Powell Campground in Clearwater National Forest – Powell, ID

Written on Saturday

Last night I wished for a rest day after a very long two days taking in Glacier Park, and today nature came through in a way. It rained starting early in the morning, so our plans of either Chris getting an early start or us trying out some fishing around Missoula were both ditched. We slept very late and did what every great American does on a rainy weekend morning – hit up Perkins for a big breakfast.

Afterwards we took August to a McDonald’s Playplace so he could burn off some of the energy of the last two days of patiently sightseeing. He loved it, and we were more than happy to see him playing his heart out.

I had to stave off my inner mama bear when a group of older kids spent 15 minutes playing “Keep the Baby Out of the Treehouse” (that is exactly what they called it too). I kept my cool though and didn’t interfere and Auggie handled it like a champ. He didn’t back down, but let them know he wasn’t going away and waited for his opportunity to go. Yay August!

We said goodbye to Chris shortly afterwards when the rain had cleared and drove the 60 or so miles to Powell, ID. On the way we left Montana and entered Idaho, and also passed through Lolo Hot Springs. I took a turn through the resort grounds to see what it was about. This was fortuitous, as there happened to be a mama moose and her calf swimming and snacking in the pond there. Very fun to see and I was able to snap a few quick pictures since we weren’t on the road.

The rest of the drive was beautiful. So far Idaho has taken us through mountains covered in thick and towering evergreen trees. As has often been the case on this trip, we kept catching glimpses of a babbling river that runs beside the road we were on. Practically every day is like a Sunday drive through your favorite pretty drive in Indiana, only the scene is different each time. We are lucky people to get to experience this wonder in this way.

The campground we are at tonight is one of those primitive ones I’ve alluded to before. At least we have electricity so I can keep up on writing. No idea on how long it will be before I can post it though as we haven’t had any cell or internet service since leaving Missoula.

Luckily for me though, there is a privately run lodge (grandfathered into the national forest due to its existence before the land had been declared so) just up the way. August and I went for a walk to explore after we got here and when I saw how neat the lodge was I decided we better stay for a little while to get a mid-afternoon snack.

I ordered the beer-battered cod wrap and it was delicious. Fresh, crispy fish with mixed greens, tortilla strips and baja sauce in a spinach tortilla – my taste buds were in heaven. The side of carrot ginger soup was good as well.






August found another wooden friend - this time a moose that was just a little bigger than him. It is one of the true blessings of being a parent to see your child express love and affection for even inanimate creatures. This guy is a sweetie and we're so glad he's ours.

Once Chris arrived later on we braved the rain that had started up again to take another walk. Although we’ve been trying not to adjust to the time changes too much, it’s pretty hard not to. We crossed into Pacific Standard Time today, meaning we are a full three hours behind our normal. We got Auggie to bed later than we should have, but it’s too tempting to stay out and enjoy the natural setting while there’s plenty of daylight. I guess we'll just relax and enjoy not being on a rigid schedule now while we can.

Glacier National Park

(Written on Friday)

We’ve spent the last two exhausting days in Glacier National Park. We took off from Missoula early Thursday morning and drove the 2.5 hours up to the park. It was a beautiful, but long drive.

Flathead Lake, which is along the way, is expansive and scenic. It must be a very popular summer destination for people around here. Adding to its charm was a plethora of cherry orchards where you could buy fresh cherries. Too bad neither of us really likes cherries!

We got to the park in early afternoon and went straight to the shuttle. It has a great shuttle system, whose existence is almost a fluke. Back in the early 2000s when it became apparent that the Going-To-The-Sun Road was in need of construction, the shuttle was established to see it through that time. Now that it is complete, the shuttle system is still around but it’s unknown what its future will be.

It ended up taking us around 2 hours to get to Logan Pass. Vehicles over 21 feet long are not even allowed on that road due to some tight turns, so we were glad to have the shuttle as an alternative. Riding on it, we were extra grateful to be able to leave the driving to a professional so that we didn’t have to navigate the winding mountainside road. Yellowstone would benefit from leaving more of the traffic to the shuttle system as well I think.

Logan Pass was serene, an alpine meadow high up in the mountains. The flowers and wildlife there are a big draw for visitors, and we probably could have appreciated them too except that we were tired and hot from the drive to the park and ensuing shuttle ride. August was not his happiest self on the transit, and we couldn’t blame him as it was an extensive amount of time for a toddler.

