In the vast flatness of eastern Montana, an empty country of dusty, one-story towns, the occasional silver water tower on spindly legs is all that pokes up at the big sky. But the western part of the state is very different; there it's a riot of mountains that thrusts skyward.
Just into these mountains, across a broad lawn from the impressive log depot at East Glacier, where Amtrak's Empire Builder drops travelers, stands Glacier Park Lodge. This classic of sprawling, brown-shingled rustic architecture nestles at the foot of Squaw Peak Mountain. In the imposing lobby of this 150-room hostelry, great timbers of Douglas fir soar 40 feet to support the ceiling.
Glacier National Park -- and adjacent Waterton Lakes National Park, in Canada -- is an incredible alpine preserve with 200 lakes and 50 glaciers. Fifty-mile-long Going-to-the-Sun Road -- which can be bumper-to-bumper in peak season -- shows spectacular scenery to the traveler who chooses not to stray far from his automobile.
But Glacier is the country's pre-eminent hiker's park, with about 700 miles of trails, and those who go on foot will best experience its wildlife and extraordinary wilderness beauty.
There is even a pair of walk-in "chalets" -- Granite Park and Sperry -- offering food and lodging and accessible only on foot or horseback.
These rugged structures, made of native rock quarried on the spot, were built in the mid-teens, when Glacier Park was created. So were Glacier Park Lodge, Lake McDonald Lodge and Many Glacier Hotel, spectacularly sited amid towering mountains on Swiftcurrent Lake, at the foot of Grinnel Glacier. All these lodgings have charm and historical presence.
More than two decades newer but with history and style nonetheless is the Izaak Walton Inn, located in Essex, right on the border of the park. Built by the Great Northern in 1939, it was a railroad hotel, intended primarily to accommodate train crews.
The Izaak Walton has a comfortable, no-nonsense feel. Six recently added private baths have brought the inn's total to 10, but for the majority of the 30 guest rooms facilities remain down the hall.
Knotty pine-paneled walls are hung with railroadiana: maps, photographs, old Great Northern calendars. In the cozy lobby, skis and snowshoes are crossed over the mantelpiece. The bar in the basement is particularly crammed with memorabilia.
The dining room has picture windows overlooking the railroad. "The rail fans keep us going," owner Larry Vielleux says, and Essex indeed is a great place to watch trains. It's the base for helper locomotives that, coupled to heavy freights for extra power, pound up Marias Pass.
The Izaak Walton also is an ideal base for hikers and, in winter, cross country skiers. There's rafting on the Middle Fork of the Flathead, which flows through Essex, and the North Fork.
Glacier Raft Company runs trips out of West Glacier rich in both scenery and whitewater. The company also offers half-day floats on the Lower Flathead, leaving from Polson, at the southern end of Flathead Lake.
While drought conditions can make rafting on the Middle and North Forks marginal, the Lower Flathead -- fed by Kerr Dam -- is remarkably constant in water level season to season, year to year. I had a grand float there, traversing dramatic rapids including Buffalo and Pin-ball, then easing peacefully through quiet stretches.
We saw great horned owls, a cormorant, a great blue heron, ospreys, a red-tailed hawk, mergansers and a bald eagle -- "a regular aviary," said Matt Bishop, the personable and competent guide. Matt ran us right through the heart of the rapids, so we all got drenched. Those wearing bathing suits were happiest.
From there I drove south, through Missoula and the lush, lovely Bitterroot Valley, then headed east into the Big Hole.
Montana is one of the pre-eminent states for trout fishing. For anyone who has even thought about casting a fly, rivers such as the Madison, the Bitterroot, the Beaverhead, the Gallatin, Rock Creek and the Missouri have names that resonate.
The Big Hole River is one of Montana's Blue Ribbon streams; on a cool but bright morning, just below the little town of Wise River, I found some fish. Before noon I'd caught and released a dozen rainbow trout, four grayling (an unusual fish with sail-like dorsal fin), and far more whitefish than I wanted, casting flies -- including the hairwing caddis, Adams and Yellow Sally -- across broad, productive riffles and a deep pool below.
While in the Big Hole I stayed at Sundance Lodge, a homey sort of place long on friendliness and short on pretensions. Its nondescript, inadvertent-looking cluster of buildings includes a weathered cabin that stands near the shore of a small lake. There are two newer cabins across the way, and near them the main lodge. All told, Sundance offers just 10 rooms.
The location is the thing. From the broad windows of the dining area in the rustic lodge's great room the ragged peaks of the Pintler Mountains are visible. Closer is a meadow, through which flow the clear, cold, sweet waters of La Marche Creek, teeming with small brook trout.
