After Walla Walla we decided we wanted to spend some time in Montana as we had heard so many wonderful things about the state and it looked so beautiful. Rather than staying in hotels, Ginnie went on the Internet in search of a cabin or cottage where we could stay put for three nights. She hit the jackpot and found a spectacular sounding place that would actually cost less than a hotel. The advantage of a cabin over a hotel, is that with a kitchen, we can cook meals and save considerably on dining out. If there is a washer and dryer too, then we get to have clean clothes – also a bonus!
We reserved the cabin online at 10:30pm on Friday night for arrival the next day. Even though it showed that it was available, at this short notice you can never be sure it will work out, but the next morning I received a phone call from the agent. Yes it is available and we would love it!
So we set off from Washington and headed east along route 12, the Lewis and Clark Trail, into Idaho and followed the Clearwater River for a couple of hundred miles. At the top of the Lolo Pass we crossed into Montana and the entre journey, about 380 miles, was beautiful scenery under clear blue skies and with temperatures in the high 70s and mid 80s.
The Clearwater River was churning downhill and created fantastic white water rafting conditions with the spring thaw. It is incredible how much water can be generated from the melting snow high above us in the Montana Rockies and the power of the water is awesome.
When we finally arrived at our cabin, here in the Bitterroot Valley, it exceeded our wildest dreams. All natural wood from ceiling to floor, beautifully equipped kitchen with absolutely everything you need (including sharp knives – thank you!) a fireplace, three bedrooms, washer/dryer, wireless internet, great views and a private access to Boulder Creek below. There is satellite TV also although unfortunately we couldn’t get the channel that was showing the Canucks vs Sharks game last evening, so we “watched” it on Twitter! Canucks won too, even without our TV support!
Yesterday we decided we would go for a hike and found a trailhead that would start us on a couple of miles hike to Baker Lake. The trailhead was 9 miles from the main road up a gravel dirt road and so off we went. It was narrow but with great views. We made it about 5.3 miles when I turned a bend and found deep, deep snow blocking the road. We have a four wheel drive Toyota RAV 4 but it could not traverse this snow and I didn’t want to get stuck so we made a precarious 11-point turn to come back down again! If I still had my Land Rover, I think we could have made it, but then again, this snow was thick and we were a LONG way from civilization if we had got stuck! It was a great experience however.
On both nights, I cooked in the wonderful kitchen of this cabin and we sat at a dining table, drinking wine we have amassed from our trip, listening to music and just relaxing. The trip has been incredible, but just chilling out has been fairly rare.
Having learned on Friday that the sale of our house is now final and we close on 29th June, Ginnie and I decided that living in this cabin for the rest of our days would be perfect! However Yellowstone Park awaits us tomorrow and so we will head off on the final leg of our journey then and wave a sad farewell to the best accommodation we have had on the entire trip, and vowing to return to Montana, and maybe this very same cabin, in the future!
We reserved the cabin online at 10:30pm on Friday night for arrival the next day. Even though it showed that it was available, at this short notice you can never be sure it will work out, but the next morning I received a phone call from the agent. Yes it is available and we would love it!
So we set off from Washington and headed east along route 12, the Lewis and Clark Trail, into Idaho and followed the Clearwater River for a couple of hundred miles. At the top of the Lolo Pass we crossed into Montana and the entre journey, about 380 miles, was beautiful scenery under clear blue skies and with temperatures in the high 70s and mid 80s.
The Clearwater River was churning downhill and created fantastic white water rafting conditions with the spring thaw. It is incredible how much water can be generated from the melting snow high above us in the Montana Rockies and the power of the water is awesome.
When we finally arrived at our cabin, here in the Bitterroot Valley, it exceeded our wildest dreams. All natural wood from ceiling to floor, beautifully equipped kitchen with absolutely everything you need (including sharp knives – thank you!) a fireplace, three bedrooms, washer/dryer, wireless internet, great views and a private access to Boulder Creek below. There is satellite TV also although unfortunately we couldn’t get the channel that was showing the Canucks vs Sharks game last evening, so we “watched” it on Twitter! Canucks won too, even without our TV support!
Yesterday we decided we would go for a hike and found a trailhead that would start us on a couple of miles hike to Baker Lake. The trailhead was 9 miles from the main road up a gravel dirt road and so off we went. It was narrow but with great views. We made it about 5.3 miles when I turned a bend and found deep, deep snow blocking the road. We have a four wheel drive Toyota RAV 4 but it could not traverse this snow and I didn’t want to get stuck so we made a precarious 11-point turn to come back down again! If I still had my Land Rover, I think we could have made it, but then again, this snow was thick and we were a LONG way from civilization if we had got stuck! It was a great experience however.
On both nights, I cooked in the wonderful kitchen of this cabin and we sat at a dining table, drinking wine we have amassed from our trip, listening to music and just relaxing. The trip has been incredible, but just chilling out has been fairly rare.
Having learned on Friday that the sale of our house is now final and we close on 29th June, Ginnie and I decided that living in this cabin for the rest of our days would be perfect! However Yellowstone Park awaits us tomorrow and so we will head off on the final leg of our journey then and wave a sad farewell to the best accommodation we have had on the entire trip, and vowing to return to Montana, and maybe this very same cabin, in the future!
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