Distinctly Montana Magazine

d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a • s u m m e r 2 0 1 5 20 T h e T o bac c o Va l l e y Tobacco Valley tourists may be forgiven for thinking they've wandered to the east side of the state. A sea of short-grass prairie surrounded by vertiginous, fir-clad peaks, the Valley spread between the Purcells and the Whitefish Range is part of a larger geological feature called the Rocky Mountain Trench that extends from northern British Columbia into Montana. During the last ice age, the Rocky Mountain Trench glacier covered the valley under thousands of feet of ice. As it retreated, the glacier left a landscape pocked with glacier-plucked pothole lakes and ponds in addition to long, streamlined hills known as drumlins — the only large drumlin fields in Montana. e glacier also left behind rich soil. e bands of Kootenai living in the region dug the plentiful pink- and blue-hued bitter- root for its bulbs, raised hay for ponies and grew tobacco; the tribe called the valley "e-Place-of-the-Flying-Head," a reference to the slightly narcotic qualities of the tobacco grown there. As productive as the prairie was for the Kootenai, it was much too dry for European settlers. In 1914, farmers, flush with enthusiasm for a proposed "Big Ditch" that would divert water from the foothills to the valley floor, leveraged their life savings into homes in the valley. When the Big Ditch ran dry a few years later, so did the homesteads. It was not the first calamity to strike the valley. In 1924, half the population of Eureka lost its livelihood when the Eureka Lumber Company — one of the largest lumber mills in Montana — aban- doned the town. On top of that, strike-it-rich schemers never dis- covered sought-after silver and gold. But the name "Eureka" speaks to the optimism of the valley's residents, and today it's experiencing a second boom, this time tourism. Eureka entrepreneurs have con- verted old boom-town buildings into charming businesses. And, located just south of the Canadian gateway to Glacier National Park, the valley sees a steady stream of trailers and RVs each sum- mer. But Tobacco Valley visitors can best experience it on foot. c alled Montana's "banana belt" by locals, the Tobacco Valley spans the wet Purcell Mountains to the west and the lofty peaks of Glacier National Park less than an hour to the east. Here Montana boasts the state's mildest weather. It's not tropical, but it is a paradise for lovers of the outdoors and history. From a base in the thriving community of Eureka, hike the Ten Lakes Scenic Area and immerse yourself in the area's many offerings with a fraction of the traffic. As a gateway to Montana for Canadians coming to Glacier, Montana's Banana Belt buzzes with activity while also providing plenty of opportunities to have lakes — and huckleberries — to yourselves if you're willing to walk. article and photography by aarON THEiSEN M o N T a N a ' s b a N a N a b e l T Above: paradise Lake is but one of a dozen or so shallow, grass-fringed tarns in the Ten Lakes Scenic Area.

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