The next day Jay and Donna took us out for a hike at one of the nearby trails that followed along Bear Creek. It was a good day weather-wise, one of the first non-rainy days we had for about a week, so it was nice to get out and put some ground under our feet. Plus, thanks to the weather clearing, we finally got a view of the surrounding mountains and were able to see how truly beautiful it was. Kiska was also really excited to get out because she hates the rain and gets real pouty in bad weather.
The hike up Bear Creek
Later in the day we were putting together plans to go out for dinner, but Donna got a phone call from three bicyclists who were doing a cross-country ride and needed a place to stay for the night so we ended up having another dinner party! It was fun to talk to the other travelers who had started in Virginia 4 months earlier and were biking all the way to Astoria, OR. We swapped adventure stories and got to see some of the videos they had made along their journey, and were sure to provide them with contacts in Sisters and Bend in case they needed a place to stay.
The cyclists left the next morning and we went with Jay and Donna to float the Bitterroot River and go fly fishing. A quick background, Nate has virtually no fly fishing experience while Kelsey has had a little more experience but still is still a beginner. Thankfully Jay and Donna were great teachers and helped both of us get our casts figured out a bit. It was another gorgeous and fairly warm day, and regardless of what the fish were doing we had such a fun time floating River and spending time with Jay and Donna.
On the Bitterroot
A quick stop for lunch
Jay giving Kelsey some pointers
We were able to get a few bites on the line, but actually catching the fish proved to be a bit more difficult. Jay landed two fish quickly which was fun to see, and then he and Donna decided they would let us take turns fishing off of the front of the boat as we floated. This was a ton of fun and with Jay and Donna helping to point out the best areas to put our lines, we were both successful in catching fish! Nate caught two, it should have been three but the big one caught him off guard and snapped the line, and Kelsey landed one just as we finished the trip. We didn't keep any of the fish, but loved catching them.
Kelsey casting off the boat
One of the fish Nate hooked, and now he may be hooked on this whole fishing thing too
Kelsey with her fish
After leaving Corvallis on Monday afternoon, we had plans to make it to Dillon and then keep heading southeast to Yellowstone, unfortunately however, as we were coming down Lolo pass, it became almost impossible to shift gears. We carefully rolled through Big Hole National Battlefield, an incredible historic site where almost a hundred Nez Peirce were killed in an early morning attack. As we drove through, the setting was particularly haunting with dark clouds and rain drops setting on the endless orange fields.
We were able to ram the shifter into place and use the little bit of engaging the clutch was giving us to limp to a stop in Wisdom, hoping that we would be able to fix it ourselves and get on the road. That proved to be beyond our capabilities, plus it was getting dark, extremely cold, and starting to rain. We had hoped that we would make it through Wisdom, because the night before it had been featured in the newspaper as recording the coldest temperature in the country, something it's well know for. But, alas, that would be our landing spot, and we hunkered up for the night with extra blankets, most of our warm layers, and Kiska happy to be cuddled on the bed with us.
Thankfully the next morning we awoke to lifting clouds, and headed over to see the local mechanic, keeping in mind that Wisdom is a town of dirt streets and a handful of actual businesses. The mechanic was a little stunned to have people showing up at the shop, and told us quite frankly that he had no idea how to do anything for us on the VW, and the best he could do was recommend us to someone who did, 50 miles away. We took a deep breath, hoped for the best, and jammed poor Bones into gear to get on the road. The first stop was in Divide at what turned out to be a very informative stop. Unfortunately the owner didn't do mechanical work anymore, just sold parts, but helped us diagnosis the likely issue and make an appointment to have it worked on in Belgrade on Friday (it was Tuesday). We bought a clutch kit, and headed to the nearby town of Butte for the night to pass the time.
Bones at the autoshop in Divide, very nervous he was going to end up lined up with the others in the background.
Butte was a pretty run down old mining town, we toured the historic uptown district and passed part of the afternoon at the local Quarry Brewing Co. Then the rain started to set in, so we decided to go to the movie theater, in first gear all the way, to pass some more time.
Sampling beers at Quarry
Wednesday morning we headed towards Bozeman, which has turned out to be a great place to spend a couple days while waiting for our appointment with the mechanic tomorrow. Thanks to Chuck, we are also perfecting the double-clutch technique which allows us to shift gears slightly more smoothly, and we made it over the two passes between Butte and Bozeman without too much trouble, and have been able to get around town a little here.
We found a great park yesterday where we spent the afternoon walking around with Kiska, and then decided to have a night out on the town. We walked down the main street for a while, which is really similar to downtown Bend, and then found a great little bar to spend part of the evening. We tried some of their more interesting cocktails, including jalapeño infused tequila, a drink featuring salt and fresh ground pepper, and a manhattan with ginger syrup.
A view of Bozeman from the hike.
We've spent today walking and running around, and then even got in a nice shower at the local pool. Now we're at the fantastic Bozeman Community Food Co-op enjoying a cup of tea and getting a few things for dinner. Tomorrow we'll get up early and drive the few miles to Belgrade to have Bones doctored up, and hopefully we'll be on the road again before too long!
A little end video- Kis has gotten much improved on her ability to walk around town with us and meet other dogs, but I don't think we'll ever get it through her head that she can't climb trees to get squirrels. It's ok though, because it provides endless entertainment for her, and us :)
No comments:
Post a Comment