Last Montana Stop: Libby

Saturday, September 7, 2013

The clouds are lingering this morning, but we're setting our sights on Libby, Montana. It's cool, 53 degrees and very overcast. We've got on several layers of clothing topped off with a rainsuit and I feel like a sausage.  It sure better rain!

Libby is west of Whitefish and you have two ways to get there.  One is to go a 65-mile northern route, where you come within 7 miles of the Canadian border and the other is a southern route, about half the distance on a busier highway.  While both would probably be scenic, we chose the longer road less traveled.  Libby, here we come and  what a lucky, wonderful decision!  The northern ride was absolutely beautiful.  The day brightened up and it ranks up there as bring one of the favorites of our trip, thus far.  We came to a lake called Koocanusa.  It is 102-miles long, 42 of those miles in Canada. The lake is named for the KOOtenai River, CANada and the USA.  The pictures will show some of it's beauty.  We were riding along and came to a big bridge that crossed this huge lake and in looking at the map, a road on each side of the lake going into Libby.  Which one do we take?  One was called a scenic byway and the other one not. Well, we crossed the bridge, took the non-scenic byway and had the best ride!!  We met 5 motorcycles and 3 cars the entire four hour drive and the lake was beside us the entire time.  We felt like we were out there all by ourselves in this great big, beautiful world.
We finally came to the Libby Dam where they control water levels, generate enough electricity to supply 60,000 homes and prevent flooding in the surrounding communities.  Quite a sight. We proceeded to the town of Libby, found a peaceful campsite called Woodland RV and called it a good day.  Happy trails.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Thursday & Friday, Sept. 5th & 6th

I'm a little behind in my blogging so I'm going to combine Thursday and Friday and hopefully be brief with my comments.  Both days were very cloudy and rainy so we've been in a little bit of a holding pattern. Rather than head west right into the bad weather, we holed up in our little Whitefish campsite.  We're doing fine with that; doing laundry, reorganizing, running errands here & there, shopping, playing cards (I'm still winning), etc. There's always something going on so we don't seem to get bored.  We've been so fortunate with the weather on this trip that we sure can't complain and the people are so happy out here when it rains, you just can't be upset by it. We plan on leaving here Saturday morning come rain or shine.  :) Until then..... Happy trails.

Glacier National Park & Going-To-The-Sun-Road

Wednesday, August 4, 2013

We got lucky. We had a beautiful day today for our drive through Glacier National Park .  What a place!  We were wondering what it would be like after doing the Beartooth Highway but it was every bit as beautiful.  Different, rockier mountains.....majestic.  The one downside we experienced on the Going-To-The-Sun-Road was very heavy traffic. I think everyone took advantage of the nice day in between rainy ones so it was slow going and always crowded.  Rick took the brunt of that, doing all the driving and always having to be alert.  We decided to go around the park on the way back to Whitefish and that trip was beautiful as well. Through East Glacier and several smaller towns....much less traffic.We did not see any wildlife in or out of the park, but we did see a lot of cattle on the road.  We had just pulled off on a turn-out, a car flew by and we heard him slam on his brakes.  One was in the road...no one hurt. As we left the area, several more were in the road.  Just wandering free on the range.   :)
The weather looks pretty iffy the next couple of days.  We'll probably stick around here another day or so and then head to Idaho for our next adventure.  It'll be interesting. We have no plans, no specific places to go.... just meandering.  Thanks again to those sending comments. We love it.  Happy trails.
P.S. I'm attaching a picture of one of the little ponies roaming our park.  This morning there were also the llamas, plus little burros and a calf!  ???  Where are they all coming from?

