From Bozeman to Helena

I will admit, I like Bozeman. The old red-brick buildings on Main Street, the people, the diverse groups of outdoor enthusiasts (like me), ranchers, farmers and wealthy oilmen out for a drive all meet here in Bozeman. The downtown streets are wide (as they seem to be all across the West) and offer quite a variety of needs.

Even Sadie didn't mind the walk across town. Up and down Main Street we walked, looking into windows, stopping in the Montana Ale Works for a bison burger (well-done and quite lean) and a try at the Bozeman Brewing Company where everyone brought in their own growlers to get filled. State law allows customers only three pints a day, but growlers are limitless but must be consumed off the premises. I liked the Select Amber; the Belgian Wit less.

The skies broke out though and a light rain fell shortly after we were done with our Main Street stroll. Where to go? We headed north into the Bridger mountains, passed the College "M" up Highway 86 to the first camp site, the Bridger Ridge campgrounds where in 1871 the Sioux fought and killed several settlers.

I took the last site open and stayed there for the night, taking a breather with Sadie on some very wet ski trails. She seemed delighted in the cooler temperatures, frolicking around me as if to entice me to play with me. For a desert dog she sure does love the cooler climes.

When the sun set we stayed in our van for the night. The rest of the campsite, surprisingly, was quiet. Even the kids and dogs were quiet as I slept another night under the pines.

It was 45F this morning when we awoke at 6am. I was in no hurry to go anywhere, and lay on my cot a while longer. Sadie did her usual whimper to go outside for her bathroom break. It was still quiet when we drove off, back down the mountain toward I-90 to resume our drive toward Three Forks and the confluence of the three rivers: Madison, Jefferson and the Gallatin.

The wide valley breaks open west of Bozeman. Wheat fields spring up in all directions, and the farm fields form brown and tan fields as we drove in a northerly direction.

We spent over two hours at the state park, driving the park road and stopping at every roadside site. Sadie was patient with me, drudging along as I ran up, then down limestone bluffs to look over the river basin. It was like being back in South Dakota again, but this time in the company of white pelicans, marmots, eagles, meadowlarks as the dry limestone cliffs hugged the river below.

A camper with Arizona plates pulled into the state park as I left. Which had Kevin asking me "If we call snowbirds from the North down in Arizona, what do Montanans call Arizonans in the summertime?"

I now followed the Missouri River again, north this time as I made it to Townsend and then Helena, stopping at every L&C site along the way.

And when I hit Helena in the early afternoon, it was like seeing Bozeman for the very first time: a small town nestled in the hills, a pioneer town of the late 1890s. The Malstrom AFB was showing a free show with its fighters across the sky, dipping and flying high above Helena.

I stopped in the Back Stage outfitter store (Montana owned), then at the Blackfoot River Brewing Company where I finally fell for the Montana custom of bringing growlers into the "taproom." I tried the Organic Pale Ale and the Amber Ale. It was the Amber Ale I bought a growler for.

Kevin called as I was writing this, and I told him of all the sites I've explored in Montana. He would have enjoyed most of the stuff I have seen: Military battle sites, Native American sites and the old pioneer spirit up here near Canada. Montana is beautiful, no doubt, and I hope SOON I can bring Kevin back to most of the sites I've seen. He's even expressed an interest in South Dakota, too.

The natural beauty and the people who live here make the Northwest so inviting. I will enjoy every day I have here.

I plan on making a loop around western Montana so that I will return to Bozeman next Monday before I head back south into Wyoming.

At the advice of the salesman at the Back Stage, I took Sadie on a four-mile hike up and around The Helena City Park, with trails of all abilities right up against the National Forest. It was 5:36pm when we started out, not too late for others to hit the trails after dinner as well. Oh, the joys of summer's late hours!

We met other cyclists and dog walkers and over two hours later I felt refreshed after the brisk work-out. We definitely got more than our six miles a day today and I was feeling a little exhausted, but dinner today was another Swiss cheese and spinach tortilla. I will have to make another food stop shortly as I am running out of caffeinated sodas.

I took another walk around Helena and its hilly streets. An art fair/music festival was going on in the city park and people were lying in the shade to listen to the music across the street. It was getting late, though and I needed a place to stay. A quick google search revealed that there was a fee campground in the Helena National Forest just 13 miles west on US12. That is where I pulled in for the night, just off the 6325' Continental Divide. I took a view of the meadow, hoping to see elk or moose saunter across at night, but no such luck.