Pack trips by horse, llama (the latest thing in packing in the Rockies), mule or donkey are a Sundance specialty. A number of trails radiate from the lodge, taking the ambitious rider to remote sites such as an abandoned cabin, an old mine, a waterfall or a high mountain lake.
Not far down the Big Hole Valley from Sundance is the modest town of Wisdom. Here I hooked up with Chris McNeil, operator -- with his father, Bob -- of Diamond Hitch Outfitters. With Chris in charge of a horse and mule train of nine, including our mounts, we headed off into the West Pioneer Mountains for two nights in the wilds.
We jounced up seven miles of twisting trail, gaining over a thousand feet of elevation, to Sand Lake, where the McNeils maintain a permanent camp: a cooking awning and a couple of large sleeping and supply tents. This was beautiful, remote country -- replete with wildflowers, lodgepole pines, cutthroat and rainbow trout -- and peace.
Late evenings were quiet, star-brightened, fire-warmed. Gail, who had come along to cook, and Chris were good company -- congenial, knowledgeable, and helpful. On the trail, around the campfire, talk was our entertainment, and it was good.
After two nights in sleeping bags, I arrived saddle-sore and somewhat disheveled at the Sanders, an elegant bed-and-breakfast in Helena, Montana's capital. Built in 1875 as a home for Wilbur and Harriet Sanders, this heavy-browed, three-story structure is today virtually a museum that invites guests to come in, plunk down and relive history -- to lounge and chat, to sleep, and then to breakfast among an intriguing array of artifacts left by the original owners.
Wilbur Sanders was a significant figure, becoming Montana's first U.S. senator after Montana's admission as a state in 1889. When in 1986 Bobbi Uecker and husband Rock Ringling (of the circus family) bought the house to convert it to a bed-and-breakfast inn, they became only the third owners. Remarkably, most of the Sanders' furnishings remain in place.
Rock is primarily responsible for the creation of the gourmet breakfasts that are a Sanders specialty. In the cheerful, handsome dining room with oak woodwork, I sat at an oval lace-covered table and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast of "Rock's eggs," a spicy baked concoction. Other house specialties include an orange souffle, sourdough pancakes and Grand Marnier French toast.
The Sanders is just a short walk from the Original Governor's Mansion, an imposing Queen Anne-style house from 1888 operated as a museum by the Montana Historical Society. The society -- established in 1865, with Wilbur Sanders serving as the first president -- has its headquarters and main museum across town.
The museum houses a trio of important permanent exhibitions: The Mackay Gallery of Charles M. Russell art contains an extensive collection of that famous Western artist's oils, watercolors, bronzes and illustrations. "F. Jay Haynes, Photographer" features not only Haynes' work but a re-creation of his studio in Fargo, N.D., a re-creation of a Haynes Company shop from the lobby of Yellowstone's Old Faithful Inn and an array of artifacts relating to his career as a pioneering photographer of the Old West. Finally, there is a Montana history exhibit.
But though Montana does not lack history, it's the natural wonders of this Big Sky Country that are the most memorable. With nearly 17 million acres of national forest, 3 million acres of wilderness, two national parks and 10 state parks, there are rivers, lakes and trails enough for anyone.
If you go...
For help in planning a trip to Montana, you might want to call Pam and Bill Bryan. In 1986 they founded Off the Beaten Path, an unusual service that creates individualized itineraries for travelers bound for the Rockey Mountain West. On the basis of a questionnaire and telephone conversation to establish preferences, the Bryans will, for a fee, customize an itinerary, then book it. They also offer some "Small Group Adventures"--packaged tours emphasizing the outdoors.
To get a booklet introducing their services, write Off the Beaten Path, 109 E. Main St., Bozeman, Mont. 59715, or telephone (406) 586-1311.
For other information and reservations:
* Glacier Park INc., Greyhound Tower, Station 5510, Phoenix, Ariz. 85077; telephone (602) 248-6000 (until mid-May). Afterward write to East Glacier Park, Mont. 59434; telephone (406) 226-5551.
* Belton Chalets (for Sperry and Granite Park chalets), P.O. Box 1888, West Glacier, Mont. 59936; telephone (406) 888-5511.
* The Isaak Walton Inn, P.O. Box 653, Essex, Mont. 59916; telephone (406) 888-5700.
* Glacier Raft Company, Box 945B, Poison, Mont. 59860; telephone (406) 883-5848.
* Sundance Lodeg, Wise River, Mont, 59726; telephone (406) 689-3611.
* Diamond Hitch Outfitters, 3405 Ten Mile Road, Dillon, Mont. 59746; telephone (406) 683-5494.
* The Sanders, 328 N. Ewing Helena, Mont. 59601; telephone (406) 442-3309.
For more information on Montana call (800) 541-1447.