Anaconda, Montana

Friday, Day 2 in Montana

Looking back at 7th Ranch as we left. (Taken through the motor home window.)

A little over 24 hours ago we were experiencing 102° heat! At the moment it is 61 ° and very windy. The expected overnight low is 36°. We took the dogs out after dinner and had to wear long pants and sweatshirts.

We woke up Friday morning to overcast skies and very comfortable temperatures. It was a nice contrast to yesterday's 102°! There was constant train traffic below the campground--All BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) and mostly long lines of coal cars. I really love trains! The mournful sound of the whistles lulled us to sleep and woke us in the morning.

Before we left Garryowen, we took the dogs on a trail behind the campground that goes straight up a hill to where there is an American flag. (It looked really pretty lit up at night.) The panorama was nice. The dogs needed the run. They have been cooped up or on leash since Sunday.

Fields at sunset at 7th Ranch, Garryowen, Montana

I think we finally solved the problem of Sirius' episodes of craziness. He dislikes riding and becomes terrified if Dick drives anywhere near rumble strips--unavoidable when we are going through construction or passing wide loads. Within seconds he bolts up to the front of the cab and tries to jump on Dick's or my lap. Yesterday we put him on the sofa and bolstered him with blankets. He is more secure and can look out the window. It worked. Next step is a harness to keep him safe. Baxter loves to ride so much that it takes 5 minutes after we start for him to be snoozing. He stays on the floor in the back of the cab.

Friday's ride took us through miles of Montana desolate range land broken up by Billings, Bozeman and Butte. It seemed that light showers followed us all day, making a mess of our dusty rig. We stopped in Bozeman to buy groceries. Anaconda is in the Rockies, just west of Butte. The last hour of our trip was truly beautiful. We got away from the showers as we wound through a couple of spectacular mountain passes and climbed to 5150 feet.

Fairmont RV Park is just that--an RV Park. The facilities are adequate, but minimal. It is in a pretty setting with mountain ranges off in the distance on all sides. It is older than the past couple of parks, so the sites are pretty small. Since it is the weekend, it is more populated than the parks during the week. It is nice to see all the families enjoying the outdoors. We see lots of kids on bikes and people walking their dogs.

Along the way--Billings Livestock Commission

As expected, last night was pretty cold. It was so hot when we were packing for this trip that I couldn't imagine needing our  down comforter. Silly me. It is in Davenport! Oh well. We have a furnace and heat pumps.

Today we will travel just over 100 miles to Missoula. There is a chance that we can go to Flathead Lake--the place that convinced us that we wanted to acquire a motor home!