A Change in Plans-July 31, 2012

Our trip to Washington will be delayed a few days. After consulting all of the charts, we find that one's 36th Anniversary is to be celebrated by exchanging tires. Therefore, big baby is getting 6 new shoes. I am giving Jerry 3 and he is giving me 3. We will head for Missoula early in the morning and get the tires put on before we settle into an RV park. To complicate matters, this weekend is a three day holiday for Canada and we are told the Canadians (or is it Canadiens?) love Montana and they fill up the parks every year at this time. Seems to me their choice is Montana or North Dakota. Not much of a decision there. Oh how we wish we knew about the holiday two weeks ago. We were able to find a park in Missoula that can take us for two days. After that, we pray the parks in Washington are not as full as these. We know everything will work out fine so we are not concerned. We are thrilled at the deal we were able to make for the tires and overjoyed there is no state tax charged on them. That's a really big deal. While this changes our plans a day or two, it does not bother us. We made plans for this day to arrive and we are prepared. We don't blame the Canadians for coming to Montana over North Dakota. There are no parks at all available in that state due to the oil drilling boom taking place there. And there certainly is no place prettier than Montana so we will share it with them. Give us a few days and we'll be back to playing tourists. If you are missing the pictures I normally post I will be happy to post pictures of our new tires tomorrow. Just let me know!

Downtown Kalispell-July 30, 2012

As we drove into town last week we made a mental note that we wanted to walk in all the stores when we got time. Today was time. However, once we had parked and started walking we discovered there were actually only a few stores open. The number of vacant storefronts was really sad. We have noticed quite a number of houses and other properties for sale including an RV park just down the street. So, obviously this is a struggling community, not a thriving one as we originally thought. So many parts of this country are hurting. We then drove back to Big Fork but from a different direction. We found a valley that we both really liked a lot. It felt very welcoming. It was really pretty with a fabulous view of the mountains.There were houses for sale there, too, as well as a gigantic nursery (garden center). We had a wonderful lunch in a great place in Big Fork and, once again, were happy to see all the pretty flowers. We will be selecting our next stop tomorrow as we move on west on I-90. I'm so sorry we cannot share these wonderful cherries with you. Today we bought locally grown Ranier cherries. They are delightfully yummy. We may have to buy some more before we leave.

I forgot one!-July 28, 2012

We took over 125 pictures yesterday on our journey up and down Going-up-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. I hope that explains why yesterday's blog was in three parts. I was not sure that blogspot would let me put all of those pictures in one single blog. After going through all of our pictures we carefully picked out the ones that appeared not to be too similar. There was one incredible picture that we had selected but I left it off the blog. What you will see below is a gigantic piece of frozen snow, not truly solid ice. Therefore I don't think it is part of a glacier, but what do I know? Anyway, due to heat or that terrible rain they had last week, this monstrous chunk of dense and hard snow slid down from the top of the mountain. It was still almost in one huge piece. Thankfully it did not block the road or cause any damage. This thing could have easily taken several cars with it had it continued across the roadway.

Look closely in between the two orange traffic cones and see something in two shades of blue? That's a person standing there trying to dig out a chunk of snow, as if you can take it home with you. Anyway, note the size of the person, an adult. Now look again at the size of the piece of snow. It is probably about the size of New Jersey!! I am being silly. I don't know how big New Jersey is. But I can tell you this was a jawdropping sight.
Today is another beautiful day, nice sun and cool air, only 77°. Fabulous.
Tomorrow is our day off. I hope you have a restful Sunday, too.

Glacier National Park-part 3-July 27, 2012

I promise this is the last part for today's adventure. I hope you don't mind that I share all of this. It was just too wonderful not to share.

St Mary's Lake. In this direction it looked a bit hazy. It was cloudy for part of the day.

St Mary's Lake as the sun started shining through the clouds.

One of the things we found so interesting was that in spite of a thick canopy of trees in many areas of the park there was still a very dense ground cover of all sorts of plants, ferns and flowers. The colors are just incredible.

This is called Beargrass. It is so delicate and pretty.

I don't know what this is.

The different shades of green were so pretty.

St Mary's River. This is quite a valley, isn't it?

This is a day we will never ever forget. We have been told there is a park in the state of Washington that's more magnificent than this one. We simply cannot imagine that is possible. We are so blessed to have been able to see Glacier National Park. 

Glacier National Park-part 2-July 27, 2012

Again, I will try to let the pictures speak for themselves.

