SNAPSHOT

Late one October morning, Helena photographer JOHN LAMBING was hiking the rim of the Marias River, about 15 miles upstream from where it joins the Missouri River at Loma, when he peered over and saw this scene below. “I happened to hit it when the cottonwoods were at peak colors,” he says. “And then you add that deep blue of the water, which comes out clear from Tiber Reservoir upstream, along with those steep bluffs, and the combination is just spectacular.” Lambing says the river downstream of Tiber carves a deep canyon that few people know about. “Up on top it’s just flat wheat fields. You have no idea this canyon is there,” he says. “I can’t imagine a more beautiful river trip than doing a two- or three-day float from the dam to Loma, especially in the fall.” n