Missoula, Montana

June 14 - 21, 2020

 

 

Missoula is known as the "Garden City" for its dense trees and lush green landscape.  The town is nestled in the heart of the northern Rockies where five valleys converge.  Missoula is a center for education, medicine, retail, and the arts.  It is located at the base of Mount Sentinel and the banks of the Clark Fork River.

 

 

Missoula is also home to The University of Montana (Go Grizzlies!).  The public research university is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and is its second-largest campus.  The 200-acre campus is one of the most beautiful in the nation and is home to 12,000 students.

 

Downtown Missoula

 

Jellystone Rv Park

This was our first stay at a Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park.  The park was on the small side and seemed a little run-down however the staff was very friendly and helpful and the store is well stocked with a lot of cute items.  The pool was not heated.   The miniature golf feature could use some maintenance but is still usable and fun.  Our pull-through site was easy to get into and level.  Mostly it was a good place to stay for a few days. 

 

Exploring  History at Travelers' Rest State Park

Just 10 miles south of Missoula, the Lewis and Clark Expedition stayed in an area called Travelers Rest near the town of Lolo.  Travelers Rest area was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and was turned into a 51-acre state park.  Six years later it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Bitterroot Valley

Lewis and Clark wrote about their visit in September 1805 and again in June of 1806 of Lolo Hot Springs and the treacherous trek across the Bitterroot Mountains. 

Significant archeological findings in 2002, including latrine sites with traces of mercury and fire hearths, make this the only site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail that has yielded physical proof of the explorers' presence.

Lolo Pass

Lolo Pass, elevation 5,233 feet, is a mountain pass in the western United States, in the Bitterroot Range of the northern Rocky Mountains.   It is on the border between the states of Montana and Idaho and is approximately 40 miles west-southwest of Missoula, Montana.

I have to admit, the real reason we set out to explore this area is that my sister informed me that the show Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner, was partly filmed in the area. 

Yellowstone Series

As it turned out The Dutton family's gorgeous log cabin is actually a 5,000-square foot mansion located on Chief Joseph Ranch near Darby, Montana which was just a few more miles down the road.  Even though we did not see the ranch or any of the crew from Yellowstone, we can say that at least we tried and got to see some beautiful mountains in the process.

 A Day Trip to an Old Gold Mining Town

 

For a trip back in time, we decided to drive an hour east to Garnet Ghost Town, a historic gold mining town with 30 preserved buildings.  This trip did not disappoint!  The drive took us along the Blackfoot River where it merges with the Clark Fork River.  This river was made famous by the novel "A River Runs Through it" by Norman Maclean.  The views were stunning! 

 

 

Once we turned off the main road to get to the old ghost town that was a totally different story.  Driving the narrow dirt road in a big dually truck was scarier than the aspect of running into a real, bona fide ghost by the time we arrived.

This is Montana’s most intact ghost town.  More than a century after Garnet emerged in 1895, remnants of the town still stand, hidden high in the Garnet Mountain Range.

 

There were four stores, four hotels, three livery stables, two barbershops, a union hall, a school with 41 students, a butcher shop, a candy shop, a doctor’s office, an assay office, and thirteen saloons.  By 1905 many of the mines were abandoned and the town’s population had shrunk to about 150.  A fire in the town’s business district in 1912 destroyed many of the commercial buildings and most of the remaining residents moved away to defense-related jobs.  By the 1940s, Garnet was a ghost town.

 

 

Rough Stock Saloon

 

On our way back to Missoula, we decided to stop for a quick bite and a hole in the wall bar in Drummond, MT.  We bellied up to the bar and both ordered a beer, D got a burger and I had them fix me a grilled cheese sandwich. 

 

The Rough Stock Saloon is the kind of place that you go to if you want to unwind from a long day at work or if you want to tie one on with the locals and friends.  The menu is limited to a selection of simple, delicious burgers that are cooked just right, chicken tenders, pizza, and the typical bar appetizers. They sport a decent selection of local beers that I understand rotate fairly often alongside the staple beers like Budweiser products, Coors products, and other microbrews.  Sadly, it appears that this bit of history lost the fight to Covid-19 and is now permanently closed.

 

 

Dennis decides on a new hobby... fishing?

 

Don't ask me why fishing, but fishing here we go!  I can just hear the theme song The Fishin' Hole, The Andy Griffith Show theme song, playing in my head as he is telling me of his new idea.  So after much research and him talking with his brother-in-law, Dave, we set off to find the local Cabela's store in Missoula.  

 

We ended up buying a trout setup for Penny, the rod and reel are PINK!  (This is important later.)  Dennis decides on a white bass rig.  Given the research, we did not overspend on everything.  Here's hoping to catchin' many of dinners, y'all!

Dennis' two cents:  While on the road, we caught up with a TV series called Alone.  In every season, most of the contestants would fish for their food!  I suddenly felt the pull to learn to fish.

Our next hop is to visit Glacier National Park. Wish us luck that it's open by the time we get there!