Introduction to Montana

Immediately after arriving in Montana we stopped in Dillon to get groceries. When we came out to the truck after shopping we found a flat tire. We rolled over to the free air, hoping we could drive it to be fixed. Unfortunately it was Sunday afternoon and the tire store was closed. So, Pat and I changed the tire. The good news is we now know that truck has everything needed to change a flat. The bad news, we needed to stick around town for the night to get our flat fixed in the morning. We drive through town to the KOA and discovered it was located right on the Beaverhead river. After setting up camp we went back into town to get Pat a fishing license. This was my first KOA experience and let me say I enjoyed myself. I took a dip in the pool and then a nice long show. I chatted on my phone and checked what was going on in the world on-line. Meanwhile Pat fished.

Before leaving on this trip Pat had ordered a solar charger. It was coming from Hong Kong and had not arrive before we left town. A friend of mine who is collecting our mail was kind enough to send it, general delivery, to Bozeman. She informed me that she had sent it and that it would arrive the following Tuesday. So,we had two days to play before picking it up. From the KOA we headed to Alder where my Dad had marked one of his favorite camp spots on our map. We drove through a beautiful ranching valley and into Beaverhead National Forest. We think we found the exact spot that had been described to us and it was a beaut! Unfortunately the Ruby river that ran through the area was totally blown out. We biked around and enjoyed a lovely evening. We thought about staying there for another night but our charger would be arriving and Pat wanted to come back on our way back down, when hopefully the river may be fishable. So in the morning we packed up and headed for Bozeman.

After picking up the charger and hanging around Bozeman for a few hours (getting a much needed milk shake) we headed into the hills to find a place to camp. It was already late afternoon so we decided to try and camp in the National Forest close to town. We drove up Hyalite Canyon which looked like a sure bet for camping. It was a beuatiful canyon but was PACKED with people. They where everywhere! We drove around for a while looking for somewhere to call home before becoming ovelry frustrated and giving up. We got the hell out town. We drove all the way to Butte and into the Flint Creak range before pulling of at a camp ground for the night. The Flint Creak range looked good because it has lots of hiking to small lakes. We knew we were gambling with the snow line, but hoped we would be able to get to one of the many lakes. In the morining we found that we could not. Stupid snow! So we decided to keep heading north.

We drove all the way up past Missoula into Clear Water state forest. There was a down poor as we drove that power washed the truck and removed all the bug guts on our windshield. We found a spot right on Clear Water River, maybe 200 feet off the road, tucked behind a few trees. Pat was excited to find some clear water that was not blown out. He jumped right into the river to fish. Toby and I took a little walk in the mud before it started to rain again, then we cuddled up with my book. Pat became gitty when at dusk there was a large mayflay hatch followed by caddis. I pulled him away from the river long enough to eat dinner with me in the rain. As we were standing around cleaning up from dinner, the hillbillies moved in. They made their presence known by honking at their dogs who were running alongside of their truck as they dronve. They pulled down our lil road and when they saw us camped their, rather then moving on, they positioned their trailer about 60 feet from us and parked. Another car followed them in. They started to pile out of the car; Mom, Dad, Grandma and three kids joined the two dogs who had been running around nearly being run over through out this whole charade. We took a seat on the tail gate and watched them in disbelief, giving them our best evil eye, which had no effect. They unloaded an amazing amount of junk. They set up a few tents, pulled out a full lawn furniture set and piles of fire wood. Not even a wave in our direction.... guess this was their spot, even if someone was already in it. We did our best to ignore them. Pat went back to fishing I crawled into the truck with Tobs and my book.

Today we continued north to Kalispell. We got a bit wet in the rains yesterday and decided we needed to find somewhere to stay for the next few days as 4th of July weekend in just around the bend. A friend of mine from high school now lives in Missoula so we made plans to meet up with him and his family on the 2nd. Until then we are camped in a privet RV/campground to dry out, shower, do some laundry and re-load. We figure the more time we wast before heading back down towards Wyoming the better chance we have of hiking to some of those mountain lakes we enjoy so much. We are very close to Glacier National Park. I look forward to enjoying the area tomorrow without worries of where we will sleep. There's a lot of snow up on the peaks around us, so we'll need to find a low hikes... I'm feeling the need for a nice long one.

