On the Road Again

Day 8. What a sad day today – our last day officially on vacation :( I did most of the driving so I had a lot of time to ponder today’s blog post. Starting with the basics – Damon and I woke up bright and early to try to get in one final hike before heading back to the flatlands. That gave the kids a chance to sleep in again. We headed to a place called Jewel Basin somewhere around Bigfork. The days are getting nicer and nicer, so we started out with a balmy upper 60’s, lower 70’s which quickly gave way to 80’s and a clear sky.

The hike up (and I do mean up) was beautiful. Montana has a type of flower called Beargrass (see photos) that is a white cone-shaped flower that blooms everywhere on the mountain side – it was spectacular – people up there said they had never seen so much in any given year. In addition to the Beargrass, there were wildflowers all over the place – bright reds, purples and yellows. We got to the first peak and were rewarded with a mama and baby mountain goat – I got a few pictures before they took off up to the highest peak – we chased them about halfway up and then decided to head back so we had time to pack. All in all, about a 4.5 miler and about 1,300 foot elevation gain. My calves and quads had enough for one day!

Got back to the house and spent the rest of the afternoon packing and cleaning. I hung out in the kitchen trying to clean up the gargantuan pans of Ghiradelli triple chocolate fudge brownies. And when I say “clean”, I think we all can guess where those brownies ended up. Finally said our goodbyes and got out around 4:30 –on our way to pick up Thorkey.

Thorkey was thrilled to see us – although it sounded like she had a pretty awesome time at the dog place – she only got out on one hike, but the dog people said she was awesome and ran off leash through the woods all day – she had a particular affinity for mud puddles (no surprise to us) and they said she loved lying in the mud, eating the mud and rolling in it. I believe it was a good choice on our part to spring for a bath pre-pickup! She was asleep on her car throne, face on a pillow within minutes of getting into the car – I think she had a great time but really wanted to be with the pack again.

We continued on to our overnight spot in Bozeman and since I was driving and not sleeping, I had a lot of time to think about our trip. So here are some thoughts about Montana… everyone should come here at least once – the scenery is awesome and it is a whole different way of life out here – it is very much “old west” and there is room to breathe – space everywhere (don’t worry, I’m never leaving Chicago, but this is a great place to visit). I’m not sure why this next fact sticks with me – maybe because it is so obvious everywhere… in Montana, when someone dies presumably in a car accident, there are small white crosses on the side of the road. Damon and I lost count as to how many of these crosses we passed – they are everywhere. Makes you realize how fragile life is. The scenery is fantastic wherever you look – mountains, rolling hills, winding rivers all over the place, and sunsets that rival those you would see on a tropical island. There are animals everywhere here – you can’t go 2 miles without seeing something. Our wildlife tally in just a few days includes cows, horses, pigs, goats, llamas, buffalo, mountain goats, big horn sheep, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, marmots and too many more to list. There is something about seeing animals roaming in their natural habitat that is really nice. The town names here are… interesting. Some that I noticed yesterday include “Phosphate, Anaconda, Opportunity and Trident”. Of course my all time favorite has to be Butte (I like big Buttes and I cannot lie…”). So, as the mountains slowly turn into rolling hills that will slowly turn into the flat fields of the Midwest, I’m coming to terms with the fact that our awesome cross-country road trip is quickly coming to an end :(

Until tomorrow…

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Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/donnaweinberg/AdventuresOfMonkeyHouse?authkey=Gv1sRgCNjf7I3an8-DNg