The horizontal brown line running across the picture is the road we had just driven on. I am not kidding.

Jackson Glacier

I hope you understand why I need to post one more part to this blog.

Glacier National Park-part 1-July 27, 2012

Rather than try to describe to you what we saw today in print, I am going to take more than one blog to show you pictures. I'll say a little about some of the pictures. This was the most difficult to describe of all the places we have been because it is so huge and magnificent and glorious. It is truly God's handiwork at its finest. We drove 200 miles today to go through the entire park from one end to another. It was worth every minute.

One of the first big sights upon entry into West Glacier.

All of the lakes and rivers are a magnificent shade of turquoise.

A small glacier at the top.

What can I say about this? This is my favorite picture.

It was worth walking down a hill to see this.

Waterfall running under the road.

The Weeping Wall.

Let me stop at this point and tell you that this is part of the damage that was done by those horrible rock slides that happened last week. This is minor. There were 12 slides in a 10 mile stretch. At one point the road was only a single lane with the other lane missing and sliding down the hillside. They had traffic lights attached to pick up trucks so we had to stop and let one lane go through at a time. It was still very wet and muddy. The horror of that day seemed to come alive today when we saw the horrible mess. It is truly a miracle that no one was killed or lost down the mountain on that day.

This is the beginning of where we had to stop at a traffic light and then use the single lane that was not damaged.

I hope you have time to see the next two parts of today's blog.

Whitefish, MT-July 26, 2012

Whitefish is a delightful little city. The downtown area, while small, is a beehive of fabulous stores and great places to eat. It is shockingly clean. We thoroughly enjoyed walking and shopping and eating in this city. After Whitefish we went to Columbia Falls. We expected it to be better than Whitefish. Oh how wrong we were. There was nothing in Columbia Falls at all. Absolutely nothing. We didn't even see a place to eat. There was one big gas station and that was about it. We returned to Kalispell from a different direction and then went to Herberger's. It's a department store about like Penney's. Not a really big deal. We walked through the tiny little mall and returned home. It was another beautiful day of blue skies, bright sunshine and a light breeze. We really enjoyed the fresh air and exercise. Please note that I spared you another water picture today! But you never know what tomorrow holds.

Kalispell, MT-July 25, 2012

The drive here was all the way around Flathead Lake on the west side. Previously we had been on the south and east side. It is an extraordinary lake. The color can't be captured in a picture. But I will share at least one with you.

Are you getting tired of water pictures?

I did notice that there are a few houses and boat docks on some of the larger islands in the lake. I don't know how one gets permission to do that. There were more twists and turns in the road than we expected, but it was no problem for Jerry. He is a wonderful driver. We are so happy to be in a larger city where we have a Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, clothing stores and so much we have missed in the tiny towns we've been staying in until now. There was also a wonderful locksmith here so everything we needed has been taken care of. This park is nice though very old. Lots of shade trees which means we cannot use our satellite, but they do have cable! We have a fabulous view of the Flathead River out our living room window. As the park fills up we might loose that view, but we have it now.

It tough to have this view, isn't it?





We are much closer to Glacier National Park and many cities we hope to see. We think we will try to go to Whitefish tomorrow. You may assume that means more pictures to follow.

Lunch in Polson-July 24, 2012

We decided to have lunch on the patio at a local restaurant. Both the food and service were very good. It is a beautiful day and we enjoyed taking in the scenery.

Nice view to enjoy durning lunch, isn't it? Facing west.



After lunch, we drove to a parking lot to try to get a different view of Flathead Lake. It is a very pretty lake with a wonderful clear bright blue color.

Facing north. These are the public boat docks.

Guard Gull did not want me to walk past him OR he was waiting on food.

What a fun lunch. We came back and went for a long walk. It's just too nice to stay indoors. It is once again a day with warm sun and a cool breeze. Our pomegranate tree has absolutely loved this area. It has never looked so good before. We head north tomorrow for a week or so. 



Cherry Festival-July 23, 2012

I can't believe I forgot to tell you about the Cherry Festival. However, there's not too much to tell. It was a typical street festival with some cute arts and crafts. The key feature was supposed to be locally grown cherries. But this year they had to bring in cherries from the state of Washington. We got our exercise, some fresh air and nice sunshine so it was worth going. We found a roadside stand that was selling cherries from the orchard behind the park so we did manage to get locally grown cherries. And they are really good. They are moving the festival to August of next year so they will be sure they have local cherries. Today we wanted to make a change on one of the locks on the coach. So we took it to a local locksmith. It seems he only works when he feels like it and today was not his chosen day to work. So, we'll make the change when we get to Kalispell. Not a problem. When we got back we went for a very long walk. It is a beautiful day with bright sun but a nice cool breeze. The rain that came through last night brought temps down for today. Back to heat tomorrow. We are ready to move on and see a new area but we have one more day here. I hope your weather is as nice as ours!

