Cut Bank, Montana

I could go on and on about the characteristics of Cut Bank, Montana, here. It's located about 45 minutes east of Glacier National Park, and is near all sorts of recreational facilities. The Blackfeet Indian Reservation takes up much of the land between the town line and the park.

Cut Bank is located right up against the Rocky Mountains, and is next to a gorge carved out over eternity by Cut Bank Creek. It's about 50 miles from Glacier National Park and 30 miles from the border to Canada. Therefore, it's a place to stop when going somewhere else. 

The town was founded when the Great Northern Railway came through the area in 1891. The local museum tries to recreate an "Old West" feel to the place. 

Still, most probably want to hear about the penguin. It greets visitors come in from the east on U.S. Route 2. The penguin checks in at 27 feet and weighs 10,000 pounds, and it was built in 1989. Cut Bank apparently was the "winner" of a study that tried to find the coldest winter spot in the United States, although we have to assume Alaska wasn't part of the study.

And the town was the star of a 2014 movie thriller called "Cut Bank." Supposedly the penguin had a part in the picture.