I stayed overnight, and the first look out the motel room (50 bucks, right down town, the old down town, near the good bars and the bike trails both) the next morning was "not good". But by the time I loaded up the e bike and whizzed back out to the airport at 35 mph, (no need to spare the AH's, like fire walling the throttle when you can see your home field after a long XC) the squall or whatever it was had moved off, my timing was perfect!
One cool thing about Helena, at one point it had the highest concentration of millionaires in the US, around the turn off the century (1890's or so). They built some REALLY big homes, and at one point I stumbled into the neighborhood where they all seemed to be. I cruised the bike around the whole area for some time and if you like incredibly ornate and giant Victorian era homes, (at least to look at, not maintain and heat.....) it is worth a look see. Except for being controlled, the airport is pretty laid back, and quite close to town. My last XC for a while, winter is coming.
