Raven Travels: 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.