All Aboard!

 Day 11

Today I visited my 46th capitol!!!! This is the last one I am getting on this trip. I have 5 more and they will be more difficult to visit. Still to visit: Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. I am so lucky to be able to travel the United States and to see this beautiful country. 

Now, the journey to Helena was a fun one today. Our adventure began in Coeur d'Alene with a hotel breakfast, loading up the car, and heading to Starbucks for double star day! The first stop was Wallace, Idaho. It is about an hour drive from Coeur d'Alene through the mountains. The views were stunning. 

We arrived in Wallace and we headed to the Northern Pacific Depot Museum. When we parked our car, a man in a train conductor uniform walked with us into the museum. This would be our tour guide. He was so knowledgable on the museum and gave us some wonderful information. He loved the trains and reminded me of my grandpa Heinl. My grandpa LOVED to ride Amtrak and would have been great for this job. 

Wallace is a cute little town. The entire town is protected as a historical site. The streets used to be lined with brothels and saloons during the peak of the mining times. There is also a spot in the middle of a street that says "Center of the Universe" and yes, we did stand on it! Some sweet older ladies were just as excited as us to find it so they took our picture. 

Back in the car we went! Helena is about 4 hours from Wallace. After a little time in the car we hit rain... and it rained all the way to Helena. Not only did it rain, it also SNOWED!!!!! IN JUNE!! I'm obviously still in shock about the snow. When we were 6 miles from Helena the snow stopped and it was sunny again! Montana sure is weird! 

Now for the main attraction! Helena, Montana - Capitol #46!!! There was no one around. "Pete" (a computer) took our temperature inside the capitol. There was no security and we did not run into a single person inside the capitol. It was actually really creepy! We were being very quiet and took some pictures inside. It was soooo cold outside that we did not stick around too long. 

Our plan after the capitol was to walk around the historical district of Helena, but, it was FREEZING and we were in shorts, tank tops, and a sleeveless dress. We opted to just look at Reeder's Alley from the car and to drive to our hotel. We ate a small cafe next to the hotel called Shellie's Country Cafe. It was attached to the gas station and a casino. Sounds weird right? The food was actually really great. It was typical diner food. For some reason it took a long time to get our food so they comped our drinks and we got free pie! Everyone is so nice here. So far I LOVE Montana! 

Tomorrow I lose my travel buddy, Celeste. She is flying back to Dallas. I still have another 9 days on this trip until I am home. My husband is flying out to finish the trip with me. Check back for more adventures!