MONTANA ROAD TRIP #4

FRIDAY, July 6:

VIEW ALONG SR 200

We drove about an hour before stopping in Avon at a small café for breakfast. It was a typical café for a small town – at the counter sat three older gentlemen “chewing the fat” and swapping stories. Our waitress was very personable and the eats were very good. The restaurant was a stopping point for The Race To The Sky Dog Sled Race a number of years ago. (The race is 300 miles in length, and is held over a period of about a week.)

We then pressed on to the small town of Dell which is just off of I-15.  It is another very small town but has a restaurant called Café-A. The main store is the Mercantile Store which is the Post Office, and sells gas, clothing, gift items, and of course snacks. We fueled up here, and I enjoyed the art work in the ladies bathroom. 

The drive went smoothly and so we pressed on to Pocatello for the night. After it cooled down we went for a nice three mile walk in the residential neighborhood located above our motel.

SATURDAY, July 7:

A hot day of driving to St. George, UT. The high was 110˚F today. We drove along enjoying the air conditioning in the car. All went smoothly until about 25 miles North of St George, where they were clearing an accident. In St. George we cooled off in our motel and then walked to the grocery store about 6:30 p.m. to get some sushi for dinner.

SUNDAY, July 8:

VIRGIN R. GORGE APPROACH

GEOLOGY 101

SQUALLS IN THE DISTANCE

The drive down I-15 was at a steady pace of 75 mph. From Las Vegas south it was a stream of cars with no let up. 

Total Miles Driven; 2862.

This was a nice trip and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit with Klara, and the Lincoln, Montana area. People sometimes ask “Why drive?” thinking of the long hours on the road. Flying is faster but impersonal. We enjoy seeing the variety of landscape this country offers. By stopping occasionally at some small town you get a feel for what makes this a wonderful country.

MONTANA ROAD TRIP #3

 MONDAY, July 2:

This was a day for getting some chores done. First up was Klara cleaning her chimney. She and her neighbor Sally have invested in a do it yourself tool. Klara wanted someone around while she went up on the metal roof of her house to do the dirty deed. 

KLARA, THE CHIMNEY SWEEP

A LITTLE ADJUSTMENT

We got the deed done and the chimney reassembled with few problems. Actually George had to get a couple of screws and that was it. While he was at the Hardware Store he invested in an electric bug zapper for use inside our rented cabin.😉 The next  project was staining the East Porch. He and Klara did that with a little supervision from yours truly.

Finally it was time for some play. First we stopped and got small huckleberry milkshakes. Yumm! Then we went up Alice Creek Road a couple of miles and went for a nice 3 mile hike. 

WHAT IS IT?

It was very pleasant. On our way down the road we stopped to look for wildlife. 

We saw several sandhill cranes which I photographed. Klara thought that there might be some chicks in the area, but we could not detect any. Upon reviewing the pictures on my computer, however, I had four with a chick in them. WaHoo!

SANDHILL CRANES WITH A CHICK

Back at the cabin we started up the new bug zapper and it really worked. Life became much more pleasant. 

TUESDAY, July 3:

A second coat of stain was applied to the porch. 

THE SUPERVISOR

Then we were off to Hogam Creek Rd. for a picnic lunch and hike. 

SANDHILL CRANES

OUR PICNIC SITE
We found a nice shaded area for lunch and then went hiking up the road about two miles. Saw a couple of butterflies and the real find was a couple of Mountain Lady Slippers, which are wild orchids. We enjoyed hiking in the rich green forest.

PAINTBRUSH

BUTTERFLY

MOUNTAIN LADY SLIPPER

Tonight was our night out on the town. We dined at the Montanan Steakhouse. It had been closed for a couple of years, but just reopened this past Memorial Day. We all enjoyed our meals. A special treat was smoked gouda au gratin potatoes that came with my steak. Klara and George had buffalo burgers with freshly made potato chips. I think the new venture will fare well.

WEDNESDAY, July 4:

We moved back to Klara’s house today as the main barrage of noise will end at 10:00 p.m.  We will be watching the show from West of town at Laura and Gerry’s backyard.

After settling back in to the house, and doing the laundry, we were off to the hills once again. We went up a little higher on the Sucker Creek Road had a nice view down to the valley that Lincoln is in.

SUCKER CREEK RD. VIEW

It might have been a good location for watching the fireworks unobstructed but we were looking forward to meeting and dining with some of Klara’s friends and coworkers.

Back at the house we prepared a salad as our contribution to the dinner. Once at the Burns residence, we did not stay long as Gerry took us to the Lincoln Historical Society site to see some of the old equipment and a couple of cabins. It was interesting to see some of the old ranch equipment and kitchenware as well.