We went back to Whitefish to camp after a quick dinner on the road back and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning we got off to a later start than we’d hoped but still stopped off for breakfast at the Montana Coffee Traders. Chris got his usual, the smothered breakfast burrito.








I ordered the Big Sky, a tasty little creation consisting of fried potatoes, black beans, and avocado, topped with scrambled eggs, cheese and two slices of bacon. The fire-roasted tomato salsa on the side really made it.

August had the veggie quiche, and I was impressed that he ate all of the vegetables that were in it. Going to have to add that to my repertoire for him at home!








By the time we got to the park it was close to peak arrival time. I sing the praises of shuttle services, but we had really bad luck with them today. All in all we waited two hours to catch shuttles for two short shuttle rides. We purposely avoided going any further east than we did because of Auggie. Still, because of delayed or already full shuttles and bad timing luck, we had long waits and plenty of time en route.

We had heard the boat rides on Lake McDonald were great, and I wanted to be able to see more of it, so we chose that as our main activity of the day. Bad luck with the shuttles caused us to arrive just in time to see the boat we had reserved seats on pull away. Talk about a disappointing feeling!

Of course, it wasn’t a total loss, we were able to take the next one, but it meant hanging out at the lodge for another hour waiting with a little guy who was rapidly approaching nap time. We managed to keep him awake and relatively happy until the next departure.

Once on board, he fell asleep fairly quickly which I was glad for since I was tired and ready to enjoy the boat ride without having to wrestle with his squirminess. Chris was not feeling well, so he also took a little nap on the ride. I tried to relax and take it all in.

The boat tour was absolutely gorgeous, and the park ranger providing commentary had lots of interesting information to share. For example, one of the primary types of trees that makes up the forests in the park has adapted to natural wildfires so well that its cones are full of seeds that are only spread under the hot conditions of a fire. They literally provide for their own replacement as they are being destroyed. Fascinating! I was really happy we did tour, even with some of the obstacles we’d been dealing with.

After another long wait for a ride back to the entrance, we finally made it to the RV around 5:30 and drove the long trip back to Missoula so Chris would be able to get a good start the next day. We were so exhausted by the time we got there that we just boondocked in a Walmart parking lot with about 15 other motorhomes. It was a happening place!

My stress reliever for the day was a piece of huckleberry pie. I'd never had it, and huckleberries are the delicacy around here, so of course I had to. It was pretty good, tastes very similar to a wild blueberry with a bit more tartness.






Glacier National Park is really stunning. The mountains and setting overall are so rugged and dramatic, it is no wonder it is nicknamed the crown jewel of our nation’s parks. We would love to go back someday when August is older and hence the long drives and rides will not be as much of an issue.

Now we need a rest day after our rest days!

RV Tour

We finally got a chance to make a little video tour of our "summer home" for those of you that requested it. It is six minutes long, so get your popcorn ready. I tried to be as non-shaky as I could with the camera work, but keep in mind I am just an amateur with a phone!

Missoula, MT

Today was a "Friday" of the bike trip. Chris is taking the next 2 days as rest days so we can make a side trip to Glacier National Park. A lot of anticipation here for time to relax and see a place we've wanted to visit for at least a decade.

Chris left early to try to give us more time in Missoula tonight. August and I tried out breakfast at the Sula Country Store. It was pretty good; scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and french toast. These fishing lodges don't mess around with their portion sizes. I like supporting mom and pop operations, especially if it means I don't have to make breakfast in the RV and then clean up before we take off.

We got ready to go and took off towards Missoula. We passed through several nice looking small towns that I would have loved to explore, but since the little napper was doing what he does best within minutes of departure, we continued on instead of stopping. We were luckier today than yesterday and caught up with Chris around Hamilton. There were 35 miles of dedicated trails along his bike route today, a real luxury for a touring cyclist.

The scenery today reminded me a lot of Wyoming, with lots of brown mountains. There are several rivers in this area, all of which are shallow enough to wade in at most spots. Missoula is a city with a population of roughly only 70,000, yet several of the neighboring towns we went through had Park and Ride lots for commuters. I don't see that much at all in Indiana, at least not on the west side of Indy or the other larger cities. I wonder why it's not more popular at home. Paying less for fuel, less wear and tear on my car, and having to drive less myself seems like a no-brainer.

We beat Chris to Missoula by about 2 hours so we stopped in to check out the library. August, of course, had fun exploring the kids' area. He has not yet grasped the concept of sharing, so I was happy that after a little coaxing he voluntarily shared some chalk with another little boy. Baby steps! Libraries definitely seem to be the best way to give him time to roam on his own while on the road.

