TravelingHilda: Montana Day Two

The rain and thunder lasted most of the night but the morning gave us beautiful sunshine. The nighttime temperature in the 50's was very nice - great sleeping with the raindrops falling on Hilda's metal roof. As promised we had bagels and trout for breakfast.

Now we are on the last leg before Glacier and not heading to Great Falls - not sure where that idea came from! Hoping to find a spot for the night beyond Butte. Finally found answers to what mountains we saw yesterday (there are many ranges in Montana!): we think the first ones were the Pryors, then the Absarokas and then the Crazy Mountains. Looking at the map is also crazy - there is a different mountain range every turn.

Have I mentioned spectacular scenery?

So we headed past Bozeman and then Butte after a nice lunch in the Historic Area - a huge number of beautiful brick buildings were in the area. We ate at a place called the Pita Pit - great food. Why don't we have one in South Carolina??? Butte is a pretty place - very spread out and surrounded by hills and a few mountains.

So the plan changed to finding a campground beyond Missoula. We had to stop in a Cabela's to see about one more tent pole - we have three that don't work right; plus one seven foot and one nine foot. Wow! We got two nine footers and one of those portable canopy things that goes over a picnic table! Who knew we needed all this stuff - our coaches did and they know who they are...

We found a campground on the Clark Fork River right off I 90. So we get highway noise in one ear and a railroad that is on the other side of the river for the other ear. We met some folks who came in with a gorgeous 30' Airstream and parked right behind us. Had a great time comparing notes and hearing about their three days in Glacier - they gave us a few tips. And they gratefully accepted a whole bunch of trout! They made tacos with it while we had trout cakes on a bed of spring mix lettuce. Super meal!!!

The drive to the campground had scenery that changed every five minutes. Still more unnamed mountains - and all beautiful! We even saw some amber waves of grain. We also learned that many of the really green fields are planted with sugar beets.