Part Four
9/30/19
We were up early, packed
up and headed into McCall for fuel and a big breakfast at the Pancake House.
We drove around Payette
Lake on Hwy. 55 through parts of the Payette National Forest, connecting with
Hwy. 95, continuing North through the Payette National Forest and Nez Perce
National Forest. The drive was beautiful
as we had pine trees on both sides of the road.
Several of the
campgrounds along Hwy. 12 that we marked as possible sites were closed and the
gates locked. We passed close to a dozen
closed campgrounds. We crossed over Lolo
Pass at the Idaho/Montana border and stopped to talk to the ranger. They had 4’-6’ of snow two days before. There was snow on the ground and in the pine
trees. We decided to cross into Montana
and stop at Lolo Hotsprings. They have a
campground and we picked a site, and then walked across the road to soak in the
hotspring. We started in the outdoor
cooling pool (80 degrees) and then moved into the indoor pool, which was 104
degrees. We soaked for an hour. We regretted not trying some of the other
hotsprings along our route, and plan on stopping on our next trip to Idaho.
Big Timber, MT to Badlands National Park
Badlands NP to Anita Lake State Park, IA
Anita Lake SP to Carmel, IN
10/1/19
Three Forks, MT
We drove west on Highway
12, picking up I-90 and heading to Three Forks, MT. We stopped at the famous Wheat Montana Bakery
for lunch.
We had not decided on a place to camp, so we decided to check out Missouri Headwaters State Park. The campground was very small and crowded. We drove up to the viewing area. This is a point were Lewis & Clark camped during their journey. This is a place where the Jefferson River and Madison River end the Missouri River begins. A mile downstream the Gallatin River flows into the Missouri, thus the name Three Forks
We had not decided on a place to camp, so we decided to check out Missouri Headwaters State Park. The campground was very small and crowded. We drove up to the viewing area. This is a point were Lewis & Clark camped during their journey. This is a place where the Jefferson River and Madison River end the Missouri River begins. A mile downstream the Gallatin River flows into the Missouri, thus the name Three Forks
We then back tracked slightly
to check out Lewis & Clark Caverns State Park. We were able to get and electric site, and
the campground was close to the Jefferson River. There were only 2-3 campers in the
campground, so we basically had the campground to ourselves. We had the Tobacco Root Mountains as a
backdrop. The caverns were closed for
the season.
10/2-4/19
We headed back to Wheat
Montana Bakery for their famous pastries.
Our next destination was Big Timber, MT to spend a couple of days with
my cousin. On the way we stopped in
Livingston. I had not been in Livingston
since 1961. In 1959-61 we would catch
the Northern Pacific Limited from Livingston to Chicago Union Station. I had heard that a number of years ago the
railroad station had been re-modeled. I
wanted to walk the grounds and take a few photos. It has been all freight since the ‘70’s. Passenger service was moved to the Hi-Line
through Havre, MT and Glacier National Park.
Livingston, MT Train Station, once the station for the Northern Pacific Railroad, their emblem on the decorative corners
We arrived at my cousins
house and he cooked a pizza for lunch and then we headed to his cabin on the
Boulder River for a day. The Beartooth-
Absaroka were covered with snow and there was a little on the ground around the
cabin and along the river bank. We had a
great day at the cabin. The next morning
I got an hour and a half of flyfishing.
I might have had 1-2 hts, but no luck.
Four fishing days and I was 0-4.
We drove back into Big
Timber after lunch and then we took my cousins to dinner at our favorite place,
The Grand Hotel. We love staying there
for a night, but this trip we didn’t have enough time.
We camped at the house,
and in the morning after our goodbyes we headed to the pastry shop and then
decided to go to Badlands National Park a day early.
The Northern Pacific made a 6am mail stop in Big Timber and this is where I got off the train. My grandmother, aunts and other relatives would all be waiting along the tracks. 1959-61
Crazy Moutnains, the only mountain range in Montana not part of the Rockies
Sarah waiting for her banana slices
10/4-5/19
We arrived at Badlands
National Park around 4:30pm, and after a 29 mile drive on the loop road arrived
at the campground. We hoped to get the
site we reserved for the next night, but it was full so we picked the site next
to it and moved when the person had left and the host placed our reserved card
on the post. In the middle of the first
night there 35-45 mph winds, with wind gusts from 50-65 mph
We spent the entire day
Saturday sightseeing throughout the park, and visited the Minute Man Missile
Visitor Center and Silo D-9, a deactivated site. We stopped at the only National Grasslands
Visitor Center, but it isn’t open on the weekends. We did drive through the grasslands. For lunch we drove into Wall, SD and visited
the famous Wall Drugstore.
10/6-7/19
We were up early and
departed for home. We drove over 9 hours
and spent our last night camped at Anita Lake State Park in western Iowa. We had a site on the lake and the sunset was
beautiful. We arrived home around 5 pm
on Monday October 7th. This
was a great trip and we were sad that it ended.
Our trip lasted eighteen days and covered 5,103 miles. There is so much more to see in Idaho and Montana. We enjoyed every minute of the trip and look forward to spending more time in Idaho.
Our trip lasted eighteen days and covered 5,103 miles. There is so much more to see in Idaho and Montana. We enjoyed every minute of the trip and look forward to spending more time in Idaho.
Now that was fun. So many enjoyable stops and more fly line on water! Thank you so much for allowing us to come along!
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