7/30/17 Yesterday was a hoot. Lord we have been lucky with the weather … for us but those around us pray for rain. It is dry and hot. We have been so fortunate to have landed where we have each night. Each morning we have a plan and that evolves during the mid morning and decisions made by early afternoon; need to narrow the scope of alternatives with the next day in mind …followed by … after 4:30… we gotta think soon. This is so as it is so big out here. Distances are not small. I haven’t a clue how anyone goes out for milk without a days provisions. Again we vacillated between two directions and then narrowed it in with our WTW ‘sage’s’ advice. A last minute luck out stop in before closing of a National Forest Ranger station we happened to see lead us 20 miles up a service road #5070 off MT 38 (out of Philipsburg) Near Crystal Springs mine. We found a sweet spot by a stream and thanked our lucky stars…got a bit of fishing in too before dark…as well as again this morning before heading out. 

Again a general idea that was in flux. It required a decision based on info at a “T” …. and what a fortunate choice it was. We left the mountains where we were camped at 7,400 feet and descended on MT 38 to MT 1 S to ——————— which brought us along the Wise River to __________ where we decided to head back up to Wisdom MT… and a wise choice it was. It was a crazy ass round about route that brought us full circle back up to close to where we started the day but the scenery we saw on a road without vehicles other than locals was jaw dropping vast and “west”. I have got to find out the number of round hay bales that can be put in a season in Montana. We passed by fields that went to the horizon with thousands and thousands of them and still more. Just plan incredible. Then there were these gizmos thirty feet tall that took loose hay and pulled it up into stacks for the winter feed….the size of a 3 story building.      

We eventually pulled into Wisdom, Montana… and yup it is as it sounds… down to earth. We came in on the festival day where in town they had a tag sale on main street… a table of rifles or lemonade, saddles, antlers, or anything else one would want. We had a beer at the Antler Saloon and heard from their bar maid that there was a BLM camp (Fishtrap) at the side of the Big Hole River 20 miles north on MT 43. This changed our plan to backtrack to Twin Lake area in the National Forest 30 miles south. Worked out great. I love arriving at a site earlier so we can organize stuff in a leisurely manor…get out the Fox hibachi grill and make dinner… have a beer … get clothes for tomorrow… set up the fly rod and do an hours fishing…then get the camper ready for sleep. That all came to happen with the bonus of watching two bald eagles fly up the river and a great sunset. Take me up Lord I am ready.

Again thanks to more sage input we have a choice tomorrow and I want to go deeper into the mountains. I have one more day on my fishing license and would love to get one more chance on a different river. Of course there is Idaho coming up too… sigh.

PS. if you are wondering about the mountain goats… we came across a large group licking salt off the road and no matter how we tried to get around them they just kept walking in front of the truck… eventually I tried a flanking maneuver and we all were flying down the road neck to neck… so I took a WAG shot out the window while moving.

PSS Montana (Flathead) cherries…. size of golfballs …sweet as sunsets. Red or yellow… at stands on the roadside and a couple pound bag goes pretty quick.