Making a Break for It

Believe it or not, there are still some parts of Montana that we have not explored. So when Dan suggested one of those places on Saturday morning, I couldn't get out of the house fast enough!

Our destination, the Missouri River Breaks, is an area well-known to Montana hunters for trophy elk and mule deer. I was also hoping for some interesting topography. We started at the west end of the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. We took the 20-mile auto loop, which gives an overview of the area with interpretive signs about Lewis & Clark, wildlife, geology, and more. 

The main house

Our first stop was at an abandoned homestead in the river bottoms. The assortment of corrals and outbuildings, and the main house were actually in use until 1972. The structures are still largely intact, including some portions of the sod roofs. We had to walk about a quarter of a mile on a two-track through a very damp riparian marsh to reach the buildings. The frogs and the birds were chirping, and it was fun to try to identify bird and animal tracks in the soft mud. 

Note the sod roof

I did not expect to see cacti in such a wet environment. 

I thought about entitling this post
"Running with the Bulls"!

After a quick lunch, we returned to the car. The road climbed steeply up out of the bottoms to the mesa top. As we came out of the trees, we spotted a truck stopped in the road with a very large, black mammal just off the side of the road. I really thought it was a moose, but as we got closer, it became apparent that it was in reality a very big "domestic" bull. He was in no hurry to let the truck get by. In fact, he rather seemed to be enjoying keeping the truck in check. The truck finally got by, and it was our turn. A couple of times, I honestly thought the bull might charge our poor little Subaru. After a mile or so of two-stepping with the bull, he got far enough off of the road for Dan to "gun it" and get around. 

At the end of the auto tour road, we turned east toward Malta and Fort Peck. This is another place that we hadn't seen. But with nearly 300 miles to go yet to get home, we didn't stop to explore the dam and reservoir. As we drove south, we relished the very green hills, especially in the badland formations that are normally brown and dry. Surprisingly enough, despite the 600+ miles that we drove, we got home earlier than we often do. It wasn't even midnight! All in all, it was a good day of exploring.   

Never Ride Alone

This post is a little long, but hey, it's four days in Pipestone Paradise! 

What am I supposed to do when I get sick less than 24 hours before a long-awaited and much-anticipated camping trip? Go anyway, of course! After leaving work half-way through my shift on Tuesday night, I told Dan that the trip was definitely still on! If I was going to be sick and miserable in bed, I could do it just as well in the camper out in nature as I could at home. Fortunately, I did feel a little better Wednesday morning, and though slightly delayed, we reached Pipestone OHV Area by afternoon. We even had time after setting up the camper to take a short ride. I was happy to be hungry again by dinnertime (even though it was just chicken noodle soup). After all, I would hate to miss out on all that terrible "camping food" -- you know, perfectly-grilled rib eye steaks, exotic salads, and jambalya. 

Spring has sprung. 

The rest of our party left Laurel on Thursday morning, which gave us time to do a brief photography run before they arrived. (Despite what some of our friends might say, we do attempt to rein in the impulse to reach for the camera constantly when riding with others.) History abounds in Pipestone, and we found and photographed plenty of relics large and small. 

A kiln, perhaps? 

Dan earned a new nickname on this trip: Chainsaw!

We returned to the camper just before the others arrived. After setting up and eating lunch, we debated where to ride. We settled on the trail to Whitetail Reservoir. We have ridden this trail before, so we were not overly concerned at the sign stating "expert riders only." The ride began sedately enough, despite having to clear an occasional downed tree or navigate a tight turn. We took a quick break at an abandoned logging(?) truck, then pressed onward. We were now at a high enough altitude to encounter snowdrifts here and there. We eventually came to a fork in the road, and after consulting Dan's GPS and Grif's extensive knowledge of the area, we took the right fork. Well, right as in right-hand, NOT right as in correct. (Mom, Pam, Ashley, and Amy, you might want to skip to the next paragraph at this point...) This is where things got a little hairy. As we slid down some steep, rocky, snow-covered inclines, Dawn and I kept saying, "We are NOT coming back this way, right?" Little did we know... Progress was slow, but determined. Unfortunately, we soon came to a point where Grif realized that we were not where we were supposed to be. It was also a point where going forward was pretty much out of the question. So, yes, now we were retracing our track and hoping that we could indeed get back up those steep, rocky, snow-covered inclines. It took us about an hour and a half (and chains, and tow-ropes, and winches) to get back to the fork in the road (probably less than a mile). Somewhere along the way, Rick made the comment that situations like these are exactly why one should never ride alone. Any one of us by ourselves might well still be up on the mountain. 