Interesting things-July 20, 2012

First, please allow me to share the view out our living room window. Remember that every spare piece of ground is covered with cherry trees. Mountains and cherries are a great combination.

Pleasant, isn't it?

We were told when we checked in to be sure and eat at the bowling alley (across the street) because they have the best food in town. So, we went to check it out tonight. No smoking in a bowling alley. Can you imagine? The food was actually very, very good and the service was excellent. They have only 8 lanes so we are talking a very small facility. Still, it was clean and we enjoyed it. While we were waiting on our food, a guy came in with an ankle bracelet on. Not the jewelry kind, the criminal kind. It was just so odd that the law enforcment people had allowed him to come to the bowling alley for dinner. Sometimes the world is just strange. He was with three other people who looked honest and not of the criminal persuasian at all. And I forgot to tell you that yesterday while we were in Big Fork, the adorable little town we really liked, a man and woman came into the store we were in. They appeared to be married. An older couple, probably retired and visiting the area, too. He had on sandals which is not odd, but his toenails certainly were. They were the most perfect toenails I have ever seen, not that I study that sort of thing. They were painted a very deep color of burgandy with little white flowers painted on them. I kid you not. It would have been impossible  not to see them. She, his wife??, had on closed-toe shoes. Maybe they could not afford two pedicures? Who knows? It was just odd beyond words. I'll make you a bet right now that we will never see that sight again. Tomorrow is the Cherry Festival if the weather holds out. It has already rained on us and cleared up again today. We hope for sunshine tomorrow.  Oh, I also forgot to tell you that the Aurora Borealis is seen here quite often. We heard that it was going to be visible night before last. So, at 10:30 PM, I went to the window to check if it was visible. Imagine my surprise to find the sun at had set yet. So, out of curiosity I looked again at 11:00 PM and it still was not down. We must not be too far from the land of the midnight sun! These very long days of sunshine are tiring. I feel like a little kid who does not want to go to sleep until it's dark outside! The birds all start singing at 4:30 AM so the days are long and the nights are short.



Flathead Lake and Big Fork-July 19, 2012

Flathead Lake is the largest fresh water lake west of the Mississippi River. It's a really big lake, a mere 80 miles to drive all the way around it. It's quite a scenic drive. We could not take a decent picture of the lake and the mountains in the background. There was enough humidity to create a blue haze over everything. The lake didn't look as pretty as it could. I think I read that the lake covers just under 4000 acres.

Almost all available space has cherry trees on it.

We only drove 35 miles to Big Fork. What an adorable little town. We really enjoyed walking the streets and checking out stores. Bought a few things and enjoyed the nice weather. What surprised me was the volume of gorgeous flowers growing all over town. Every available space was covered with these beautiful flowers. In some places they almost blocked the sidewalks.

The entire town was like this. It was so pretty.

We started this trip north to Glacier National Park so we could drive the Go To The Sun Road (yes, that's the name) that crosses the park. Unfortunately on Tuesday afternoon, after a torrential rain, they had more than a dozen rock slides. Ten cars got trapped and one was very badly damaged by the falling rocks. Here is a link to a video a lady from Georgia took as the slide started. She was terrified. But all was well. Everybody got down off the mountain and the road reopened today. I'm not sure how long the link will be active.

http://www.kpax.com/news/glacier-national-park-mudslide-caught-on-tape/

They are warning of heavy rain tomorrow and flash floods. So, we will not be going through Glacier National Park tomorrow. Maybe next week.





Kerr Dam-July 18, 2012

We decided this morning that we would check out a couple of other RV parks in this area. We'll think about what we saw later. We turned off the road and headed toward Kerr Dam which holds back the Flathead River and creates Flathead Lake. By the way, there were and may still be a tribe of Flathead Indians in this area. Hence, the name of the river, the lake and a variety of cherries. We were really surprised at this massive structure.

