Leaving Gardiner, it was once again just the four of us. About an hour into our drive we decided to stop for one of our rare restaurant lunches, this time in the town of Livingston. The internet had informed us of a highly rated BBQ place, and those can be hard for us to pass up when we’re hungry. Also, if it’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that the internet never steers you wrong! Well at least it didn’t this time. After some ribs, brisket, and something that can only be described as the love child of tater tots and donuts, we were back on the road.
About a year and half ago a friend (thanks Gabe!) introduced me to one of his friends in Montana because we shared some elk related interests. We were on our way to meet up with him and his family in his hometown of Helena.
Our camping arrangements for the next three days were going to be two nights at a little creekside RV park in Clancy, Montana (just south of Helena) and a night of driveway camping at our friends’ house.
We pulled into the Alhambra RV Park in the late evening on Thursday night. While Lana and I were setting up the RV and whipping up a quick dinner, the kids explored the Prickly Pear Creek, which we were camped right next to. The campground was nice but had some issues with low water pressure. This is where we learned that without a certain baseline pressure the plumbing in our RV doesn’t work. It was a little strange to see water coming out of the spigot, but barely trickling out of our sinks. We ended up using our tank water, but this does serve as a reminder to always have at least some reserve water in the RV tank, even when heading to a park with water hookups.
After putting in a day of work on Friday we drove into Helena to meet up with Chris, Jenn, and their two boys Jameson and Hawken. Our activity for the evening was a backwoods hike at an undisclosed spot in the Helena National Forest. Word is that this is where the elk like to hang out, especially in September, which is when properly licensed people can collect one.
Lana ended up passing on the hike and taking Boomer back to the RV park for a relaxing child and husband free evening, while the boys and I piled into Chris’s truck with him and Jameson for our hike.
After parking the truck on the side of a tiny dirt road, we strapped on our bear spray and headed up the mountain, first on a little used logging road and then off road through the woods. There wasn’t really a trail, but the trees were thin enough that making our way through wasn’t difficult.
At the top of the ridge the trees opened up into meadows with unobstructed views in the nearby valleys and neighboring mountain sides. Yellowstone doesn’t have a monopoly on views of unbroken forests in every direction. This area was very nice too. While we didn’t see any actual elk, there was plenty of elk sign. In terms of getting a quick sense of the land, the hike was successful.
After the hike we all headed back to our RV park for some burgers. While dinner was prepared the boys tried to pull a trout out of the creek (unsuccessfully) and played a few games of chess.
The next day we were in for a real treat. Chis and Jenn were taking us all out to float the Missouri River in their inflatable raft. It turned out to be a great day, even though a massive wildfire ignited up in the hills while we were on the water. In terms of fishing, this part of the Missouri has some of the best trout fishing in the world, however it was a Saturday, which was apparently a day off for the fish. We didn’t catch any nor did we see anyone else, including those with guides, catch anything either. I did get to practice my fly fishing technique though, I hadn’t done that in about 30 years. At one point when we stopped, I snorkeled around a bit, and there were ginormous trout as far as the eye could see. Next time we’re there, we’ll have to make sure it’s not an off day for the fish.
The evening saw us back at Chris and Jenn’s house for an incredible elk dinner and a chess tournament for the kids. Definitely a great day.
After camping out in the driveway for the night we had another expertly prepared meal, this time of smoked eggs, bacon, and potatoes for breakfast. Then it was time to say bye to our new friends and start our drive west, but we had one more stop before Idaho.
We ended up breaking up our drive to Coeur D’Alene with a pit stop in Missoula for some pizza, ice cream, and then a nice hike with another friend who happens to live there. Missoula seemed nice. Kind of like a combination of Chico and Santa Cruz, but where everyone carries bear spray when they’re off pavement.
And those rattlesnakes DO swim! 🙂
We did see a snake swimming across the Missouri but it was just a regular snake, not of the spicy variety.