We set off once more on the proper trail. Despite stopping to clear a few more trees and fording some really deep creeks and puddles, we barely beat the dark back to the campers. As we savored our 10 pm supper, we congratulated ourselves on being expert riders, and planned a little easier ride for the next day.

Friday morning, we ate a hearty breakfast and picked an easy trail to a Pipestone landmark ~ Ringing Rocks. Dawn, being a percussionist, played us a tune, while Dan, being part mountain goat climbed to the highest rocks. We spent the rest of the morning running the easy trails near the campers. After a quick lunch, we left for another popular Pipestone trail ~ Whiskey Gulch. Every time we have ridden here, we have turned around at the top, so I was surprised when we went a different way. What we discovered was a new favorite for both Rick and me: a fascinating run down through fantastic rock formations and gorgeous woodlands. We crossed the interstate again to one of the guys' favorite spots ~ the Lunch Room. It is a neat spot, but not one of the rides that I really enjoy. Some erosion trail damage and a near mishap did not increase my love for this trail, though one new section was a fun run. A quick side trip by the historic quarry, and we were back to the campers for a slightly-earlier-than-last-night supper. 

Saturday's ride was slightly abbreviated (but still a great ride)as we wanted to get home at a reasonable time. We were on the interstate headed home by mid-afternoon. We filled the trucks in Belgrade and began climbing the Bozeman Pass. Dan and I were chatting about the rides and the pictures when Rick suddenly pulled off the road. Was that dust or smoke? It was smoke from a blown bearing on the camper. Dan and Grif grabbed a jack and tools and started tearing off parts as Dawn, Rick and I started googling parts. We missed the RV dealership by three minutes, but we did find some open auto parts stores. But things could not be quite that simple, could they? Long story short, after more than four hours by the side of the interstate, we were back on the road short one tire and with a chained-up axle. Needless to say, we were no longer tooling along at 70 mph. We were now a 45 mph, 4-ways flashing convoy. One more unexpected stop near Reed Point reminded us again why we were all hanging together. Our little convoy limped into Laurel at about 12:30, safe and sound. But I did laughingly say to Dan that we have got to quit saying, "Hey, for once we are going to get home before dark!"

A Good Day for Griz

Iconic Yellowstone

Hard as it may be to believe, I almost turned down a trip to Yellowstone. I am SO glad that I did not, because we saw...

...a grizzly bear, 

Check out those claws! 

Actually, we saw three bears, but this one was the only
one feeling photogenic.
Well, sort of... he really just wanted to cross the river and the road
to get to a carcass. 

two very nice big horn rams,

          

                              

baby bison,

                                       playful gophers,

                                                           elk,

                             

                             an osprey,

a fox, 

and a whole lot of beautiful scenery. 

I can't quite remember why I was thinking that maybe we shouldn't go to Yellowstone this weekend. Silly me...

To Camp or Not to Camp

I am glad that it was a lot warmer down in the valley
where we were camped. 

It seems this year that spring has been slow in coming. Not that we haven't had some nice days, but very few of those nice days have fallen on the weekend. We have been itching for weeks now to get the camper out. It was beginning to look like we were going to continue to wait, as the forecast for the weekend was not showing much promise. Nonetheless, Dan started getting the camper ready during the week, figuring that we would make a decision when the time came. 

When I got up Friday morning, I was greeted by gray, glowering skies. *SIGH!* But then Dan got up and checked the weather and the radar. He decided that we would trust the forecast (partly sunny with no precipitation), and we pulled out for the Pryors. Patches of blue encouraged us, and by the time we had the camper set up and the quads unloaded, we knew we had done the right thing. It felt so good to be outside! 

The Pryor Mountains are deeply grooved with canyons and caves. Regular followers of the blog will know that we have made several attempts at exploration, with very limited "success." We tried again Friday afternoon in another spot in a different canyon. But alas, despite early promise, it quickly became apparent that this canyon was also inaccessible. We contented ourselves with walking the edges and peering down into the depths. We were really hoping to catch a glimpse of a bear or a mountain lion. At one point, we even sat down and waited patiently while Dan tried to call one in, but this too was to no avail. Oh well, it was so relaxing just to wander aimlessly through God's creation. We become like children out there, fascinated by rocks and trees and flowers and bugs. 