Idaho

Upon arriving in Idaho we noticed vast contrast from Wyoming: sage brush and cows vs. potato farms.  We stopped in Driggs Id to get Pat a fishing license and me some bear spray and bells (I was a little nervous about camping with grizzly bears and the local paper in town had a front page article about grizzly encounters). We then headed for Warm River, a spring fed creek that promised good fishing despite run off. We drove around for a while looking for the perfect camp spot. The goal was to find somewhere to call home for the next few days. It was beautiful forest, low enough that the snow was all gone. Still very wet, but gorgeous. The wild flowers were in bloom and all the trees alive (no beetle kill). We found a nice spot out of the way, over looking warm river. We got out of the truck to set up camp and we were immediately swarmed by mosquitoes. I'm not talking a few bugs here and there... they were out for blood and there were a LOT of them. We danced around for a while trying to figure out what our next move should be. Maybe they where only around at dusk, maybe if we stay the night in the morning they will all be gone. After about 10 minuets of dancing and being eaten we decided it wasn't worth it and got the hell out of there. We stopped at a few other nice spots thinking maybe the mosquitoes wouldn't be there. No such luck. Eventually we parked in a pull off on the side of the road, moved from the cab of the truck to the back and called it a night... better luck tomorrow.

In the morning we set off for adventure. There was a trail that followed Warm River. We figure out that as long as we were covered in Deet and moving the mosquitoes pretty much left us alone. So we hiked, and Pat fished. It was a beautiful river with good fishing. I kept hiking while he fished and read a little. It was a great morning. That afternoon we found yet another great camp spot in the area, and staying true to our rule immediately took a hike from camp, as we needed to keep moving to keep the bugs off. When we got to the end of our hike Toby rolled over on his back and I was petting his belly when I noticed red bumps all over him. That was the last straw. I made the executive decision to head into town and get a hotel room for the night. After a long shower and a greasy burger I was ready to face the world again.

The following day we headed west into the Salmon  National Forest hoping that we would be able to escape mosquito hell. We wondered our way into Leadore Id then headed for the hills. We drove up a 4-wheel drive road that was narrow, steep and rocky. We are slowly learning what are truck really can do.  After a while we hit some snow and decided to pull off the road and hike for a while to see if we should continue on this road to the lake or turn around. We soon determined that there was too much snow to drive up to the lake, but Pat wanted to get to the lake. So, we hiked through the snow. Let me tell you all right now that I will take hiking in the snow over swarms of mosquitoes any day! We hiked for about an hour and a half before giving up and turning around. It was a fun adventure, both the  4-wheeling and the snowy hike. Shorty after returning to the truck we found a nice camp and set up for a few days. We have been lazing around camp, biking around the dirt roads, and hiking through snow. We finally got some much needed R & R! This morning we started to pack up to head into Montana. I pulled the bed out to get all the dust out and found that we had acquired a mouse in our house!!! We spent the next few hours taking everything out of the back of the truck and cleaning up the mess our little mouse friend had made. We are now clean, reorganized and ready for whatever comes next. Montana... Here we come!

In Jackson WY

The four days we spent camping with my folks were rainy but fun. We ended up moving spots after two nights in hopes of out smarting the storm. After much wondering and staring at maps, we finally ended up in the flat tops, just outside of Yampa, where we had spent the previous spring camping together. This camp site was in the trees, so although we did not out run the storm we were better sheltered from it. We enjoyed two lazy days here before parting company.

Once on our own, Pat and I headed strait to Steam Boat to re-load on supplies and soak/shower at the hot springs. We then drove just outside town to camp for the night before heading to Wyoming to play in the Tetons. We found a dirt road out of Criag in BLM land to call home for the night. It was exciting to finally make use of our 4 wheel drive! This is where the weather started to turn and it has been sunshine ever sense.

