We’re on our way back to the boat now, but we took a little detour east to Montana to visit a good friend in Helena. It’s also part of our grand plan to check out places we might like to settle down in when our time on the boat is done. Since we sold most of our possessions to get out on the water in a boat, it means that our options for where we want to land when we come back are pretty open. We each have our own ideas, but my criteria are simple - I would like to settle in/near a college town with lots of recreational opportunities close at hand. With that in mind, Montana has a lot of potential! What an amazingly beautiful area of America.
We’re headed south now and the hurricane season looks like it is cooperating with our plans - no storms are forming in the next 48 hours so we have time to keep touring America.
Jack and Mack fishing on the river. Mack's an old hand and was able to give lots of tips since this was Jack's first time fly fishing. Rudy and I were the only ones not to catch fish - I was too busy trying to keep Rudy from jumping in the water and trying to catch them on his own.
It was very sad to see the devestation of the pine beetle infestation that is covering large tracts of land through Montana and other Rocky Mountain states. In this picture you can see some of the dead trees that are liberally spread through the forests. Some stands are completely dead, this one just had a few trees affected - for now.
We stopped for the night in Idaho Falls, Idaho and took in the sights.
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We love Missoula! Tons of stuff to do and so beautiful! If you guys haven't checked out Bend or Hood River recently, you should. Neither are college towns per say but they have a college town feel. We're still hoping to get back to B'ham some day. Still one of my most fav places on earth!
ReplyDeleteMontana is a beautiful place. We have a relative there and I have often thought that if we settled back in the states that I would enjoy being somewhere near Missoula. Jim has become a real sissy about the snow, though. In fact, he has gone extreme heat now as we melt to death in our Mazatlan summer terrarium, aptly named 'HOT'SPUR. Some Colorado native he's turned out to be! Safe travels and hope to see you. Meri
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI agree about Bellingham - we've always thought that would be a great place to land so it is still high on our list! That is two votes for Missoula between you and our friend Meri! Unfortunately we never got over to Missoula, but Helena was absolutely a great town.
Laura
Hi Meri!
ReplyDeleteWe had a very educational trip through Montana, Idaho and Utah. From our quick impressions we loved Montana, thought Idaho was nice, and took a pass on N. Utah but loved all the parks in S. Utah. Talk about a beautiful place, but what do you do for work?
Anyway, looking forward to seeing you sometime,
Laura