Montana

After we left the Badlands National Park area, we arrived in Hardin, Montana to spend the night.  We were not expecting trees in the campground and were pleasantly surprised to find them.  It was a lovely campground with wonderful hosts/staff and I spent a couple hours birding it.  There were baby birds everywhere, so it was lots of fun.

It was a bit cooler in Hardin and got more so during the night.  I brought the long pants and long sleeve shirts out.  We left in the morning for our longest one day drive during this trip (395 miles).  It was in the 40’s (F) when we left Hardin and in the 60’s (F) when we arrived in Missoula.  We saw lots of snow along the way.

The plan was to stay two days in Missoula so we could visit the National Bison Range.  About 45 minutes before we arrived in Missoula, I checked whether the range was open.  It is not.  It is closed because of the pandemic.  I looked up alternatives and found lots of other places to check out.  Maybe its not a bad thing to do something different.  After we set up camp, I walked to the REI Outfitters for maps of Lolo National Forest.  They were sold out.  Nevertheless, I purchased a Montana Recreation map.

We shall see how tomorrow plays out.  We will be exploring places we have not seen and that is always a good thing no matter what we find.  In a way, perhaps it is better that we will be exploring new ground.  It is always best to be flexible.  Who knows what gifts we will find?