Kerr Dam

This dam is 54 feet taller, referred to as a 54 foot drop, than Niagra Falls. And to both of us it is much more impressive than Hoover Dam. The water is certainly much prettier than Hoover. You can't drive across this one but we walked down the hillside to get a little closer.

Look at the pretty color of the water. And the spray hitting our faces was so cool.

On the other side is the water being released from producing hydroelectric power. It's really pretty, too. The Salish and Kootenai tribes receive compensation for this use of their land.

We both dispute the printed material for this dam. It stated that there were 253 steps down and it reminded us there were 253 back up. We both counted and they are wrong. There were 355 steps down and 355 back up. They were only off by 102 steps each direction. Maybe they thought if they printed 355, nobody would go to the lower level to look. We both survived but it was quite a walk. It goes without saying we picked an exceptionally hot day to make this climb. It was well worth it. This was a real treat and we had no idea what we were going to see when we got out of the car. Beautiful!!







Polson, MT-July 17, 2012

First, to the people of Montana, I say please excuse my mistake in spelling Bitterroot as two words in previous blogs. I did not catch that mistake until this morning. So sorry.

It was another beautiful drive from Hamilton to Polson. We are near, but not right beside Flathead Lake. Our drive took us through and along the Mission Mountains. Last night we found out that Polson is having their Cherry Festival this weekend. We had Flathead cherries last year in Buffalo, Wyoming. We cannot believe we are so fortunate to be here for this weekend. No one told me that when I made reservations. We are parked beside a cherry orchard which is for sale. It is obvious there are not even any blooms on these trees. The weather has not been kind to the cherry crop this year. So, cherries are being brought in from Washington state for the Festival. We like Ranier cherries, too, so we are not complaining. There are many things to do and see here. We may have to stay longer than a week to get it all done. We have the time so it won't be a problem. It is humid here today, called Montana muggy. It has been so dry that we are really feeling it. It shows up in the pictures, too. We were told when the sky is clear we can see the Glaciers. That must be a sight.

Mission Mountains. Picture taken out the side window of the coach.

Mission Mountains-taken through the windshield of the coach. Look, no bugs on the window!!

A Busy Weekend-July 16, 2012

We had such a fun and busy weekend with Jerry, Sue and Chewy. Here are the folks who were fabulous hosts to us:

Chewy did not want to pose for this picture.

We had breakfast together on Sunday morning. Then they drove us around this entire area and told us all sorts of interesting facts. We think they work undercover for the Chamber of Commerce. And they do good work! Later in the day we had some delicious Mexican food at a local restaurant. We went back to their house where we Farkled. When we got really good at that they Zilched us. Ok, now clear your mind and know that both are games where you roll dice and get points for certain number combinations. Both are great fun. We can tell you hands down that you have never been Farkled appropriately until you have been Farkled in Hamilton, Montana!



Before I close I want to share a couple of pictures with you.

The beautiful valley beneath the Bitter Root Mountains

The Sapphire Mountains. Picture taken from Jerry and Sue's front yard.

We have had a wonderful time here in Hamilton. We look forward to another visit in the not too distant future. Tomorrow we go back north and on beyond Missoula to yet another beautiful part of Montana called Glacier National Forest. I'll repeat that pictures just don't show you how breathtaking this state is. You just need to see it for yourself. 

Hamilton, MT-July 14, 2012

We stopped at the park where we had reservations and decided we would not stay there for any reason. So we drove on to the south side of Hamilton. Found another park, only slightly better. We will only be here 3 days. We had dinner at Jerry's cousin's house. His cousin is also named Jerry. Sue, his wife, cooked us a fabulous meal and we had such a good time. They are picking us up for breakfast tomorrow morning so I have to get to bed early tonight. We are in a valley with the Bitter Root Mountains on one side and the Sapphire Mountains on the other. It is so beautiful that all we can do is just stare and soak in the majesty and peace. What a wonderful place to be. Some of the mountains still have snow on them, but the weather is very nice now, after a very good rain. If only I could bottle this gorgeous scenery and sell it. It would put a lot of anxiety specialty doctors out of business. Too bad they have snow here in the wintertime. It has cooled down quite a bit so we will sleep well tonight. Hope you do the same. Enjoy your restful Sunday.

All is well-July 13, 2012

Hmmm, Friday the 13th. No problem. All is well with us. The motor for the steps came in yesterday afternoon. Jerry had it changed out in no time and now our steps retract and extend as they should. Good for him! Our mail has arrived from both locations. It is clouding up so the temps are dropping. We are only going to move about 75 miles tomorrow. We are moving closer to one of Jerry's cousins he wanted to see. We'll leave early next week for Glacier National Park. There should be some pretty scenery with pictures to follow. Enjoy your day and your weekend.

