We're headed southeast now, back to Yellowstone Park. The eastern part of Montana is not as scenic to us, so we're going back to Yellowstone to head east through the park and exit on the Beartooth Highway.
We're trying to take a bit of a different route though.
Yesterday's drive 109 miles (175 kms).
Canola? Mustard? I'm not a farmer!
Our road follows this mountain range.
Swan Lake.
For quite a while it looked like this.
Reminded us of parts of our Yukon drive in the summer of 2018.
Horses.
Definitely a beautiful area.
Lots of wild flowers!
We pulled in to the town of Seeley Lake and headed up a forest service road to find a campsite. I was a little worried that we wouldn't find a spot because the site was only about 2 miles from the town itself. But when we got to the road, it was in such rough shape that we didn't figure anybody else would be crazy enough to go up there!
But Sherman summoned all of his horses and slowly dragged us up there.
This was the small lake beside where we were parked.
It was tough to get up here... but worth it!
We spotted a fire tower not far away and after supper we decided to hike up there. It was only 1.3 miles (2 kms) each way, but of course it was a bit of a climb to get up there.
Looking it up online, you can actually rent this fire tower! $45 a night! What a cool place to stay.
What a cool place to stay for a night or two!
The tower was built in 1933 and was a manned tower until the mid 1980's. When they put in the nearby cell tower on the same hill, they ran electricity to the fire tower. So while it's a pretty basic setup, guests now have electricity and a strong cell signal!
And you get some beautiful views.
Ruth, enjoying the views.
Overlooking Seeley Lake.
Walking back, we noticed that mosquito season has finally arrived. We knew it would eventually. But, we are well stocked with repellent, so if that's what it takes to enjoy the outdoors, then so be it.
Today, we head to the small city of Helena (pop 32,500). The plan was to do another hike in the area, but they are calling for heavy rain all day on Sunday and into Monday. We'll see.
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And in Canada...
The yellow fields are rape - also called rapeseed or colza, plant of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), grown for its seeds, which yield canola, or rapeseed, oil. Canola oil is variously used in cooking, as an ingredient in soap and margarine, and as a lamp fuel (colza oil).
ReplyDeleteWe know what Canola is, as they farm it up in Saskatchewan but they also farm mustard up there and we just weren't sure which one it was as they are both yellow. We were pretty sure that it was canola though, thank you for confirming that.
Delete"I'm not a farmer" gave me a memory and a chuckle. I'll post it this week on the blog :)
ReplyDeleteWe will have to check that out when you post it to your blog Chris! :-)
DeleteMan it's so green up there. Absolutely stunning!
ReplyDeleteIt sure is!
DeleteYou will really enjoy the drive over the Bearthooth Highway. We took our 36' diesel pusher over the pass last August. Fantastic views. If the weather permits I think you can park overnight at the pass 44.968929, -109.473815. The drive up the west side seemed to be a relatively gentle climb. Some sharp bends in the hwy though. Going down the east side is pretty long and steep. I enjoyed the drive though. I put the transmission in 2nd gear and the exhaust brake on and just came down at about 20-25mph barely touching the brake. We are also towing a 4600 pound small truck helping to push us down. You can probably do the same in 2nd gear.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that you think Sherman won't have any problems with the pass. We also use our transmission to "brake" us as we go down steep inclines. Kevin rarely has to touch the brakes.
DeleteIt looks like there is a fair bit of boondocking up along that road once you are out of Yellowstone National Park, hopefully the weather won't be too bad for that. We are really hoping that we will get a chance to see some nice scenery but we are keeping our expectations low because it doesn't sound promising weatherwiswe.