From Belgrade, MT to Abbott Valley Homestead, Martin City, MT

As I write this entry, I am sitting on the wrap-around deck of the cabin. I can hear about 7 or 8 different kinds of birds, squirrels chattering, and wind rustling the aspen leaves. Hubby is in the cabin, cleaning up after dinner. I cook and he cleans up. It is our system. And his favorite part of this is that he finishes any wine that is left. It is a long standing tradition.

We drove in the mountains most of the day. I have always loved the mountains. The Smoky Mountains were nice, the White Mountains in New Hampshire were even better, but the Colorado Rockies have always been my favorite. I think I have a new favorite. The mountains in Montana are even better than Colorado! As we drove north today we were surrounded on all sides by mountains. Mixed in with the mountains are beautiful lakes, many of which are huge. They are a deep blue like I have never seen before. Because the snow in the mountains is still melting, I am sure that the lakes are freezing. We saw only a handful of people on or in the lakes today and I think that is why. But, the lack of activity on the lakes left them still and smooth. Breathtaking! We let BB, the GPS, pick the route again today. She doesn’t like interstates, so we get to see some amazing countryside.

Today’s drive was the shortest of the three. Good thing. I think Ruby the Wonder Dog would have declared mutiny. She has the best little set up. We have the back seat of the Escape folded down flat. We stack up a couple of suitcases and then put a little perch on top for her. It is one of those Sterilite plastic boxes, with a pillow inside. She climbs up on the pillow and then can see out the front window of the car. She seems to like “her spot” quite a bit.

We got to the cabin about 5:00 PM. We stopped at the grocery store in Hungry Horse before heading to the cabin. We knew we wouldn’t want to get back out tonight. Enough of the car!!! We got everything unloaded and put away in the cabin so we can settle in. The proprietor stopped by to say hi as we were getting unpacked. The land has been in her family for years. The cabins were formerly occupied by various family members and she now rents several of them out to vacationers. Pretty good gig.

Tonight we are going to stay around here and enjoy not being in the car. Hubby said he felt kind of guilty for not going out and exploring the area. I think he is over that after getting a full tummy and having a glass or three of wine. Tomorrow is soon enough. We will explore to our hearts content tomorrow. Probably head to Glacier National Park. It is only about 10 minutes to the west entrance and there is a lot to see. I read where they just opened Going to the Sun Road today. It is the road that takes you up and over the Continental Divide. Finally got the snow all plowed off the road and it is ready for cars. How nice of them to finish it up for us, don’t you think? I am hoping to see a bear or two while we are here. When we went to the Smoky Mountains, all I got to see was bear scat.

The other news of the day is that the oldest son got his next billet! I think I said previously that he was hoping to stay in San Diego. He has worked at staying at the top of his C school class so he could get first choice of the available bases. Well, he got San Diego! He will be on the USS Benfold. When we can get someplace with a wireless Internet connection, we plan on looking it up. It is a destroyer is about all we know at this point. Oh, and that the ship is on its way to the Persian Gulf at this very moment. Once his classes are finished, the Navy will fly him to Bahrain (not sure of the spelling) and then fly him by helicopter to his ship. He said he was really stoked. I must admit, I was glad he got San Diego, but more than a little shocked that he would be going to the Gulf so soon. He is happy and that is all that matters. He loves the Navy, his job as a Sonar tech, and being in San Diego. Isn’t that what parenting is all about? Getting your children to where they are happy and contributing members of society? But the Gulf…so soon.

Well, that is all for today. This will get posted tomorrow because there is no Internet connection at the cabin. There is no phone or TV either! We are really roughing it! But, we are roughing it in style.

From Badlands National Park to Belgrade, MT

We got up and left the cabin to take photos of the Badlands at around 5:30 AM. It was gorgeous out. Good light for photos, perfect temperature, and not crowded at all. But, who other than us would get up at that hour? Only a couple of people. When we lost the optimal early morning light, we headed back to the cabin to get ready for the day.

We took the Badlands Loop to see all that we could. It is so quiet and eerie, very surreal. Some folks backpack in the park, which I just can’t imagine. It seems so spooky, even in the daylight! But Hubby thinks it looks like fun. We enjoyed this natural wonder so much that we decided to detour and take in the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore. I didn’t know South Dakota was so beautiful. Yesterday, as we rounded a bend, the most beautiful scene was right in front of us. We went from prairie to big lush, rolling hills that were on either side of the Missouri River. Now, being from Kansas City, I had never thought of the Missouri River as anything other than brown and yucky. What we saw in South Dakota was wide and blue. I couldn’t believe it was the same river! The lush hills looked like they would be soft and cushy to lie down on and take a nap.

The Black Hills did not disappoint either. I thought they would be similar to the Flint Hills, which I think are very pretty. They make the drive to Heaven, I mean Manhattan so pleasant. But, the Black Hills are more like mountains. They reminded us of the Smoky Mountains, without the kudzu. It rained on us, so we did not get to take any photos, but were glad we made the side trip. Mt. Rushmore was nice to see, but very touristy. We took a look at the old guys and then headed back on route to Montana. We had completely befuddled BB, our GPS. She had us taking a different highway from what our Streets and Trips software had shown and we were feeling adventurous, so we went with BB. Good plan! We saw old, old little towns, mostly mining towns. We saw some of the most amazing countryside. Western South Dakota and the little bit of Wyoming we saw had us slack-jawed. We didn’t even mind the 9 miles we had to drive on unpaved road! When they do highway improvements up here, apparently they just dig up the whole dang thing and start again!

Eastern Montana was very different from where we had been. The hills are filled with scrubby desert-y growth. The landscape was less inspiring, but beautiful in its own way.

As it was getting dark, we ran into some rain. Not bad, but slowed us down a little. We saw a gorgeous rainbow. I had never seen a rainbow where you could see through it. We saw houses tinted red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. It was like you were looking at the houses through a filter. Quite cool. We arrived at Belgrade, MT about 11:00 PM. We thought we could see mountains in the distance as we approached Bozeman and can’t wait to see it in the daylight.

Today’s drive should be should be shorter but just as pretty as what we saw early yesterday. It will be nice to get to the cabin, unload the car, and stay awhile.