Makoshita State Park, Glendive, Montana

 We arrived at Makoshika State Park on the afternoon of August 23rd.  The park is in the badlands of eastern Montana.  We spent two nights here.  I was driven crazy trying to find WiFi in town.  Why, you ask?  Monday night was fantasy football draft night!  Eventually I found a spot in town that had servicable (mostly) cell signal.  Had to draft using my phone (feeling handicapped the whole time).  We'll see how it goes...  I was able to take a great hike monday morning, and we drove up the canyon to the end of the road.  Lots of great photos were taken.  I remember as a child/young man not being very impressed with the badlands.  Age apparently has given me a new appreciation for the beauty of it all.

On the 24th we went into town where mom needed coffee.  We found a really nice coffee shop created out of a former nursery.  You know, plants and stuff.  Really cool.

Fine Dining in the middle of nowhere.

 We arrived at The Fort at 49 around 5pm on August 21st.  While pulling up I went into the restaurant and asked about checking in.  I was asked if we had reservations for dinner.  Since I did not, I was told we could sit at the community table.  Well ok, we'll be over between 5:30 and 6...  After setting up, we walked over for dinner.  Mom had red snapper on a bed of couscous.  I had braised pork shank with green beans and mashed potatoes.  Add a couple of local beers and it was pretty nifty for the middle of nowhere.

On the 22nd we drove to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument at Mom's request...  Really.  I was ok with it as I can't get enough of the story there.  

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.

 

Tomorrow, on to fine dining in the middle of nowhere near Hardin, MT...

The Silver Dollar Casino

 On Wednesday August 18th, we left Pasco and headed north on US 395 towards Ritzville and I-90.  Nothing too much to report there.  We saw an interesting dust storm along the roadway.  Took a few minutes to determine it was dust and not smoke.

 

                            Rest stop lunch.  Lucky we can still move around with the slides in.

Really not much of note, just driving up to I-90 and then through Spokane and into the mountains of northern Idaho. We crossed Fourth of July and Lookout Passes, in the slow lane with all the trucks.  While we are happy for what we have, it sure will be nice to one day upgrade to something that pulls stronger on the hills.  

Too much excitement.

Our stop for the night was the Silver Dollar Casino in Haugan, MT.  It's claim to fame is that it has 50,000 silver dollars hanging on the walls and ceiling.  And a free RV campground behind it.  I'm enjoying finding unusual campsites, and this qualifies.  Not the prettiest campground. But, did I mention it was free?

 

The beginning...

 We left Ainsworth State Park in the rain.  Yes, rain.  Who knew...  We didn't.  Roz and Piper got showers in the RV in preperation for their flea treatment.  They were not happy, except for the peanut butter treat.  

We drove onto I84 and noticed that the status light on the brake monitor for Mom's car was flashing green/red.  One hour later, and drenched from the rain it was determined with Roadmaster customer service that nothing was really wrong.  Not their problem, just our unfamiliarity with the system.  But that was ok.  We were on our way!

                                                                                Rain?

I enjoyed a couple of white knuckle moments when Columbia Gorge wind gusts blew us around as we headed east.  Eventually we headed north and found our way to Hood Park outside Pasco.  We had never overnighted at a Army Corp of Engineers park.  It was quite nice.  Green, clean, shaded, with nice bathrooms/showers.  I see more in our future.