Note to self. Remember it really blows hard on the East side of Montana. Stopping on my latest road trip to the Helena area on McDonald Pass ( 6325 ft) , I stepped out of the vehicle and nearly lost my door. oops wind was blowing. Looking East the valley was peaceful and the slushy snow was piled high on the guard rail. Follow this link for more about the history of McDonald Pass
Travellogs
But I digress. The morning started out freezing and Foothill Road was nice and icy with a special treat of fog ! 90 miles of driving on the Swan Highway lay ahead. The Swan is a wonderful road and has beautiful views of several lakes.
Frozen Echo Lake with some fog. I wouldn't think that a frozen lake can make fog but apparently it can. Early morning and sunset are the best times to enjoy the fog making.
Once out of the Swan I headed to Helena the back way. Of course some seasoned Coasters ( those who live on the East and West coasts) would probably feel I 90 is the back way as well. This was the real back way with miles of nothing but cows and ranches. Nary a tree to hide behind even if an emergency should come up.
But with all this emptiness is beautiful mountains, bald eagles, and lots of sky.The miles fly by mostly because the speed limit is 70 mph and everyone feels it is good to go for 90. Fortunately this stretch of road was dry.What if a cow is in the road? Or a deer?
More mountains and sky I am humming Glen Campbell's Wichata Lineman with sun and 46 degrees. A real treat for those from the Flathead. In the winter the Flathead is notorious for the snow and cloud cover. We secretly covet the sun of Eastern Montana but with that wonderful sun comes the wind. I don't covet the wind. A little is fine but the door ripping wind can stay on the Eastern Side.
So I would think that the rest of Montana has the same amount of snow however it just blows around more than the North West part.
Mission accomplished. I drove to Helena and then located a really nice arboretum a bit south in Jefferson City
Tizer Gardens to pick up some nice young Fat Albert spruce trees. This was a tree rescue trip. The trees had already been rescued from a tree farm elsewhere. With the trees packed into the car ( 7 to be exact ) I headed west. Back over McDonald pass and up the solitary highway. I passed an area know as the Blackfoot Watershed wetland project. The sun was starting towards it's western destination.
the area was short on people but long on cows. What a wonderful place to have a ranch. These are some happy cows. Fresh air and beautiful scenery. I stopped for a bit and they were making all sorts of cow sounds in the distance. The sun was dancing , it was perfect.
One may feel like Montana is too brown. Especially for those of you from the East . But the Brown is what turns golden in a thousand shades as the sun nears setting . It is quite magical combined with the beautiful blues of the sky.
the sun is setting and I am hurtling towards the Flathead. As I head back down the Swan Highway darkness enfolds me and I am gifted by a truck going the same way. This guardian stays ahead of me the entire 90 miles adding light and a feeling of safety as I drive through the night. Plumes of fog drift across the roads from the lakes hiding the world for a few seconds before the cars burst out into the open.
Another little feet adventure ends . Time to put the boots up and rest for the night. 400 miles safely traveled and I am grateful for that . We will have to think of another adventure soon. In the interim I will decide where to put 7 more trees. It has been a good day.
