Longtine RV Adventures: Fear and Loathing in the Costco parking lot, followed by a hole in the ground...

I was a bit surprised the morning of August 20th by how few of the RVs had left prior to us. I thought we were slow pokes. I thought it would be a good idea to top off the fuel after yesterday's pass crossings. Big mistake. On the 87 mile segment over the passes yesterday, we averaged 4.8 mpg... Yikes! Travel was much smoother with no passes all the way to Missoula.

As we were driving along, I noticed a billboard for a Barrel of White People in Missoula! Sorry, Cracker Barrel... Brunch was decided upon. After brunch, we shopped at the RV unfriendly Costco. It appeared to be an older store, with a pretty tight parking lot. They had construction occurring and half the parking lot was blocked off. We couldn't go around the back of the store. It was only by fortuitous gaps in parked vehicles that I was able to turn our combination around and escape the parking lot. Then Albertson's before getting back on the highway. We fueled up again just outside Butte. It was nice to see a whopping 7mpg again. We arrived at the Cardwell General Store and Campground just in time to pop the Costco meatloaf in the oven for dinner.

Two nights here so that Mom can check Lewis & Clark Caverns off her bucket list. I actually stopped here with my parents as a child, but heck yeah I'm was going back. Pretty cool history here as Lewis & Clark passed through in 1805.

August 20th dawned bright and early as I woke up at 0430 (Shades of that distant memory called "work") and couldn't fall back asleep. It was raining again. I worked on blog posts until Mom woke up (she slept all night!). We arrived at Lewis & Clark State Park at about 8:50 am, and got into the first "Paradise Tour" of the day. It was only two "rooms" in the caverns, but accessible to people with mobility issues and claustrophobia. Mom rode to the entrance in a golf cart with the guide. The guide mentioned that the Paradise room was discovered after the federal government handed the caverns over to the State of Montana. If it had been discovered prior to that they may have kept it under federal control. He said it is the most spectacular chamber in the Caverns. Pictures DO NOT do it justice.

The 450+ foot entrance tunnel to the Paradise room was blasted out over 18 months by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930s. This is both the entrance and exit from the Paradise room for this tour. The "Classic" tour enters 300 feet higher up on the mountain and exits here.

I later took the "Classic Tour" which includes some elevation gain, significant stairs, crouching, and sliding down a rock chute. It was great, but I'd have to agree that the Paradise room is the most beautiful.