Montana is one of the larger and less populated states in America. It’s one of our favorites. We would have loved to have gone back to Glacier and Yellowstone this year, but our goal is to be in New England for fall then Florida for the winter so we had to cut our time short in this beautiful state.
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
From Walla Walla, Washington we drove to Idaho and stayed at the Blackwell Island RV Park in Coeur d’Alene. They had full service and good satellite views. Although it was a nice RV park on the water, the best sites needed to be reserved way in advance.
The RV park had nice walking trails along the water.
The nearby restaurant used these coyote decoys on their dock to keep the birds away. Never seen that before but it sure seemed to work well.
Coeur d’Alene is an amazing location and a place we would consider living in a brick and mortar home. The Tubbs Hill trail is an easy hike along Lake Coeur d’Alene with plenty of scenic views.
We really enjoyed Coeur d’Alene Cellars. Their grapes are sourced from Washington, and their wines were good.
Missoula, Montana
We stayed at Jim and Mary’s RV Park. We were here last year and liked their large sites in the trees. Missoula is in western Montana and only 45 miles from the Idaho border.
The Clark Fork River runs through Missoula. Tubing on the river is a hot summer day favorite. This is a man made wave called “Brennans Wave” that the locals enjoy surfing and tubing.
A Carousel for Missoula is a volunteer built carousel in downtown Missoula.
We took a scenic drive and had lunch at Seeley Lake. The cafe was in a rustic old cabin with paraphernalia on the walls.
Garnet Ghost Town
In 1898 the population was over 1,000 after the discovery of gold. By 1905, only 150 residents remained. Shortly later it became a ghost town. Garnet Ghost Town is now managed by the BLM.
The town is well preserved and a lot of artifacts remain.
We enjoyed the numerous saloons, hotels, and residences for a glimpse of what life was like in a gold boom town in the early 1900s.
Ten Spoon is a Montana Vineyard and Winery. They source some of their grapes from Washington and some of the grapes are local.
Three Forks, Montana
The Gallatin, Jefferson and Madison Rivers converge to form the Missouri River. The Missouri is the longest river in North America and drains into the Mississippi and then the Gulf of Mexico.
We stayed at Camp Three Forks. They had full service and we were able to get satellite.
Madison Buffalo Jump State Park
For nearly 2,000 years, Native Americans stampeded herds of bison off this limestone cliff for food, provisions and clothing.
Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park
The outside temperature was in the high 90s, but inside the caverns it was a cool 46 degree F.
We could have stayed underground all day.
Bleu Horses
There are so many horses on the surrounding hillsides. Artist Jim Dolan created a set of 39 horse sculptures made of steel and colored blue.
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in Montana at over 100,000 people.
We stayed at the first KOA in the world. Nice long sites with full hook ups and satellite friendly…but still a KOA.
Pompeys Pillar National Monument
The Lewis and Clark Expedition started in Illinois. They traveled approximately 3,700 miles to reach Astoria, Oregon. Clark climbed this rock to get a vantage point of the surrounding area.
Captain William Clark signed his name in the rock here. It’s the only remaining physical evidence visible of their route.
We found a wine tasting room in Billings. The owner was very personable and makes reasonable wine at reasonable prices. He sources his grapes from the Yakima, Washington AVA.