We met up at the Adventure Cycling Association headquarters in downtown. It is a mecca for touring cyclists. This non-profit organization was behind mapping out all of the major routes across the U.S., and continues to sell maps, organize supported groups, and provide other general help for cyclists. Here travelers can find a lounge to rest in, free cold drinks and ice cream, as well as chatting with the staff.

Of course, you must get your picture taken so you can be on the wall (the staffer insisted support people be included too, so now we're famous). I knew this was a tradition, yet I was floored by the number of cyclists and variety of hometowns and routes on the wall. Each season goes from approximately from late spring to early fall, and this year already there were probably 500 photos. I thought it would be almost entirely TransAmerican Trail riders, but there was a ton of different routes. People riding just to or from their hometown and a destination, people on the Northern Tier, and people doing south to north routes (El Paso to Banff was one I recall). Amazing!

They had a bit of gear for sale, but said they try to keep it a small operation so as not to take away business from the shops in town. I especially enjoyed seeing the memorable bikes on display, like a tandem that was the pioneer TransAm machine. A husband and wife team rode it to map out the route in 1974 in preparation for the Bikecentennial in 1976, and hence the Adventure Cycling Association was formed. 4,000 people participated in the Bikecentennial, thanks to those two. We looked around, thanked the staff, and moved on to get some city errands in.

We had a late lunch at Doc's Gourmet Sandwich Shoppe. All of the sandwiches are named after famous doctors, which I thought was brilliant and hilarious. Chris got the Doctor Hawkeye Pierce, a twisted version of a reuben. I got the Doctor Ruth, egg salad and bacon on multigrain, and little Auggie got the Doctor Seuss, a peanut butter and strawberry jam on sourdough with ants on a log on the side. All were very tasty.

I appreciated August's kids' meal a lot. Some of the restaurants we've been to are a real ripoff, charging regular menu price or more for something really basic with a side of fries. Just the other night we ordered him a grilled cheese off of a kids' menu - it rang up at $8 and was accompanied by deep-fried chips. Not exactly a parent's dream.

Tonight we are staying in a hotel in downtown Missoula. I am looking forward to a hot shower that lasts more than 4 minutes. We biked around downtown for a while, enjoying the evening's perfect weather. There is a Riverfront Trail here that runs through the heart of the city. It looks out over Clark's Fork River and it was a lot of fun watching people floating in tubes, kayaking and even surfing on the shallow rapids right here.

Also in the downtown park is a carousel that was donated by a local cabinetmaker. As long as the city promised it would be free and remain open, he said he would supply it. He had already built 4 ponies by the time the city agreed. The carousel was in 16,000 pieces when he purchased it, and by the time it and all of the animals on it were completed it had become a whole community effort. We had fun taking a spin, and figured out quickly why there are leather straps you are required to fasten when sitting on the animals. It was fast, and a little more like a roller coaster than a typical tame carousel!

Looking forward to spending some time in Glacier National Park the next couple of days and seeing if it lives up to the hype.

Sula Country Store and Resort in Sula, MT

After three days of heavy touring, August and I were ready for a low key day. This morning we took our time eating oatmeal in the RV, then playing on the playground at the KOA. This place had several sets that were just the right size for him. It's always nice when I can take him to a playground and not have to follow him around because there are 5-foot dropoffs on the set. As usual, he liked the slide.

We packed up and headed out not too long after that. I had planned to take him to the Dillon library, but it didn't open until noon today. One of the continuing effects of the recession, I have noticed that most small town libraries have greatly reduced hours. Many are only open a few days a week for a few hours at a time. I am thankful that small towns still have libraries, but it's sad to see many not as accessible as they were when we were in school.

So, instead we stopped by Safeway for milk, the Taco Bus for a mid-morning snack, and then pointed towards Sula, our destination for tonight. I realized several miles out of town that I only had a quarter tank of gas and had forgotten to fill up as planned. I decided to take a chance, knowing there were small towns coming up. I got very lucky, as the first three towns didn't have gas stations, and we coasted into the fourth on fumes and fueled up. That was our excitement for the day, nearly running out of gas.

Our day was truly uneventful. One of our highlights is always passing "Da!" on the road at some point. Today we managed to miss him as we later learned he was eating lunch in one of those small towns that didn't have a gas station. I watched for him the whole way but realized as we hit the homestretch that we had passed him without seeing him. Bummer!

