Guardian of the Gates of the Mountains

Greeting visitors to Montana's Gates of the Mountains is this sculpture of a man and dog. The metal work is centered in an area filled with explanatory displays of the Gates region. Located behind the sculpture is a valley with a water way (the Missouri River) surrounded by sheer cliffs - the Gates.

Lewis and Clark and company traveled through this region. On July 19, 1805 Caption Lewis described the area as "this evening we entered much the most remarkable clifts that we have yet seen. these clifts rise from the waters edge on either side perpendicularly to the hight of 1200 feet. ... the river appears to have forced its way through this immense body of solid rock for the distance of 5-3/4 Miles ... I called it the gates of the rocky mountains."

Last Friday evening I was the only person at the sculpture park halfway between the interstate and water. Two hours earlier, the last boat ride had returned for the day so most visitors had already left. If you want to hear only the wind and birds (and occasional semi-truck on I-15 some 17 miles north of Helena, MT) seek this place out. Know that.