May 21, 2024
Greetings Everyone,
My spring wanderings are over and it is so very nice to be back in Helena. Pretty much for the duration. As Matt mentioned, I've been spending some time recently on the Green river. The trip last week was a bit of historical/photo tourism. At the time of Lewis and Clark the ‘Way West’ was up the Missouri River to its confluence with the Yellowstone. By the mid-1820s, the ‘Way West’ was over South Pass, which is west of Casper, Wyoming, and down into the Green river valley. The Apsaalooke (Crow) people called the Green the ‘Seeds-ka-day’ or ’Siskadee' (meaning the Prairie Chicken river). Spanish explorers called it the Rio Verde. From the valley of the Green it was a short hop to the Bear, the Snake and finally to the waters of the Columbia river, or into the Great Basin. This route became the Oregon/California Trail. During the 1840s-50s over 300,000 people traveled these Trails on their way to the fertile Willamette valley or the gold fields of the Sacramento. There’s a stone obelisk near South Pass called ’The Parting of the Ways’ where the Trail forked. This part of the country, the high plains of Wyoming, looks nearly the same today as it did 200 years ago: beautiful and harsh at the same time. It was a good trip.
We have another great Hometown Helena planned for this week. You all enjoyed the Capital High School Band so much last winter that we have invited Mr. Zach Harris and the CHS band back for a mini-spring concert at Hometown Helena. The music will start at 7:45am, so you’ll be greeted by a fine melody as you arrive at Helena College this week. Also, Jeff Wadekamper from the Helena Regional Airport will join us for an update. Jeff is doing great work at the Airport. There is good news to share in terms of airport improvements, new flights and maybe even a new airline coming to town?
In other news…well, there’s almost too much to talk about in this brief missive: Graduations, Summer on the Gulch, Symphony Under the Stars, Shakespeare in the Parks, the Grandstreet Kids downtown, fishing, floating, hiking, camping, friends and relatives coming to visit, the Last Chance Tour Train, Historic Walking Tours, Alive at Five, and all the rest of the events that we enjoy so very much here in the Capital City.
Please join us in person or via the zoom this week, courtesy of Aja Rail and the good folks at Pinion Global, Inc. Looking forward to seeing you and to another great Hometown Helena this week.
Jim Smith
406-949-1002
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