Dinner was very relaxing and we all swapped stories around a picnic table on the lawn. Afterwards we transferred to a small fire ring located right next to a small stream, and awaited the fireworks show. I was also hoping for some sunset color over the mountains, but that did not materialize.

HOPING FOR SUNSET COLOR

SUNSET SKY

There were still a couple of bursts of fireworks when we got home but then all went quiet, and we enjoyed a good sleep.

THURSDAY, July 5:

This was our last day in Lincoln. Klara had to work. After a leisurely morning we went to the Hi-Country Trading Post for some huckleberry jam to share with neighbors. I also picked up a stick of buffalo salami which we later enjoyed in our sandwiches. 

This afternoon we drove up Alice Creek Road to where it ends at the trailhead for a hike over Lewis & Clark Pass. Along the way we saw deer and sandhill cranes. 

Near the ranch were a few horses enjoying the meadow. 

MEADOW VIEW

REGROWTH AFTER THE FIRE

Tonight’s dinner was ground lamb made into a stew. It was quite good. 

Our gear is packed and organized for an early morning departure.

2018 MONTANA ROAD TRIP #2

FRIDAY, June 29:

We enjoyed a day out in nature along the Copper Creek Rd. Klara had to do a small survey of the area as the USFS is going to move the road next year and she needed to do a plant survey of the area.  While she did that George and I wandered up the road looking at plants

LUPINE

and the landscape. We enjoyed watching the storm clouds forming over the mountains in the distance.

STORM CLOUDS BUILDING

STORM CLOUDS

LITTLEFLOWER PENSTAMON

PENSTAMON AND PUSSYTOES

BUSH CINQFOIL

BUTTERCUP

THIN-LEAVED OWL'S CLOVER

COLORFUL BEETLE

Late in the afternoon we were off to the first meeting of the Montana Native Plant Society which was holding its annual meeting in Lincoln. There was a delicious potluck which was put on by the group. There were also a number of items for sale including books, t-shirts, and some artwork. I purchased the book, “Bold Women In Montana History”. I found the book a good read of the history of Montana and the women who helped forge it into a leader in the suffrage movement.

The featured speaker for the evening was by H. Wayne Phillips, a forest service ecologist, range manager, and forester. His topic, which was quite interesting, was titled "Wildfires to Wildflowers" which follows the regrowth after fires for the past 30 years. It was interesting to see the transition from scorched land to blooming wildflowers and other new growth.

SATURDAY, June 30:

This morning we were off early as Klara was one of the walk leaders. There were about 15 on her walk in the foothills of Landers Fork. As we walked up the Forest Service Road we stopped often to photograph and ID various plants we saw in bloom. 

ARNICA

STONECROP

ASTRAGALUS

SICKLETOP LOUSEWORT

WHITE BOG ORCHID W/BUG

NARROW-LEAF COLLOMIA

While some of the people went into the bog areas to find plants there were a few of us that opted out of that experience.

After lunch at our destination for exploration I went on a short hike further up the road. I came across some nice forested areas as well as a couple of examples of beargrass. This is a lovely plant and is found in the higher elevations. Finally it was time to return to the trail/road head.

BEARGRASS

LICHEN HAIR DO

A LITTLE NAP

Back at the house we packed up our gear and food for our move to a cabin out of town. This was to avoid the noise from the unofficial fireworks that go off between now and July 4^th. The cabin is quite large and accommodating but it has one drawback….MOSQUITOES, by the hundreds. There was a racket devise that could be used to “zap” them but it is a nuisance.You are constantly moving it about.  Klara had some mosquito netting that we were able to rig over our bed, and also a small hood devise that she used over her bed. They made it quite bearable when we went to bed.

In the evening George and I enjoyed a quiet evening at the cabin while Klara went off to hobnob with fellow botany friends and make connections with new ones. We actually went to bed early in order to be under the netting while we read.

SUNDAY, July 1:

Today we were off early once again to meet up with another group of MNPS for a walk about Brown Lake. This walk was led by Peter Lesica, a botanist, educator, and resource management
consultant from Missoula, MT.

THIN-LEAVED OWL'S CLOVER

THIN-LEAVED OWL'S CLOVER

BRISTLY CATAPILLAR

WHORLED BUCKWHEAT

BLANKET FLOWER

BROWN'S LAKE STREAM

BUTTERCUP

ELEGANT DEATH CAMAS

BEE PLANT

After the stroll and looking at and identifying various plants we drove around the lake to see what we could see. There were a couple great blue herons, and yellow-headed blackbirds. There were a couple of females along the shore which I was able to photograph.

FEMALE YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD

We returned to Lincoln through the small town Ovando, population about 80. It does have the necessities of a gas station, post office, restaurant, and tackle store. (There are lots of locations for fishing along streams, and the Blackfoot River.)