Adventure 463: FOMO Tour Kickoff/Bozeman, MT/Bear Canyon Campground

Bear Canyon Campground, #55

But of course,Willie warbles, "We're on the road again; can't wait to get out on the road again playing music with my friends, out on the road again." We enjoyed traveling mercies, favorable winds, and fair weather right up to the point we had to set up the trailer. Then the sky let loose, dousing with a little Montana mist (Actually, the droplets felt like pellet slugs from a naughty kid's air gun). No worries, neither of us is a Wicked Witch. We left home just before 6 A.M. We drove easily through the stunningly beautiful North Idaho mountains, sidled into Montana which lays no lesser claim to its natural beauty. We stopped for a little stretch of the legs at Sloway campground where we walked around for a while enjoying the sweet smells of the forest, the soft sound of the rushing Clark Fork River, and the quiet solitude of the near empty campground. We shared a Subway sandwich in Superior, got gas, and made our way to Three Forks where the Headwaters State Park resides. The park, which is the headwaters of the Missouri River and one of the historical camp sites for Lewis and Clark now has a paved trail system totaling 8.1 miles. We road for forty-five minutes, totaled a whopping 9.5 miles, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in the breezy but warm Montana air. Tonight, I predict a victory (For one of us) at the cribbage board, a fine dinner, and a pleasant rest. Tomorrow, we are off to Glendive, Montana where we'll sleep among the dinosaurs at Mikoshika State Park. And now that I've dried out a little, I can say with confidence that life is good, especially today.

 Slowly Campground borders the Clark Fork River. Due to the earliness of the season, the place was empty save for the Host's trailer. That will change as summer swings into full gear.

 Papa getting ready to take a little spin.

 Selfie of the Day: Road warriors changing to bike tourists. Colter, the man immortalized on the sign wished he had had a bike when the Indians killed his companion, but decided for sport to strip Colter naked, give him a head start, and then chase him down. Fortunately for Colter, he out ran the Indians, and managed to get himself six days later to a fur trading camp some six miles away. Naked, filthy, dehydrated, sunburned, and weak, he still felt most happy to be alive.

 The 8.1 mile trail includes several small loops. We saw swimmers, fishermen, other riders, and a few attended dogs.

The open plains of Montana may have not prepared Lewis and Clark for the string of Mountain ranges they still had to cross to get to the Pacific Ocean. More to the point they kept going, I suppose because they were tough and skilled, but also because they had no choice. 

 This is a picture of true love waiting patiently in the parking lot of a mall in Bozeman. Judy had forgotten her knitting needles. We took a little side trip to procure some. And who doesn't love Google Maps. In an effort to keep us away from road construction, we swerved and swayed Fric and Frac down a few side streets, through a few neghborhoods until we finally returned to Main Street.

 The view from our bedroom window.

A Janie rose from our garden- BellaRoma- prepares us for corn chowder and pear salad. Yum!