Montana to Radium Hot Springs, BC ~Alaska Trip Day 5

Fifth day on the road...Heather's birthday! It started out with a nice breakfast and farewell at Uncle Danny's, then a beautiful drive in northern Montana up to the Canadian border. (We made a quick stop at Chad's mechanic shop, but were disappointed to miss Sally this run through.) Flathead Lake water was sparkling on the sunny warm day.

These cute mountain towns reminded me of the touristy areas in Colorado and the Smokey Mountains: beautiful flowers, beautiful views, cute shops, eclectic eateries, and ice cream!

A windshield photo of the road close to our border crossing in Roosville.

I have never been to Canada, so this is a fantastic birthday treat!

Bull River in Wardner, BC.

Fort Steele, BC

We pulled into a lookout over Columbia Lake for a lovely supper spot. A finer dining atmosphere couldn't be found at any fancy Italian bistro!

Montana ~Alaska Trip Days 3 & 4

Wednesday morning we stopped for a short visit at the Brubaker residences in Laurel, Montana. Anthony gave us a tour of their herb greenhouses and his own cute house on skids. We were sorry to miss his parents who were traveling on business, but it was nice to meet his wife, Miranda, & sweet baby Ally, and see Kimra again.

The rest of the day was a long drive across Montana. The fields changed into mountains as we neared Missoula and turned north toward our overnight destination in St. Ignatius.

We were blessed with a short visit at Johnny and Heidi's Thursday morning. Riley spent the rest of the day there with their teenage boys, working a little, then swimming at the dam.

My girls also swam, in cousin Joanna's backyard pool, after they picked a bucket of apricots from Aunt Shirley's loaded fruit tree. It was a sunny, hot, dry 95 degree day. We washed several loads of laundry and stashed a sack of apricots in our rig for munching on down the road.

We had sweet fellowship with our western family, around the table, under the backyard shade tree, and on the front porch after sunset.

Mammoth Hot Springs

Tuesday afternoon, June 11, we crossed under the tall Roosevelt Arch and entered Yellowstone National Park. We pulled off to take a picture of being halfway between the Equator and North Pole, and saw a deer munching the bushes between us and the river. We had passed a similar marker sign driving on 84 near Baker City, Oregon.

Yellowstone River

We drove about 5 miles to Albright Visitor Center where we were told all the campgrounds in the park were full, so we would need to go back out the way we came for the closest camping. Oh. While we here, the girls got set up to be Junior Rangers and we looked at the stuffed & mounted animals upstairs, then walked the trails around Mammoth Hot Springs. The 'smoking' colored terraces are fascinating indeed!

So many tourists! A tour bus full of Japanese were parked here near us and they probably couldn't read the large signs that said Do Not Get Close to the Elk. This fellow had his friend taking a picture of him while he held out his hand. The elk turned and licked his fingers, then proceeded to nibble his ear! He quickly jumped away! We were hoping nothing traumatic would happen like we had seen in the orientation film of a girl getting charged, knocked down, and flipped over by a bison while taking a photo. Yikes!

couldn't resist feeling the strange creamy foam

We headed back north partway through Gardiner, then up up up the road toward Jardine a couple miles to Eagle Creek Campground in Gallatin National Forest. Before arriving at the camp, we chased a grazing buffalo out of the road! 

Settled on a nice spot right beside the rushing creek to park for a couple nights while we explored Yellowstone.

Traveling East Through Montana

We left the Danny Lynch residence Monday afternoon with more material blessings...clothes for Caroline that Joanna had outgrown, and sweet memories tucked away for future remembrance. About 15 minutes away, we stopped at Arlee, MT and picked up a 5 gallon bucket of honey. Here's the little outdoor stand that runs on an honor system.

the beehives to the side of the honey lane

Driving east on 90, we turned off onto highway 1 to loop by Philipsburg and Georgetown Lake on our way to Yellowstone. Most of the shops were closed till we got to the small little mining town, so our stop was just long enough to walk along the main street and peer into store windows. There were several gem shops selling beautiful polished stones and items crafted with the sparkly rocks. Riley was sacked out on the motor home bed, so he missed the touristy walk.

the 1st bear we've seen

After leaving Philipsburg, the road started climbing quickly. It has been fun to see elevation on our GPS, but I didn't note it, and I forget how high we were!

unique coloration of rock

The temperature was quite a bit cooler up high. We considered staying in one of the Deerlodge National Forest campgrounds, but it was almost cold and they were very basic for the price, so we motored on through rain showers to Butte and slept in a truck lot. How scenic, eh? But it was free!

Georgetown Lake

Tuesday June 11 we continued on interstate 90, briefly stopping at Three Forks to pick up Montana wheat (and cinnamon rolls using treat $ from a friend), then turning south on 89 to the north entrance of Yellowstone National Park. At one point I looked up front to see Shannon & Riley nodding their heads in rhythm and chewing gum to the beat of the old Statler Brothers song: "I believe He died for me, so I believe I'll live for Him. I may not do it right, but I'm gonna try! Wherever He may take me is better than where I've been. I believe He died for me, so I believe I'll live for Him!"

everybody is holding something except for ? she was not too happy

Here is some of the scenery driving on 89 toward Wyoming...

dubbed the devil's slide; it did look rather scary

And next the great big vast national park, Yellowstone!