The Missouri Headwaters To Red Lodge, MT

 We left our campsite by Canyon Ferry Lake and headed south first thing in the morning (after two cups of coffee!)

The campground was a little funky but
this was our view.

Coal trains seem to be everywhere in the west.

We thought these were real until we got a little
closer.  

The Missouri Headwaters at Three Forks is where the Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers (named after the Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury and the President) join to create the Missouri River.  This is the place where Lewis and Clark camped for several days on their way west.  We walked around and filled ourselves with the history of the place and had a picnic under Lewis Rock where he searched for a good way through the mountains.  It was pretty incredible to imagine walking where the Corps of Discovery had been some two hundred and nineteen years ago.

We took off for Bozeman, reminiscing about Erin’s crazy year there.  We did a little shopping, went over Bozeman Pass (following Lewis and Clark again) to Red Lodge, MT.  Some of the scenery along the way:

It was hot in Red Lodge and we were tired but managed to walk the town, peak into the stores and were hoping to go to dinner, but there were no outdoor cafes that would welcome Boo. We won’t leave him in Maxine in this heat and he would hate it, even if it was cool-so, off we went to find a home for the night.  I believe all the bikers who left Sturgis for the Motorcycle Rally came to Red Lodge the day we were there.  It's a neat little western town with several nice looking restaurants and stores but it was loaded with people, so, for many reasons, we moved on.

We drove south to the Rock Creek area of the Beartooth Mountains.  The two campgrounds only had a few spots, but there were lots of kids, and it was pretty noisy so, instead we looked for a good boondocking spot. We found one up the hill from the campground with the most gorgeous views.  We were very happy there, surrounded by mountains on all sides and lolled to sleep by the sound of the creek below us.

All was well until I read a book about the drive we would take the next day over the Beartooth Mountains.  You can get a feel by looking at the picture below and seeing the beginning of the drive in the background.

It doesn't look all that bad in this picture,
but, believe me, it was an experience.
More to come.