Things-July 11, 2012

Yesterday was such an unbelievable day I did not have the energy to post a blog. So, let me share a few things with you. First of all, this tiny little place is hosting a Testicle Festival Aug 1-5 this year. It's their 33rd year. To explain it to those who may not know, it is a huge gathering to enjoy the delicacy known as Rocky Mountain Oysters. They are not seafood at all. If you don't know, email me and I will explain. Jerry thinks they are delicious when cooked properly. I cannot put my fork in them. We went to Missoula yesterday to pick up a prescription. Walgreens was installing a new computer system, so all of our info had been deleted. Someone then filled the prescrip. and promptly lost it. An hour or so later we were tired, very tired. Before that the motor on our electric door step decided to quit working. That took several hours to get the part ordered. Our mail has not arrived yet and we are getting antsy. There are some checks involved and we surely don't want to miss them. It rained here finally. It was nice for us. However, the dry lightning in the Bitter Root National Forest started 3 forest fires, one of which has moved over into Idaho. I do believe there is a Biblical message in all of these fires. We finally ate at the Little Restaurant that's here in the park. It was ok but we probably won't go back. However, while we were eating we had a great view of two hummingbird feeders where about half a dozen hummingbirds were doing battle. There was plenty of space for all of them to eat, but they preferred to knock each other off the feeder. They must be very territorial. We both sat, completely surprised, as we watched several hummingbirds actually stop flapping their wings and sit quietly on the side of the feeder. Neither of us knew they did that and neither had ever seen it. It was spectacular to watch. They are adorable little creatures. So, now you have a summary of both the fun and not-so-fun we have had for the past two days. Tomorrow will be a much better day as we are sure our step motor will arrive as will all of our mail. So we eagerly await a new day.

Pictures and a story-July 9, 2012

I wanted to share a couple of pictures taken from the park where we are staying. It really is a pretty setting beside Rock Creek. I must tell you that the rivers in this state are simply gorgeous. Every single one is clear and clean and running very fast. Just stunning. Rock Creek is not very big but it is clean.

 

Rock Creek on one side of the park

Sapphire Mountains on another side of the park

It is very hot today, about 100°, and we are only allowed to use one a/c unit, a fact they did not tell us until we had checked in and were connected. Otherwise we would have left. That aside, we went into Missoula. We looked at some new coaches. Loved one but left anyway. Stopped and had lunch, stopped at Albertson's and came home. Not exciting at all. We did not need excitement after what we discovered about the Dodd Frank bill which took effect on July 1st. That bill requires that all credit card companies, but more especially the ones who took tarp money, to "eat" all fraudulent charges on customer's credit card bills. Our card which we have had for 22 years and have never had a problem with is now being restricted if we go outside of our home area. Currently that is still Alabama. We have not changed the address yet, thank goodness. If we wish to use the card for what appears to be more than $100 we must call them and tell them where we are going and they will either grant us permission to keep going or they have the right to not allow us to use the card. I told them that where we went and what we did was our business, not theirs and we would not become their children asking for permission. I promptly hung up on a kid who sounded like maybe he was pushing 21 years of age. He was in Maryland, not overseas. We have never been late. We have never paid a penny in interest or late fees and I know that bothers credit card companies. However, they have gotten our money promptly every month. These rules apply to online orders also. They want to know what we are buying and what it costs ahead of time. I don't think so. So, thank you Dodd Frank for that wonderful piece of legislation. We made plans for every emergency we could think of so this is not a problem to us. But it is indeed infuriating. If you have a card from a small privately owned bank you probably will not have a problem. We have a card from one of the top banks that took big money and is currently being watched by the powers that be. I just wanted to share this with you. We are fine. We will go forward to whatever city we choose and the credit card people will not know about it. 

Clinton, MT-July 7, 2012

We have landed in a park by Rock Creek in Clinton. It is a step back in time. We have no TV at all. Our satellite won't work in spite of the fact I asked for an open spot so we could use it. No cable and no local stations. We are only about 20 miles from Missoula. This will be one long week. We called for our mail to be sent here so we have to stay. We will be spending most days in Missoula, that's for sure. As much as we fell in love with the Montana we went through last year, we think this is even more beautiful. We went through 4 mountain ranges today and at one point were looking right at the Bitter Root Mountains. As far as we can tell we are in the Rockies here. These Rockies are many, many years older than the ones we were used to in Colorado, so they are much, much prettier. As we were zooming down the road I took a few pictures out of the windows. We have a roadmap of bug carcuses on everything. If you see spots, overlook them! It does not matter what pictures I post or what words I use, absolutely nothing on earth describes the beauty of this state. It is just awe inspiring.

