National Bison Range
Blog 309: Byways, Bison, and Bears
Jordanelle
It was a short and easy trip from Dead Horse Point State Park to Blue Cut RV Park in Helper, Utah. Not much going on in Helper, but it was a chance to regroup and plan the next legs of our journey. After two nights, we headed north again to spend five nights at Jordanelle State Park north of Heber City, Utah (about 30 miles east of Salt Lake City).
During our stay I had a quick gig in Irvine for a few days with a great bunch of people.
After Jordanelle, it was another easy journey to Pocatello, Idaho, where we spent one rainy night at the Buffalo Meadows RV Park, a part of the Ft. Hall Casino.
Dillon
Next, we travelled to the Countryside RV Park just outside of Dillon, Montana. We have stayed in the Dillon area in the past, and it was enjoyable to come back to this picturesque area. I had planned a day trip that would take us on the Pioneer Scenic Byway through the Pioneer Mountains. We headed west on 278 and north on 73 through Polaris and up to Elkhorn Hot Springs. The plan was to continue all the way to Wise River, then head west on 43 through Fishtrap, at Wisdom take 278 east to Jackson, and then back to camp. Unfortunately, the road was closed at Elkhorn Hot Springs, so our only choice was to backtrack the way we came to our campground.
St. Regis
Continuing our northward journey, we next went to Campground St. Regis, a gorgeous and tidy place to stay next to St. Regis, Montana.
National Bison Range Day Trip
One morning we drove the picturesque 51 miles to the National Bison Range, with most of our journey on the National Bison Scenic Byway that parallels the Flathead River.
We had visited this national wildlife refuge a few years earlier and really enjoyed it. This trip was to prove even more impressive, as the heavy winter snowfall and the abundant spring rains kept everything a vibrant green that proved a brilliant contrast to the wildflowers and the snow-white peaks of the Mission Mountains.
Our prime goal was to see critters, and we were well rewarded. We saw bison, of course, pronghorn, deer, and a momma and baby bear. Mitzy enjoyed herself, as always, pointing out the different species to Jack. Especially fun was that Jack had his first bear sighting—he was in total awe as he speechlessly stared wide-eyed like a toddler opening Christmas presents.
We were extremely pleased with our critter findings, but there was more. The hills and valleys erupted wildflowers. It was like hoping for a pair, and drawing a full house.
Arrowleaf balsamroot covered the valleys like the golden robe of a Bishop giving high mass. We saw prairie smoke, shooting stars, penstemon, Rocky Mountain iris, lupine, Solomon’s plume, serviceberry bush, chokecherry, desert parsley, wild geranium, giant hyssop, baby tansy, and more, that shined like the multicolored jewels of a pirate’s treasure box. All the while, as we meandered up and down and over and across, we were serenaded by meadowlarks. Wonderful trip.
Old Trucks
Here are three old trucks from Montana.
That ends our “post-Texas holiday.” Now it is time for our next adventure.
Blog 239: Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
After a great month in the Glacier area, we headed south trying to project regions where there might be little or no smoke from the surrounding fires. We took 206 South, connected to 35 South, which took us around big Flathead Lake. At Polson we jumped on 93 South, which took us all the way down to Missoula, MT. Pleasant and pretty journey.
Bitterroot Road Trip
With the Bitterroot Mountains on the west paralleling our journey, we headed south avoiding Highway 93, taking back country roads most of the way, down past Lolo, Stevensville, Hamilton, and Darby, to the little town of Conner. Along the way we took valley roads and mountain trails to check out places like Lake Como and Lost Horse Creek.
Garnet Ghost Town
One afternoon we took a gorgeous drive heading east on Highway 200 for about 30 minutes. There we turned onto the Garnet Forest Road (also known as the Garnet Backcountry Byway) heading up and around on gravel for 11 miles. Here we viewed the well-kept Garnet ghost town before heading southish on another path. Bear Gulch Road was a one-way, seriously winding trail of sorts, composed mostly of rocks, holes, and bumps. After an hour-and-a-half or so we covered the 16 miles to civilization and returned back to camp via the Interstate.
National Bison Range
We drove north on 93, and then west on 200 to the National Bison Range. I was a little hesitant to go there, as the hard copy and online publicity about this destination was secondary or tertiary to other NW Montana “must do’s” and usually verbiage was limited to one or two lines. Boy, was I happily surprised to find this awesome 19,000-acre national wildlife refuge.
As a light rain drizzled, we drove the 21-mile loop up along the mountains and through the valleys, constantly being serenaded by meadowlarks. We saw only a half dozen cars over our two-and-a-half-hour journey, allowing ample time for photos and gawking. Along with bison of course, we saw several pronghorn, a coyote, a flock of ruffed grouse, small herds of mule deer, and a black bear devouring berries.
I’d highly recommend this place to all nature lovers. It made our last day in Montana a memorable one.
St. Regis Paradise Scenic Byway
After the National Bison Range we continued west on scenic 200 West, until just south of Paradise the highway turned into an “official” scenic byway, the St. Regis Paradise Scenic Byway--tall, treelined mountains, rolling rivers…you know the schtick. Hard to describe, but worth trying.
Pups
Here is a Dog Fight shot and a Happy Boston from Columbia Falls Bark Park, a brown dog from the Missoula Pup Park, and a Truck Pup from a parking lot.
Old Sign
Here is an old sign from the Old Sign Reserve.
Old Trucks
Here are three old Montana trucks.
See you next time.