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

This "cave" looked a lot more impressive from the road.

Saturday morning brought more sunshine and some friends. As we left the valley floor and began our ascent, the temperatures dropped. (I am glad that I went back to the camper sooner than later for my heavier coat!) As we reached the higher meadows, we were greeted by snow ghosts -- trees that have been plastered by wind-driven snow. It quickly became apparent that Plan A - the switchbacks - would have to wait for another day. There is no shortage of roads in the Pryors, however, so we just went another way. We spent the whole day riding. As we reached the last intersection of the day, we something that we have not seen before in the Pryors -- a large herd of healthy-looking mule deer. They were so pretty in the afternoon sunshine. 

These tiny flowers reminded me that spring always returns. 

Heading home Saturday evening, Dan and I both agreed that we were very glad that we had taken the chance on camping. Let the season begin!  

A Bluebird Bonanza

I awoke early this morning and went to the kitchen to start the coffeepot. I was disappointed to see cloudy, grey skies. But, hoping for the partly-sunny day predicted, I got ready to go play outside. 

Leaving Laurel, glimpses of blue in between the clouds above kept us encouraged. Our intended destination was the Big Horn National Recreation Area. We ate our lunch at Devil's Overlook, then continued on to the Ewing-Snell Ranch. We had planned on hiking, but rain/snow and temps in the 30's made that unappealing. We returned to the other side of the Pryor Mountains where the sky was lighter.

Suddenly, a bright little bluebird flitted by, quickly followed by another. We stopped for a picture and realized that there were several other bluebirds in the area. We parked the car and scrambled down into a dry, sandy wash in pursuit of those brilliant flashes of cerulean blue. Would you believe that we spent almost an hour and a half chasing a nearly a dozen birds? We took almost 100 pictures! 

Eventually, feeling much better about the day, we made our way back to the car and meandered back roads toward home.  

These cacti were barely hanging on to the eroding edge
of the wash. 

I got distracted. :)

This picture is a little "soft," but I loved the expression.

I am thinking that four-wheeling up there wouldn't
have been much fun today. 

It's Pipestone, People!

Pipestone Pass Tunnel II

Earlier this week, I texted some of our friends to see what they had planned for the weekend. One friend was going to be out of town and another was taking granddaughters to the circus. But our buddy Ronny came through for us. He and his son-in-law were planning to attend the ATV Fun Run in Pipestone. NOW you're talkin'! We made plans to meet Saturday morning.

Dan and I drove up on Friday. With the rain and snow that we got this week, I knew that the mountains would have plenty of "sparkle," and they did not disappoint. The clouds were finally moving out and the majestic white peaks "popped" against the blue sky. 

We got to Whitehall and checked into our room early in the afternoon. Now what to do? We stopped for burgers, then got out the map, looking for some less-traveled roads to explore. While we have traveled this stretch of I-90 many times, we have never gotten off on the back roads south of the interstate. We moseyed along and spotted whitetail deer, eagles, a couple of sandhill cranes, and a pheasant. We started up an alternate route from Whitehall to Butte, but we turned around when we looked at the map and realized that this road would dump us right into Butte. Upon retreating, I caught just a glimpse of a railroad tunnel below us. Dan took the next turnout and we walked back. Of course, there was no way to get a decent picture from the road, so we scrambled down the steep bank to get closer. It was worth the exertion, though, to stand in the opening of the abandoned tunnel and imagine the history.

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright. I was SO eager to get out and ride. It's been way too long! Not only that, but we were riding in Pipestone. I love the riding there. It is so varied. One minute, we were flying (yes, literally) over big moguls on sandy, open, meadow roads, and the next minute, we were bouncing down steep, rocky trails to creeks in the bottoms. There was still a little snow in a few places and a few good puddles. The weather was absolutely perfect, and we enjoyed both the riding and the company. We left the Fun Run agreeing that we will definitely be returning for the event again next year. 

Many relics remain from the heyday of passenger trains.
This trestle was part of the Milwaukee Line.  

THIS...

...leads to THIS!