I recently took a little excursion to the Big Sky state and
my, what an adventure it was! Adventure, in the bad sense of the word, began
just three hours into my journey. I was once again traveling on a Greyhound bus
to save money and the connection in
Kalamazoo, Michigan
was late so I missed my bus in
Chicago.
That meant a night spent sleeping in the bus station, a disgusting meal voucher
breakfast, and an additional seven hours of layovers in other locations. I was
frustrated to miss a whole day with my
Missoula
friend, but I made it there and we headed for the bars. This town likes to
drink and in a town with four microbrews that’s a good thing.
The next day we had breakfast a local joint and then headed
out for some cross-country skiing. Now I’m not a skier, but I’ve played around
a bit on skis so I was barely able to keep up with my friend. That night we
soaked our sore muscles while enjoying the stars and subfreezing temps.
Unfortunately the next day I was feeling well so we laid low and stayed in
town.
Tuesday I was feeling better and so we followed the route of
the Lewis and Clark Expedition over
Lolo
Pass to some natural
hot
springs in
Idaho.
It was so relaxing and beautiful, surrounded by densely forested mountains
covered in snow, enjoying it from the comfort of warm pools. Leaving behind the
warmth and the beauty we headed for an old school house after stopping in at
the brewery in Stevensville. Sitting beside the warmth of wood blaze we talked
a lot. The next day it was back to
Missoula
and then on to the mining mecca of
Butte,
via the scenic route. We stopped to sample some local food and view the
Berkeley Pit, the well-know ‘big pit’ of Ivan Doig’s historical novel. Late
afternoon we continued down to
Bozeman,
where we found another bar and met up with some fine folks that my friend knew.
My last day was spent hiking uncrowded
Yellowstone and
soaking in the
Burning River.
Back at the house we cooked up some fine pizza... and then I was back on the bus.
It was an awesome and significant adventure! I’ve been to
many beautiful places in my wanderings, but there are a few places that really
stand out. Montana is certainly
one of those places. There is simply something about the big emptiness, the way
the golden grass shines in the sunlight, the rolling hills and jagged mountains
that excite the senses and stirs something inside of me. One way to describe Montana
is to describe it like a beautiful woman. The blue sky mirrors her captivating
eyes, the grass is like fine golden hair, and the terrain that dips and soars
traces the sensuous form of her curvature. But really, it’s hard to describe…I
just know I love it!
Thanks friend ;-)
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| Idaho hot springs |
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| Butte |
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| From Yellowstone NP |
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| Mammoth Hot Springs |
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| Beauty |
