are a relatively small island range that rises abruptly without foothills. Their bases are at roughly 3,500–4,000 feet, but their vertical relief (base–to–summit height) is nearly 7,000 feet, which makes them as tall as the fabled Tetons. The profile of the big-shouldered Crazy Mountains, viewed from left to right is very symmetrical, with Crazy Peak (11,214 feet), the highest mountain in this range, in its center.
After about eleven miles, we turned left onto Wormser Road, where the pavement ends. Another three-and-a-half miles brought us to the Big Timber Canyon Road where we entered the Gallatin National Forest at the 103.9 trip meter mark. As we proceeded along this road, the driving became rougher the further we traveled. This time of the month, and at this altitude, aspen are light green or in that muddy transitional phase between light green and light yellow. The section of this road that is on national forest land is very slow slogging, particularly for low–clearance passenger cars. Furthermore, it enters a narrow valley that is heavily timbered with conifers and does not afford much visibility, with few aspen. And I repeat, it is extremely rocky. We finally returned to US 191 and continued north.
Approximately twenty miles south of Harlowton on the west side of US 191, we saw a white buffalo grazing by itself not more than fifty yards away. This is exceedingly rare, thus extremely sacred to the Plains Tribes. The Sweetgrass Buffalo Company is in this area. They raise buffalo/bison for sale.* The white buffalo belongs to them, but they do not advertise it as such. This section of US 191 is open grassland punctuated by stands of conifers.
*For ordering information see www.sweetgrassbuffalo.com
After a pitstop at the rest area in Harlowton we headed west, on US 12, toward White Sulfur Springs. This approximately sixty-mile journey appears to hold no promise for fall foliage. However, the Little Belt Mountains are nice, gently rolling hills though some peaks top 9,000 feet, with decent but not continuous stands of timber.
We exited US 12, three miles north of the small city of White Sulphur Springs, to continue our northward journey on US 89. A drive of about forty minutes, saw us reach the town of Neihart. This settlement, of about fifty citizens, is in the middle of the Little Belt Mountains at an altitude of 5,661 feet. We entered the Lewis and Clark National Forest about halfway there and began to encounter more aspen. The cloak they are weaving is definitely sporting more of a yellowish hue. Nevertheless, conifers are still overwhelmingly predominant in this area.
This segment of US 89 is the Kings Hill Scenic Byway, which runs for seventy-one miles from White Sulphur Springs to the junction of US 89 and US 87. It traverses the Lewis and Clark National Forest while crossing the Little Belt Mountains. This route is featured in S. A. Snyder’s book, Scenic Driving MONTANA, as part of Scenic Drive #23 The Crazy and Little Belt Mountains: U.S. Highway 89, which runs from 1-90 in the south, to Armington Junction in the north. The 140-mile excursion ends at the junction of U.S. Highways 89 and 87. Great Falls, the third largest metropolitan in Montana, is about half an hour northwest from this point.
This route slowly rises until we reached Kings Hill Pass at an elevation of 7,393 feet. The Showdown Ski Resort was on the left side of the road. After coming down from the pass, US 89 passed over Belt Creek. There is a parking lot, with outhouse/toilet on the right side of the thoroughfare. From this area beside the burbling Missouri River tributary, you may take a short, half-mile jaunt to Memorial Falls. In the spring, if the water is high, you probably won’t be able to reach the falls. In less than five minutes we reached the town of Neihart, Montana. Aspen on the approach route to Neihart were in what Doug called the soft yellow phase.
The quarter hour it took to navigate the thirteen miles from Neihart to Monarch was just about the most peaceful ride I have taken in a long time. The corridor traversed by US 89 in this region is more extensively dotted with aspen, specifically the section between those two waypoints on our journey to Great Falls. Just north of Monarch, you leave the Lewis and Clark National Forest behind and, soon thereafter and with amazing immediacy, the landscape opens back up to rolling grassland punctuated by stands of conifers. There is a nice little scenic turnout at Sluice Boxes State Park about twelve miles north of Monarch. It is definitely worth getting out of your vehicle and stretching your legs. You will want to bring your camera with you.
This portion of US-89 comes to an end at the junction with U.S. 87/Montana 200/Montana 3 highway. It gets confusing when you look at it on a map, or even the road signs. At this confluence of two highways, commonly known as Armington Junction, the highway which becomes US-87/US-89 will take you to Great Falls. Just turn left, and about half an hour later you will be entering the third largest city in Montana. There is a rest area at this spot. It is a nice facility, rather than a pit toilet.