In the morning we packed up and headed for the Tetons. I had planed a route off the beaten path into Jackson. The map said that the road we would be taking was a 'main connector', so I figured it would get us where we were going. We soon learned that 'main connector' in Wyoming does not necessarily mean paved. We wondered our way thought the country and camped  in the Bridger-Tetons National Forest in a great little spot all to our selves. The idea was that today we could continue our drive over a pass in the national forest and into Jackson. However, the dirt road became covered with snow once we started to gain altitude. So we turned around and took the main highway into town this morning.

Once we have everything we need in town we will head into Idaho for a few nights... Due to all the snow that has yet to melt, both hiking and fishing is a bit challenging. But we are enjoying the wilderness and each other. We have decided that taking our time as we head north makes the most sense as the snow still needs time to melt.

Day 1- Change of plans

Due to the excessively high water in the Big Horn (Running at 15,500 CFS, normally at 2,500 CSF) we decided to play it safe and find a new camping, fishing destination. While we probably would have been fine on the Big Horn, it did not seem like the time/place to learn how to row. So instead we packed up and headed for North Park Co. We left from Boulder following my Dad and Step-mom in their camper. We droved to Fort Collins and then up the Poudre Canyon and over Cameron Pass. It was a beautiful drive with lots to look at. We passed an elk, a moose, and a pronghorn antelope. The river was rageing and it looked like the guided raft trip had run into a little mayhem.
When we got over the pass the sky got very dark. Upon arriving in Walden the wind began a blowin' and it started coming down. We pulled over at a rest area to let the storm pass before making our way to Teal Lake, where we are now camped.
It was a rainy night. We had dinner in Dad's camper. The rain stopped long enough after dinner for us to have a nice fire and a few cocktails. The first night in the truck was a comfy one. The new foam mattress made it hard to drag my lazy butt out of bed this morning. When I finally did, Pat was already down at the lake torturing fish. The fish are small but there are a lot of them in the lake. Dad and Pat are now plotting to figure out how to catch one of the 'big' ones that must live near the bottom. We'll be here for a few days hanging with the folks and celebrating fathers day before heading off on our own. Already life has slowed down and our only worrys are weather. Doesn't get much better then this :)

Building the platform and loading the truck:

 First we put carpet down to help reduce noise from the wood platform while driving.

 Pat built to side boxes to go around the wheel wells and a T shaped support at the top of the truck bed. Each of these pieces is separate from the others to allow us to move them in and out of the truck with relative ease.

The middle piece of the platform has the left side cut out to fit the cooler while driving. We can then place the piece back in when we arrive somewhere and take the cooler out. This piece continues the center T support down the middle of the truck bed.

 The far back piece of platform is not attached to the rest so that it can be moved out of the way to allow us access to stuff stored in the way back.

 Here the whole platform is in. The square piece for the cooler hole is stacked to the right, where it will travel.

 The complete platform!

 We only stored supplies that we will not need as often in the far back. This is predominately backpacking supplies, extra books and games.  

And here is the loaded truck with the foam mattress and all our camping gear! We are ready to roll :)

Packing

Pat and I have had a dream for about a year now to hit the road and see what adventure we can find. Recently that dream has become a reality thanks to our new truck and a summer with no obligations. It has been a busy month of preparation. First there was all the work that needed to be put into the truck: a few minor rapiers, a topper to sleep under, and a platform built to sleep on. Now we are in the process of moving out of our house and into the truck. Once this is complete we will be ready for the open road. The plan... well there's not much of one. Head north through Wyoming and Montana is the general plan. We are starting the trip by meeting my dad and step-mom in Montana on the Big Horn River. This will be an enlightening experience as I have spent my childhood hearing story's about this river. It has been an annual boys trip in the spring for my dad for as long as I can remember. We have weaseled our way into a dad guided tour thanks to Pat's obsession with fly fishing. The idea is that I will learn how to row a drift boat so Pat can fish his heart out. Should be interesting with how high the water has been.
So there you have it: a truck, the open road,and a couple with their dog. Doesn't get much simpler than that, which is exactly why it sounds so appealing.