The drive was beautiful, as all of Montana is. Now that I have seen several regions of the nation on this summer trip, I can say that they are all "God's country" in their own way and I can see why most people love where they live. Montana is a special sort of this, with green grass, mountains in the background, and blue skies as far as the eye can see.

Many writers have called it home and been continually inspired by the landscape in their writing. I always thought the setting of A River Runs Through It might have been more of a fictional ideal than a real place, but now I know why Norman Maclean had to put his characters here. There is a gorgeous calmness to the natural beauty, and fly fishing is king.

We made it to Sula, which as far as I can tell consists entirely of the country store/gas station/restaurant/ resort/campground we are staying at tonight. It's a wonderful spot here though, and we spent much of the afternoon enjoying the shade and breeze in this little valley.

I haven't talked much about the weather lately, probably because I don't want to make my Indiana brethren jealous. For the past two weeks, we have not had to use the A/C and have been basking in the cool, dry climates. It has rained a bit here and there, but never for long and overall it is so comfortable.

At night we crack the windows in the RV and it gets just chilly enough to sleep really well. It will be a rude awakening coming back to humid Indiana at the end of July!

August got a fishing lesson from Chris tonight at the kids' fishing pond this campground has.

Tomorrow we head to Missoula, a town I have read a lot about and am excited to see for myself.

Dillon, MT

This morning August and I were extra lucky - there was a fishing lodge just across the road that had a little cafe. So, we walked over for breakfast. I was mainly just excited that there would be food, and it would probably be good. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cafe overlooks the beautiful Madison River, and the place was a cozy little restaurant filled with friendly people.

I ordered an omelet and one blueberry pancake, hoping that would be enough for me and the Augster. It was plenty! The hotcake was as big as a large plate, and the omelet, hashbrowns and sourdough toast were hearty and filling.

August continues to be a very finicky little eater, so I was grateful to see him polish off half of the omelet and nearly half of the pancake. We were both full until nearly dinnertime!

The perk of boondocking, in order to leave you literally put on your seatbelt and go, not having to mess with the hookups. So we drove on through gorgeous Montana, stopping up the road at Earthquake Lake. This lake was formed suddenly on August 17, 1959, when an 7.5-magnitude earthquake caused a massive landslide in the river canyon. 81 million tons of rock face crashed into the valley at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

Sadly, it was the peak of tourist season and the campgrounds in the valley were filled with campers in tents. Many made it out, but 28 were unable to escape in time and most of their bodies were never recovered from under the massive rubble. It is said by the surviving campers that the force of the rock tumbling at such a high speed and the air beneath it being pushed out so quickly that their clothes were literally blown off of them. What an awful experience that would have been in this peaceful valley!

August intently studying I am a Little Bear while the informational video plays.

There are still hundreds of skeleton trees you can see sticking through the water, but time has begun to heal some of the trauma to the earth and vegetation.

The next stop for us was Virginia City, a quaint little town with a lot of history I had heard about from the Bicycling Coast to Coast goddess Donna Lynn Ikenberry. Another former gold boom town, many of the original buildings still stand and the town has done a great job of keeping it up for tourists.

We took an antique fire truck tour of the town, but first stopped at the candy store to peruse. I am including this picture of the insane variety of candy for my friend Sam, who loves these places.

The tour was informative, explaining the crooked economy of wild west frontier towns like this. A sheriff and two of his deputies were actually hanged in this region for stealing essentially everything from everybody in the area.

One of my favorite stories was of the resourceful Chinese population that once resided here. They were forbidden from owning land, but they would wait until miners had abandoned their claims and then go in and do a more thorough search for gold, often netting plenty. Other tactics included opening up a laundry where all wash water would be saved and sifted at the end of the day to recover any remnant of gold, and pulling up the planks in the floors of the saloons to recover all that had fallen out of miners' pockets. Several were made very wealthy with these strategies.

Then, because mommy is a sucker, August had his portrait taken at the Old Time Photo Station. If an 18-month-old wearing chaps and a cowboy hat isn't cute, I don't know what is.

We met up with Chris in Dillon, our stop for the night. We were happy to find a KOA so we could do some laundry and enjoy a really nice playground and heated pool.

We rode our bikes into town to grab dinner at La Fiesta Mexicana "The Taco Bus". It is a school bus converted to a taco stand. It was delicious, with a very long wait. I decided to go back to get a couple more tacos (they were so good!), but they had closed due to running out of food. We were glad to have found it, but disappointed to have left after spending $30 and still being a little hungry.

