MONTANA

We really were so glad that we decided to come across to West Yellowstone and see what was available. As mentioned in the Yellowstone blog post, our trip into the park was fantastic. But our stay in West Yellowstone itself was also really enjoyable. We stayed at the Gray Wolf Inn & Suites where the rates were really reasonable at around $80 a night and the facilities were great. There was a heated pool and undercover parking and the staff were really helpful.

 

The view from our hotel window.

Because we couldn’t get into a snowmobile tour until the Tuesday, we had to stay for three nights and to make it even better, the weather was perfect for that whole time, with steady snow falls each night and bright sunny days. We spent lots of time wandering around town and looking at all the different shops.

The main street by day and night.

 

There was also an imax theatre and grizzly and wolf centre if you wanted something else to do. Of course being the "snowmobile capital of the USA" there are lots of opportunities to hire snowmobiles and guides. Outside Yellowstone Park itself, there are hundreds off miles of trails both groomed and ungroomed for snowmobiling. Many of the local businesses closed down for the winter – it was easy to tell which ones – and obviously some of the houses are only used seasonally.

Someone obviously wanted to make sure they really were closed!

This lovely house was right in the middle of town.

Wonder why these guys weren't open?

John was amused by the sight of ladders going up to the roof of the hotel next door to us one morning. We really did feel sorry for the guy who had the job of shovelling the snow off the roof. It seems it was blocking a vent or something on the roof. You’d want a good pair of grippy shoes for that job.

 

 

It was fun each night to wander down and pick where to eat. Our first night we didn’t pick so well at the Three Bears Inn. The food was reasonably priced but not very good. For the first time ever, I sent mine back and didn’t bother ordering anything else. It was a spaghetti marinara (there is no seafood in the marinara over here by the way) but the sauce tasted like it had come out of a can and probably did. Anyway our next night was better with a lovely dinner at Madison Crossing Inn. It was a little more expensive but the atmosphere, food etc was lovely. Our final night was fun. We decided to drive as the Buffalo Bar was a little further across town. There we met some nice people and shared a huge steak enchilada which was the daily special. We were glad to have driven, as apart from the fact that we were pretty tired after our day in Yellowstone NP, it was snowing quite heavily when we left.

We have noticed here that the police don’t seem too fussed about policing the drink driving laws. The limit is .08 here but we have not once seen any random breath testing being done. It seems that the only time it becomes an issue is if you are pulled over for some reason and then they will check.

It was below 0⁰ C when we left West Yellowstone and headed north on the 287 toward Ennis. The wind was blowing quite strongly and at places where it was open countryside, there was lots of snow being blown about. The road followed the Madison River all the way to Ennis and again, the scenery was quite beautiful. Just to the west of the 191 junction is Hebgen Lake which is quite big and obviously a popular spot for water sports in the summer. We saw many houses with boats parked up which looked really strange as most of the lake was frozen over. Especially strange was the sight of a “private” marina totally iced up.

The sign at left reads "Private Marina".
Don't think the rope at the entrance is really necessary at the mo!

We were especially lucky to come across a small herd of bighorn sheep beside the road. They had electronic tags on them which we figure must be for tracking.

 

A little further on John decided to take a closer look at the river and drove down into one of the many camping grounds which are dotted along the river. As we came over the ridge, we were amazed to see hundreds of elk grazing along  the river flats. As we got closer, most of them decided to cross over the river and it was quite a sight to see so many elk so close. We hadn’t realised just how many there were around as you normally only see them in small groups. A local guy who was obviously checking out what we were up to drove down and he told us that they had just had a late shoot the weekend before. That probably explained their flightiness when we appeared.

 

A few miles down the road we came across a really strange sight. We have tried to work out what it was and how it got there through a search of the net but no luck. Best we can guess is that it is a bore or spring that has slowly grown over the winter. It really was quite beautiful.

 

At Ennis we called in at Willie’s Distilliary where we sampled a couple of their specialy whiskies such as their Honey Whisky. It really was very nice but since we aren’t bourbon/whisky drinkers and there are limits on how much alcohol you can bring back we didn’t buy any. 

 

From Ennis we turned west and took another drive through the old ghost towns of Virginia and Nevada Cities. Virginia City still has many of its old buildings standing and they are in quite good condition, some being used still as cafes etc. We had been really taken by one particular old house in Nevada City and it was still there, looking pretty much as it did in 2008.

 

 

As we continued north toward Helena, the state capital, the weather looked like it was going to turn again. We could see dark skies ahead and the contrast looking back then forward was quite noticeable.

Looking back.

Looking ahead

By the time we got to Helena, it was snowing so we pulled off the highway and booked in at Days Inn which again was quite reasonable at around the $80 which also included a hot breakfast. Dinner that night was at an all-you-can-eat Chinese Restaurant for only $10 each. It really was quite nice.

Next morning we continued west on the 12/141 over MacDonald Pass. The everpresent snow ploughs were there on the job. They really do do a fantastic job to keep the road open even over the highest, most snow-covered passes and they are an impressive sight, spaying a high rooster tail of snow out as they pass. They don’t go slowly either. Most would be doing about 60 mph.

 

Again, we noticed large areas under cultivation and most of it seemed to be hay fields. With so much snow on the ground, it is understandable that lots of hay could be needed to feed cattle and horses in the winter. We also saw several strange wooden structures in the fields but we couldn’t quite figure out what they were for. Our guess is they are something to do with the hay. As always, there were also lots of derelict barns, sheds and houses, some almost buried in the snow.

 

 

 

As we turned west onto Highway 200, the road followed another impressive river, the Blackfoot all the way to Missoula. After a brief stint on the I90 we turned north again onto Highway 93/200, headed for the National Bison Range. We had gone there in 2008 but discovered on arrival that motorbikes were not allowed in the park as all the roads are gravel. Because of this, access to the higher mountainous areas of the Range is not available in winter so we had to settle for a far shorter drive. We didn’t see many bison except for a couple of old bulls that they had obviously paddocked close to the visitors centre. There were quite a few whitetail deer though and some Canada geese and Barrow's golden eyed ducks. When we left we called at a little café at the entrance to the range and there I got to see my first woodpecker, as well as several other common finches etc.

Every now and then John could feel the steering getting stiff.
 A look at the wheel arches reveals why!

 

This stack of elk antlers has grown a bit since 2008.

 

Whitetail deer

 

 

 

After the Bison Range, we followed another lovely river, the Clark Fork, which took us to Thompson Falls. Again, the scenery was beautiful.

 

By the time we got there it was snowing again and we were lucky enough to find a lovely little motel right in the middle of town. It was lovely to be able to take a walk across the river into the local nature reserve, where we took a look at the dam and fish ladder and saw lots of whitetail some of them just laying around people’s yards. We also took a stroll up the main street and checked out some of the local stores before heading up to the local Mexican Restaurant where we had a lovely authentic Mexican dinner. It was the best Mexican we had ever had I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next morning we followed the river north-west again and into the panhandle of Idaho.