Church of the Rockies

This morning we said goodbye to our wonderful condo in Whitefish, MT. What a great place to visit. We were about 30 miles from the West Glacier park entrance. Whitefish is an artsy kind of town with many boutiques and eateries.
It is very smoky this morning due to wildfires so again our timing is impeccable to be leaving the area.

We stopped for lunch at a local place called Homestake Pub. Not very big but busy! Diana had a butter burger and it was one of the best burgers she’s had in a long time. Myron had fried shrimp.
After lunch while leaving Butte we saw this statue high up on a hill. Upon investigating and thanks to Google it is
Our Lady of the Rockies which is a 90-foot (27 m) statue built in the likeness of Mary, the mother of Jesus, that stands atop the Continental Divide overlooking Butte. It is the fourth-tallest statue in the United States after Birth of the New World, the Statue of Liberty, and the Pegasus and Dragon. The base is 8,510 feet above sea level and 3,500 feet above the town. The statue sits on private land and is lit and visible at night. Picture is a little hazy due to the smoke.
Really pretty drive as we left Butte and again crossed the Continental Divide.

We chose Livingston for our stay tonight as we want to enter Yellowstone National Park from the north to see the northern loop and the Yellowstone Grand Canyon. Gardiner is closer to the entrance but fully booked. Livingston is a cute town with lots of boutiques and restaurants. There are quite a few buildings with the old neon signs. Very cool.
We are staying at the Murray Hotel. The Murray Hotel is an authentic western hotel restored to its role as the premiere lodging in Livingston. The Murray occupies 4 floors with 30 room or suites that are tastefully furnished with attention to modern comfort and the hotel's historic legacy. They still use the original Otis elevator from 1904.
We had dinner tonight at the Fainting Goat. We shared a whiskey glazed salmon with roasted potatoes and mixed peas. It was very good. We ordered a bottle of wine and took the test back to our room.
Livingston is about an hour from the park entrance. We are told there is more wildlife in the north so we hope to see bear or maybe even a moose sighting. Guess we will find out tomorrow. Our weather continues to hold with sunny warm days in the 80s and cool nights in the 50s. We hear that might change by Thursday.Read more