Cabin Creek Campground - West Yellowstone, MT

This morning we had an extra lazy start. It was Chris' second and last rest day for a little while, so we took advantage by sleeping as late as August would let us. I made eggs and bacon, and we did a good cleaning of the RV before we packed up and headed to Yellowstone National Park. It was raining for much of the morning so we didn't see the need to hurry to the park.

It was a decent little drive getting up there. Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks are essentially adjacent to each other, but Yellowstone is huge and you are in the park for 22 miles before you get to any of the major attractions if you come in the south entrance. I was very unfamiliar with the park before this trip, and still am considering we only had a day to spend there. I did learn a few things though. Yellowstone is known for two primary things, its geothermal activity and its abundant wildlife.

I am not necessarily a wildlife follower, but clearly many of the visitors are. As one of the older national parks, it still has the road infrastructure that it did back in the day, with narrow two lane roads and no shoulder. Also, while many parks have a plenitude of overlooks and pull over areas for spectators, Yellowstone has very few and they are often only wide enough for a small car. We constantly saw drivers paying no attention to the road and making erratic, reckless moves at the hint of an elk in the brush nearby. Again and again we were glad that Chris chose not to ride through here, it is no place for bicyclists to be even remotely safe.

Our first stop was to see Old Faithful, the famous geyser that erupts approximately every 90 minutes. August was none too excited as he was napping at go time. Chris was kind enough to stay back with him so that at least one of us could see it. I scampered through the massive parking lot to the viewing deck. Chris compared the parking situation to Six Flags, which was pretty accurate. I've never seen such a parking area at a natural attraction. There were probably a thousand people at the viewing deck to see the eruption.

The geyser was pretty cool. When it gets close to time for it to go off again, it begins to bubble water a bit and you will hear several tourists exclaiming, "Whoa!" and "Ooh!". I was able to contain myself, though I will say the excitement was palpable. When it did finally start, it was neat to see the water and steam plume go over a hundred feet into the air.

Old Faithful, in its normal state.

Old Faithful, erupting.

I brought Chris some ice cream to thank him for taking one for the team. At this point we were still a little sluggish from the rain and post-4th feeling, but we pushed on knowing that we only had one day to see what we wanted to see. I was very happy that we did, because the geothermal side of Yellowstone is by far my favorite.



Inside Yellowstone there are something like 20,000 geothermal occurrences, more than in the rest of the world combined. Of course, many of these are not visible to the naked eye. But the ones that are - it is unbelievable. For one thing, as you go through the entire park you will see random spouts of steam coming out of the ground. It's fun to imagine what is going on in the earth beneath it.

The thermal pools are incredible. The colors in them are otherworldly. They are apparently caused by the bacteria that grow under these unique conditions. Whatever the cause, they are a sight to see. The bright aquamarine hues made me think of the Caribbean, and the orange/red swirls made me think of Mars, except we were in northern Wyoming.

The parks service did a fantastic job of building boardwalks through many of the major pools. Visitors can walk through the thermal beds this way, and you can get close enough to take some incredible pictures. And take pictures people do. Selfie sticks were everywhere, as were people trying to take pictures of themselves with a geyser or an elk behind them.




Also, the amount of international visitors here is huge. Asia, in particular, was very well represented, but of course there were many Europeans as well. I saw a bald Russian guy driving a Honda Odyssey and yelling at the people he was waiting for their parking spot to take, and instantly thought of my friend Marat. It's like he was there!

We saw a few different thermal pools and then as evening approached headed out of the park towards our camping destination. We stopped in West Yellowstone for dinner at Wild West Pizza. I got the Wild West Supreme, which was delicious. Chris opted for pepperoni and we left full and ready to sleep.

We drove a few miles west of town and parked at the Cabin Creek Campground in Gallatin National Forest to get Chris away from the heavy Yellowstone tourist traffic. This is a primitive place, with no utilities (hence another late posting) but a nice, quiet place in beautiful Montana to park for the night.

On a sad note, we got a call today from Chris' mom to tell us that his Aunt Judy had passed away. She had been sick for a while, but a sad loss for all of us. Judy and her husband Bob never had kids of their own and were close to Chris and his brothers. She performed many kindnesses over the years and will be missed. We wish we could be home to attend her funeral, but at this point it would mean not being able to complete the quest. She was so proud of Chris' journey and would not have wanted him to stop, but we sure wish we could be there to celebrate her life at the services.