I was up at sunrise. After a purchase of Pedigree dog food and a stop at McD's, I was back in the City Park to walk the dogs by 6am. Many other dogwalkers had the same intent as I. I wanted to get four miles in early to avoid the forecasted heat again. I parked in the same parking lot as last month and started on the same trail, but continued on the Contour trail that joined up with the South Dump trail that merged with the McKelvey trail that formed a circular path around the mountain. I avoided the peak this time and stayed in the shaded gullies. Many of the dead trees are being cut down and the new wood chips adding a soft layer to the ground. The only sunny part was the last mile on the steep Powerline trail back to the parking area. We were done by 8am and returned to a full parking area.
Helena was still waking up. I stopped again to walk another mile solo along the historic walking mall, the district with pretty murals and statues honoring miners and community members of the past. I even stopped in an outfitter store from which in 2009 I bought Sadie a collar she is still wearing today, but which has faded over the years. It showed a Life is Good logo with a hiking dog wearing a doggie pack.
Steve and I had arranged to meet for lunch in Deer Lodge, a small ranching town an hour west of Helena. Steve is my fourth friend from Arizona I have met on this road trip. I had never been to this town in previous Montana trips. Other than the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site it is just a cozy small town. I drove west on US12 through a very scenic section climbing up and over a pass in the Helena National Forest that revealed more stormy weather coming my way. Montana needs the rain but I am always weary of driving through these summer storms. Many of the dead pines I noted in 2009 are still standing and will one day create one vicious forest fire.
We met at the 4Bs restaurant right off the I-90, Exit 184, a highly-rated family restaurant with four locations in Montana. I had a patty melt with iced tea, Steve had a three-egg omelette. We were in the restaurant for quite some time talking about Montana, bird hunting, his wife Gail, who died in June 2011 of inflammatory breast cancer, one of the rarest and most deadly cancers. He still misses her. We stopped at the Elk Ridge Brewery in town, a new brewpub that opened in June and which still smells like sawdust and wood glue. We were the first customers for the day. One more brewpub to add to my list of Montana craft beer.
Like other newer brewpubs in Montana, this one has a fireplace and comfortable couches in the rear. We sat up by the front window where I had a view of the van and the dogs. I didn't bring them inside until an hour later, after we both tried a flight of beer. The Jalapeno Cream Ale at 6.9% ABV was surprisingly tasty. I never would have thought of jalapenos as a tasty adjunct in beer.
The sky was starting to darken a bit as we then walked a trail around the Grant-Kohrs Ranch, once a cattle empire reaching 10 million acres and now a ranch museum. We walked a mile down the perimeter path when the first raindrops fell. I don't mind getting wet, but lightning and thunder are another issue I avoid. We turned around and went back to the van, barely making a two-mile walk, when the rain began.
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