Great Falls: True or False?

 Given my obsession with waterfalls, you do have to stop in a place in Montana called Great Falls. You need to check it out to see if this town has delusions of grandeur or if they actually do have Great Falls.

I did not know that one of America's great rivers, the Missouri runs right thru Great Falls, Montana. Lewis and Clark, the Louisiana superstar explorers had heard stories of a mighty waterfall and when Lewis finally saw Great Falls he declared:

“...the grandest sight I ever beheld...whin my ears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall of water and advancing a little further; I saw the spray arise above the plain like a collumn of smoke...which soon began to make a roaring too tremendous to be mistaken for any cause short of the great falls of the Missouri...”

Clark came along a little bit later and using his surveyor's tools, he estimated the falls to be a height of 97 feet and ¾ inches. Recent electronic measurements have declared the falls to be 96 feet. Clark was off by less than two inches. Today, the falls stand 148 feet because Ryan Dam(built 1915) was built.

Great Falls/Ryan Dam

There are actually five falls on the Missouri river around the city of Great Falls. Four of the five falls have been damned over.

Black Eagle Dam

A visit to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in town was fascinating. The center told us the Lewis and Clark story from St. Charles Missouri to the Pacific Ocean. We all learn about the expedition in school, but this museum was so well done. It brought the story to life.

In non waterfall news, Great Falls was also the home of C.M.Russell. Russell was known as "the cowboy artist" and created more than 2,000 painting of cowboys, Native Americans, and landscapes of the Old West.  I like his work, but must admit that it is not my favorite.  I will say though that it invoked fond memories of sitting in front of the B&W TV and watching all those old westerns.  I did not take a single picture of any of Russell's work, but I was entertained by the museum.  

The Bison Branch
Ron Ukrainetz

After Great Falls, I felt the need to scurry home. You just don't want to miss Minnesota in the summer. This is a map of my journey.  The little tents are all of the places I camped.