Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 25 T A N A Northern airie Reserve Bowdoin National ldlife Refuge St. Marie Bear Paw Battlefield HAVRE CHINOOK MALTA GLASGOW WOLF POINT CULBERTSON CONTINUED it is: e International Boundary, as abrupt as it is unremarkable. ere sit two utilitarian-like shuttered buildings, one on each side of the 30-foot-wide "boundary swath" through the trees. Nobody's there. Still, you're probably being watched. e U.S. border station is festooned with all kinds of antennae's and electronic roof-top gizmos aimed at detecting who's naughty and nice. A small steel gate marks the end of the road. TIP: Top off your fuel tank. Air up your spare. Bring some tools. In summer season, no trip to the North Fork is complete without a stop at the iconic Polebridge Mercantile. Enjoy spirits and home-cooked food at the Northern Lights Saloon next door. Nearby is the only entrance station to Glacier National Park's North Fork District at Polebridge. SWEET GRASS HILLS From the top of West Butte, the tallest peak in the Sweet Grass Hills, you can see it—a foreign country. Out from the summit, the timbered north slopes give way to Alberta unencumbered by treaties or fences. Somewhere down there is the boundary, blending into forests, prairies and harvested cropland. It's just not distinctive, which is what you would wish for as a dividing line between two peaceful nations. In the very early years of the 19th century rumors of rich gold finds in the Hills set off a brief rush to the region. Most of the "boomers" were from Great Falls and loaded their freight wagons with tools and hope and headed for the hills, literally. e Great Falls Tribune boasted of "provable traces of great wealth" in the creeks surrounding the three buttes and predicted that small miner's camps would soon be "...platted towns of prosperity." Instead ranching and farming have yielded more enduring wealth. Hidden in the brush-choked coulees are clear springs that give life to an astonish- ing collection of wild critters: elk, upland birds, coyotes, badgers, and prairie songbirds. Most of the land around the Hills is private. Farm- ers and ranchers have tilled and grazed here for over 130 years when the federal government collapsed the size of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation to make room for homesteaders and settlers. TIP: Because of the widespread private property, and with any sacred Native sites, ask permission and respect rights. Except for a few scattered BLM and "school" sections, there is very little public land in the "Hills". Use caution on dirt roads that can turn into gumbo with any passing rain storm. Best approach to the Hills is north on Interstate 15 from Shelby to Sunburst, then east on County Road 552. A crossing into Canada can be found at the remote Whitlash port of entry. Sweetgrass church Sweetgrass hill The Sweetgrass Hills are deemed "land Chains" by geologists because they are separated from the greater Continental Divide Mountains and thrust up well out on to the "sea" of the central Montana plains. Medicine Line

• Cover