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There are rattlers and grizzlies, carpets of wildflowers that stand up to a Monet any day, stars so bright they glitter like gems, and trout streams that outwit even the most accomplished fly fishermen. This is Big Sky Country, America’s Outback, where the plains butt up against two hundred miles of mountains stretching from the exquisite ice-carved terrain of Glacier to the fire and mudpools of Yellowstone; less than one third of one per cent of USA’s population lives in the fourth largest state, in an exhilarating amount of space. Our route explores its mountainous west, with two dozen Rocky Mountain ranges of powder-white peaks, friendly small towns and unforgettable mountain valleys – Bitteroot, Yellowstone, Gallatin and Madison. This is where The Horse Whisperer, Lonesome Dove and A River Runs Through It were filmed, where much of America’s greatest adventure, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, took place, and where a mountain of copper was discovered at Butte. Take a tour of the old mine and learn of the intense rivalry – and hilarious stories – between Copper Kings William Clark and Marcus Daly. The galleries of the Arts Chateau are housed in the elegant old Clark Mansion. Though copper remains a symbol of Montana – and gold too, as the lively old ghost towns of Virginia City and Nevada City will testify – Montana is a cowboy state with wranglers and full-tilt Western events such as the rodeo at Ennis on Fourth of July. Nearly every highway has scenic appeal, though some close with snow from late September to early June, including Glacier Park’s magnificent east-west highway Going-to-the-Sun. Rocky Mountain Front follows the dramatic landscapes between Glacier and Wolf Creek, through Blackfeet Territory and Choteau, where nests of dinosaur eggs and bone beds were uncovered; Pintler Scenic Route, surprisingly quiet considering the great natural beauty along its route, is an inviting alternative to the interstate between Missoula and Butte. It traverses the high Anaconda Pintler Wilderness on the continental divide, through Anaconda (more copper) and Philipsburg, where there’s a rare opportunity to dig for sapphires.
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