Day 6 - The great Jubilee/Benedictine/48-state Pilgrimage of 2025!

We were scheduled to start our day, the combo feast of Sts. Clare and Susanna, at Mass. Alas, the need to fix the car before moving forward took precedence so DH was up and out early and headed to the oil change place to seek a resolution. He said the guy was able to fix it quickly but wondered why he seemed somewhat unhappy. DH being dh, engaged the guy in conversation and found out the concern was the California license plates on the van. The explanation came that "people in this area" aren't terribly fond of people from California. Got it...traveling without a map for sure. So, we made sure to lead with "we're from PA, driving to WA and flying home" in all our interactions to follow.

Because of the delayed start, we were all able to make up some sleep from the night in the monastery (Why do we stay in monasteries...we should visit, spend the day, then stay nearby. Yes, I hear the Holy Spirit chuckling over the struggle with an obvious softball trial and my whining at such). Anyway, we enjoyed the slow wake up and family time and were grateful when DH returned with a fixed van.

She drew the short straw and got the couch...

To be fair, it was a HUGE couch!

I so wish this was a 5-hour drive from our house. I would be there at least twice a year. There were even pelicans on the lake! Much needed rest at the mid-point of the journey.

Grateful for the good night (and laundry facilities!) we packed up and said goodbye from our little piece of paradise in Great Falls, Montana. 

Bear-friend has also visited 48 states!

Goodbye beautiful lake!

We headed slightly west then south to Helena. Our next stop was the Jubilee site at the Cathedral of St. Helena. 

Beautiful cathedral - very grand

Can you imagine the complaints that would happen on the East coast?

St. Helena and a very cool baptismal font

St. Alphonsus has made himself one of my patrons so I was grateful to see him so many times on the journey.

There were no candles to light here so I prayed for our Godchildren's vocations at St. John Vianney's relic. Equally good. 

We didn't make it to Mass but were delighted to spend some time with St. Clare on her special day.

This was on the lower level and is one of my favorites. Everyone looks so tired (or maybe it was just how I was feeling on the journey). Always happy to pray with the Holy Family - uniting our pilgrimage with them.

Helena was such a cool (kind of hip, really) little town and, because it was a very short driving day (3 hours...pretty sure it was the shortest of the trip) we took time to enjoy the beautiful day. We left the car at the Cathedral and took a walk through the neighborhood to drop by The Grateful Bread cafe to pick up some lunch. As I said, it's kind of a hip area and one of our children was not too excited to find tomato jam on a sandwich. Very pleased that said child eventually finished it and grew a bit in the process.

We returned to the Cathedral and sat on some benches to finish our lunch and enjoy the day.

We even saw a passing train :0)

I was grateful that the car time was short this day - people were starting to get a bit stir crazy...

We don't have that road at home...

Similar?

No idea...one benefit of kids with phones - you get to see a whole different aspect of the trip.

Just before arriving at our final destination, we stopped to see a very unique site. 

Our Lady of the Rockies - where else can you see a 90-ft Blessed Mother looking down over the city? 

We were all grateful to arrive early to Butte, our resting place for the night. I had booked the top floor of a municipal building that was converted to a loft. It was an amazing space and definitely worth the three long flights of stairs it took to get there! (Grateful for strong boys to carry suitcases).

Huge space to spread out!

and burn some pent-up car energy

The scholar in her natural habitat ;0)

The poker table was a nice addition

Every window had an amazing view

Because we arrived so early, we were able to go out for dinner at an actual restaurant. Metals is in the city proper of Butte, in a converted bank building. I didn't even take a picture because it was such a good, relaxing meal. I did get my bison burger and was pleased, compared to the buffalo I had prior, that it had the gamey taste I had remembered. 

Bellies full and energy expended, we headed back to the loft for bed. (No worries about the calories consumed, that stair climb burned them all!) Tomorrow was an early morning and long day of driving (full of quirky Idaho things). Sleeping (literally) under the gaze of Our Lady - we are blessed.