Whitefish

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Up and at 'em early this morning as we want to get to Whitefish and find a place to stay for the next couple of days. We will use Whitefish as our home base for visiting Glacier.  It is about 30 minutes away from the park.  For the first time in 21 days on the road, it is raining.  We've had a few sprinkles here and there but have never had to pull out our rain suits. This morning, we did.The drive from Bigfork was not long, though, we stopped and had breakfast and after checking things out, decided to stay at the Whitefish KOA.  They have cabins in addition to regular campsites and we looked at both.  It turns out, the cabins are cute on the outside but literally have a bed and bunk bed on the inside.  No more room really than our camper, no restroom, no bedding....very basic.  We decided to stay in our own place.  :)  I think I'm becoming an outdoor girl!  One funny thing about the campground is that there are free roaming tiny ponies, llamas and sheep!!  We thought we were seeing things.  A pony came right into our campsite while we were playing Gin this afternoon under our canopy.  Too funny.
It was a quiet evening.  We went for a walk around the park, then Rick went to the hot tub and I read. It felt good to just relax.  Maybe that's why it rained.  :)   Going to the Sun Road tomorrow.  Happy trails.

Bigfork

Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 2013

Travel day, today.  We're a little hesitant about heading out with Labor Day traffic, but ready to move on.  It's another beautiful day so at least the weather won't be a concern.  We said our farewells at Conestoga Campground and were on the road by 10:00 am heading northwest toward Whitefish. We put on about 265 high traffic miles and called it a day in Bigfork.  The name Outback Campground should have given us a clue, huh?  It sure wasn't the greatest.  Our site was down a hill, far away from everything (mostly meaning bathrooms), there were a million bees and it wasn't a particularly pretty site either.  When it's getting late, you're tired, and there isn't a lot to choose from, I guess you just go with it.  We went to a local microbrewery a few miles away for a late bite to eat.  A nice young man from Chicago was our waiter and by the time we left, just before dark, we were content.  One thing on this trip, when it's dark, you go to sleep, and when it's light, you get up. We slept great in our little "house" and just pretended we were in a fancy campground.  :)  Until tomorrow......happy trails.

Yippee Ki-Yi-Yay!! A Rodeo!

Sunday, September 1, 2013

We got up Sunday morning fully expecting to head out of White Sulphur Springs by 11:00 am. Went into town for some breakfast and it was booming!  A parade, a little kid's trout fishin' contest, and later; mutton bustin' and a rodeo!  We're stayin'!
We met such a nice couple, John & Joyce, at the campground. John is a veteran and his job was to guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I thought that was so awesome, thanked him for his service to our country and we ended up talking with them for quite a while.  We sat with them at the rodeo that night and it was the best night I've had in a long long time. The patriotism, the horses, the cowboys, the bull riding, the barrel racing, the clowns..... I loved every minute.  I guess I should have been a cowgirl......  For those of you who don't know, mutton bustin' is little kids riding a sheep to see how long they can stay on.  What a hoot that was!  All in all, it was a great day.  Unfortunately, rodeo pictures are on my camera so I can't send.
Happy trails.

White Sulphur Springs

Friday & Saturday, Aug. 30th & 31st.

We left Red Lodge Friday morning and headed north.  Whitefish, MT/Glacier Nat'l Park is our next big stop and we're planning on 3 days to get there.  We never know our exact route until the night before or morning of.  We just look at the state map and figure somewhere around 200 miles in the general direction we're heading.  Friday's ride took us to White Sulphur Springs by late afternoon. They had five campgrounds listed so we looked at a few of them and decided on Conestoga CG.  It was in a large, flat valley surrounded by mountain ranges in the distance. Very nice facilities and the people were so very nice.  We were the only tent among several larger RVs so they all thought we were "cute."   Not sure what Rick thought about that. Well, we liked it so much we decided to stay a second night and scouted out the surrounding area.  Hiked up to a pretty waterfall and visited two nearby mining towns with a lot of history and beauty.
Then Saturday night at the park Ice Cream Social, we hear about the Labor Day Celebrations.  A big PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) rodeo is being held in town Sunday & Monday. Seeing a rodeo is big on my list so.....who knows, we may be here a third night.  Happy trails.