The wide open plains of Montana contrasted with the wetlands of Montana. Unless you have spent a considerable time in Montana you do not have an understanding of the widely varying richness and the superbly contrasting parts of the stae, it's land, vegetation, scenic vistas, the extremes of weather and the great rivers and bodies of water.
I started visiting Montana in 1967 via train from Ellensburg in Central Washington. Ellensburg had vistas 12,000 foot peaks, alpine forests, amazing fields of Timothy hay and sagebrush. Parts of Montana had many similar features. However, Montana's big skies have a quality unknown in many places, they are truly unlike any other skies I have had the pleasure of viewing, unless you are atop one of the Cascade volcanoes that provide 360 degree views, often for several hundred miles. What I have found during my many travels to Montana is that it is a special place, one of my favorites to visit. If you haven't driven up Beartooth Pass, over Going to the Sun Highway, through Yellowstone Park from top to bottom and East to West, viewed Flathead Lake, the White Cliffs section of the Missouri River and blizzards at 30 below stuck in a stopped train you might want to.
Perhaps I shouldn't suggest such places to keep tourists down. My son worked at a ranch north of West Yellowstone for a year. Everyday they served many bus loads of tourists. This summer's reservations for such groups of tourists is down! West Yellowstone and the Park may be less crowded over the summer!
R Newman
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