I checked off one of my visit-the-neighbours goals when my wife and I made the trek to Great Falls for a couple of nights late last month. Visiting the city wasn’t necessarily on the bucket list, more so Montana as a whole, but given it’s the first settlement of any size south of the border, it’s where we ended up.
I hadn’t been south of Lethbridge, at least not since moving to Alberta three years ago, so I wasn’t sure what I would find. With apologies to Milk River and Coutts, there’s not a whole lot in the 100-kilometre stretch to the border.
Highway 4 out of the Bridge City was almost deserted on a Wednesday morning, which is why it was curious there was a 20-minute wait at the border, but after getting peppered with questions despite Nexus cards suggesting we were “trusted travellers,” I realized why a 10-vehicle lineup had taken so long.
Once on the other side, the almost 200 kilometres to get to Great Falls was equally desolate. Given the landscape didn’t change much south of the 49th parallel, the biggest difference I encountered was the speed limit, a whopping 80 mph, which works out to almost 130 km/h. Because it’s flat and straight, and traffic congestion is when you can see two other vehicles, it didn’t take long to adjust to the new limit, which was a good thing because there’s not a lot of reasons to linger.
Once in Great Falls, No. 1 on my list was to see the namesake falls, although there are actually five of them along that stretch of the Missouri River — Black Eagle Falls, Rainbow Falls, Crooked Falls, Colter Falls and Great Falls.
Water levels in the river in late September aren’t what they would be in the spring, so Great Falls is more like Pretty Good Falls at this time of year. I was left with only photos in the various visitor guides to see the full ferocity of the falls.
What it lacked in river flow, it sure made up for in casinos. I have since learned that Montana has next to no restrictions on gambling, so there are literally casinos on every corner. Driving along a Macleod Trail-esque main drag, I came across a sign for a casino, then another, then another, all within one block. Further along while stopped at a light, I could, I kid you not, see signs for five casinos, without even using the rear-view mirror.
From what I understand, they’re not casinos in the traditional sense, but rather a smattering of slot machines or VLTs that bars, restaurants, liquor stores and gas stations use to bring in a little extra cash.
Before I run out of room, I have to say that my wife was underwhelmed by the shopping, both by the lack of options and the prices after factoring in the exchange rate, so a return trip isn’t in the cards unless it’s en route to somewhere further south, say Yellowstone.
In the meantime, I’ll turn my attention to Saskatchewan, but that’s likely a 2024 excursion as I’m guessing it might not look its best in winter.