Near Anaconda, MT

Behind the houses is a strip copper mine in Butte, MT

These rock spires were all along the Yellowstone River in a beautiful canyon

the name of which I do not know. Sorry.

Maybe when I get over the shock of spending a week at an old stage stop, that's not a joke, I will take some pictures here. Maybe there is something in Missoula worthy of a blog. We've never been there so we have no idea. This would be perfect if we were fly fishermen, but neither of us can claim that hobby. Somebody email me what's happening in the world this next week! We are on track to spend some time in Glacier National Park within a week or so. 

Laurel-July 5, 2012

After reading so many ads about the businesses in Laurel, we decided to go there this morning in spite of the nearby fire. What a huge disappointment Laurel was. There's almost nothing there but poverty. So sad. We did manage to find a new WalMart, our least favorite store on earth, and picked up a few items. We came home and unloaded. Then we went back to Columbus, first to the post office and then to the New Atlas Saloon. It's claim to fame is over 50 mounted animals. There was sure a lot to see. And the place was full of locals. We are getting used to being stared at when we go in a local place. One nice man struck up a conversation with us and through him we learned there is a platinum and paladium mine here. We have seen the smelter but didn't know what it was. There used to be a huge quarry here, right behind this park. The granite from that quarry is used in the state capital building in Helena and in one house here in Columbus. It is a very nice old house.

Front

Side



What a delightful house to see. Now we want to go to Helena to see the capital. For the record, over 455,000 acres have burned here in Montana. More are burning still. It doesn't make the news because the houses are on ranches, not stacked on top of each other like they are in big cities. Several hundred of those ranch houses have been destroyed and power lines are burned down all over the place. It's such a tragedy and most all of the fires here were man caused. How badly rain is needed. Today was a very comfortable day, in the 60s, no wind and overcast. Love it! And it was a welcomed break for the firefighters.

Wind and fires-July 3, 2012

Montana has more fires burning than any other state. One fire alone is now up to 207,000 acres. One just started about 20 miles east of us in Laurel. A cold front is moving through and winds are due to be 35 mph sustained with 50 mph gusts. Bless the firefighters. They have a very tough job. Because it was so hot and windy today we stayed in and made the phone calls we have put off. Then we went out for lunch. It was nothing to write home about. But we did find out in the restaurant that it is illegal to have a sheep in the cab of your truck without a chaperone!!! Laugh if you want, it is the law. We could not decide if that chaperone had to be human or another sheep! We were giggling like crazy over this one. It's also illegal here for a wife to open her husband's mail. We never dreamed we would learn so much while having lunch in Columbus, Montana. Outside barbecues are not allowed tomorrow because the fire danger is so high, so we'll celebrate the 4th indoors or head to the mountains. I wish all of you a very Happy 4th of July. Please pray for our nation.

Red Lodge, MT and beyond-July 2, 2012

We got a late start today so we headed for Red Lodge. It's another one of those towns that has taken advantage of it's old buildings to revitalize the area. Lot of shops and eating establishments. We had a great lunch and then headed into the Beartooth Mountains. It was another of those days where words just don't describe the scenery adequately. In many places a gasp was all we could manage.

Entrance to the canyon in the Beartooth Mountains

The road was great. What we love about being in the mountains in Montana is that they are so open. Unlike the Rockies in most places that are closed in right next to the road. The mountains here create such wide and sweeping vistas that no picture does it justice. There was some beautiful country on the way to Red Lodge but no place to pull off the road and take pictures.

Thankfully, pine beetles have not destroyed this part of the country yet

Rock Creek runs through the Beartooth Mountains and into the Yellowstone River

For sure this is horse country. There are some cattle ranches but most are for horses. The gigantic horse barns were bigger than some aircraft hangars. It is astonishing. The alfalfa fields are huge also. We came back a different way and found the scenery to be just as pretty. What a wonderful drive. It was not too hot or too windy today and there was no rain. So, we really enjoyed it.

The Yellowstone River welcomed us back to Columbus.